Understand Personality through Graphology

Understand Personality through Graphology

Dr Leow Chee Seng,

Regional Director of British Institute of Homeopathy (BIH)

MMIM, MIMM, CAHRP, Certified Stress Management Consultant, USA, Fellow of BIH (UK)

Understand a person personality through handwriting? It seems impossible but it does. Personality inventory can be catagoriesed to projective and non projective (Kathleen, 1978). Projective personality inventory uses pictures or diagrams to capture response from the respondent. Hence, this method is a subjective form of personality inventory. Graphology is a projective personality test.

What is graphology?

Graphology or handwriting analysis is a science of interpreting a person's character from his/her personal handwriting. The term graphology comes from two Greek words that mean to learn something about writing and the inferring of character or aptitude from it. Think of handwriting as a type of EEG (brain wave recording) of personality. In fact, some handwriting analysts describe “brainwriting” could be a more descriptive term than handwriting analysis. Graphology can analyze a person's personality without the person’s knowledge that he is being analyzed. Through this method we can reduce the possibility of inaccuracies due to conscious or unconscious effort by the subject to affect the result. Distortion of the result due to the subject's knowledge that he is being analyzed is common in most common of personality analysis tools.

The Strength of Graphology?

It is interesting what your handwriting is able to tell you. Graphology is used wide in varied application. The common usage of graphology is application in vocational guidance. While graphology cannot point to a specific career on the basis of a handwriting sample, it can certainly point someone in the right direction, or away from the wrong direction, based on personality, abilities and inclinations.

Besides vocational guidance, a handwriting analysis of both partners can confirm compatibilities, point out potential trouble spots and help the couple to understand and accept each other’s weaker points. On the other hand, teachers often find they can bring out better behavior in problem students.

People who investigate genealogy have used the service of graphologists to help them better understand their ancestors through an analysis of their handwriting. Graphologist can track clients’ progress in therapy, and some law enforcement agencies use handwriting analysis to determine dangerousness in suspect, as well as truthfulness of victim and witness statements.

Recently, graphology is being used increasingly by employees or assessment centre to help in personnel selection. It is especially used at the short-list stage and to small business. Small company, in particular, need to avoid friction and personality clashes between staff as well as getting the right person for the right job. Some candidates are better at interviews than at their job while other blow their chances through nervousness. A handwriting analysis can give a more complete picture.

Practical Graphology

In practical, it's better to use graphology to analyze the handwriting of a pure untainted subject , rather than to put the subject under unnatural stress of a long questionnaire. Furthermore, a single personality questionnaire may reveal a single dimension of personality. However, with two handwriting samples of the same person at different occasion may reveals different behaviour characteristics.

In fact, handwriting analysis is an art. Each graphologist uses different style to analyse. I have designed my own worksheet to help me to complete my handwriting analysis. In fact, there are a lot of computer programs that offer the same service. However, I strongly believe, handwriting analysis is an art that needs human interpretation.

Worksheet of analysis

1. Regularity	11. Punctuation	21. Form of letters
2. Rhythm	12. Spacing between words	22. Speed
3. Size	13. Spacing between lines	23. Signature and underscore
4. Zones	14. Direction of the lines	24. “I”- dots and “t” bars
5. Connection, degree of connection, form of	15. Fullness and leanness	25. Personal pronoun I
6. Horizontal tension	16, Width of letters	26. Form level
7. Shading	17. Covering strokes	27. Reliability factors (if applicable)
8. Slant	18. Leftward and rightward tendencies	28. Tension and release (stress factors)
9. Pressure	19. Initial strokes	29. Degree of attention (deals with any characteristics that are not covered in the general worksheet. Eg: stimulus words, symbols, envelop if different from general spacing)
10. Margins	20. Terminal strokes	30. The analysis

Limitation of handwriting analysis

It is important to identify the limitation of handwriting analysis to avoid unrealistic expectations during analysis. From the handwriting analysis, we would not be able to determine the age or gender of the writer. What it actually does is to indicate masculine and femine influence which is present in both sexes. It reveals maturity rather than actual chronological age. Nor can graphology predict happenings and future events. From graphology, we can point to a person’s potential that needs to be brought out once they are made aware of it.

Get closer to Homeopathy

Get closer to Homeopathy

Dr Leow Chee Seng

Fellow of British Institute of Homeopathy,

Regional Director of British Institute of Homeopathy.

The media often refer to particular disease as being “incurable”, yet a lot of homeopaths are often consulted by patients who have those very same conditions, and who are well on the way to recovery once they have started homeopathic treatment. It is so sad that people do not realize homeopathy could help them and that they do not have to put up with so much unnecessary suffering. It is quite surprising how little people know about homeopathy. There are misunderstanding concepts that people think it is similar to herbalism or to do with nutrition and diet; sadly some other are simply dismissive or condescending about it without actually knowing what it is; and others think it is only suitable for minor ailments and that it is essential to take the “right” medicine for something serious. All such ideas are totally incorrect and invariably occur when people know little or nothing about homeopathy or its philosophy.

Needs of homeopathy

Homeopathy has been used since the late 18^th century to treat a variety of conditions. A 1999 BBC telephone survey reported that 17% of a random selection of 1204 adults in Britain had used homeopathy in the previous year.

People tend to turn to homoeopathy or other alternative therapies because they have tried orthodox medicine and it has either failed them completely or they have had to cope with unpleasant or serious side effects from the drugs. Others have felt tired and below par for many years (symptoms which often precede more serious conditions) but, despite many tests and sometimes unpleasant investigations, it has not been possible for a diagnosis to be made for them. Since homoeopathy treats the individual as a whole, rather than just the disease, it is possible to treat people successfully who are feeling very unwell, in pain, or with unpleasant symptoms, but for whom there is as yet no orthodox diagnosis. In this way homoeopathy can prevent the onset of many serious conditions. Many things contribute to disease: the toxic load we acquire through daily life, weaknesses and tendencies towards certain diseases which we may inherit, and all sorts of stresses both emotional and physical — all these result in the body’s natural healing powers failing; the body runs out of the energy to heal itself and the homoeopathic remedy acts as a stimulus which boosts this energy and so assists in the healing process.

Definition of homeopathy

The word “homeopathy” is derived from two Greek words: “homoios” which means SIMILAR and “pathos” which means SUFFERING. Homeopathy’s basic premise is called the “principle of similars,” and it refers to recurrent observation and experience that a medicinal substance will elicit a healing response for the specific syndrome of symptoms (or suffering) that it has been proven to cause when given to healthy people in overdose.

Homoeopathic remedies are made in a very special way which involves giving only a very minute dose of the substance. This means that the remedies are not addictive, and do not have side effects.

Principle of homeopathy

The beauty of the principle of similars is that it not only initiates a healing response, but it encourages a respect for the body's wisdom. Because symptoms represent the best efforts of our body in its defenses against infection or stress, it makes sense to utilize a medicine that helps and mimics this defense rather than that inhibits or suppresses it. The principle of similars may be one of nature's laws that, when used well, can be one of our most sophisticated healing strategies.

It is important to note that immunizations and allergy treatments are two of the very few applications in modern medicine today that actually stimulate the body’s own defenses in the prevention or treatment of specific diseases, and it is NOT simply a coincidence that both of these treatments are derived from the homeopathic principle of similars.

How does Homeopathy works?

The human body is truly amazing! It possesses the capability to heal itself in many situations. Even long-standing complaints can be reversed once the body knows how to heal itself.

This is a very important concept to grasp. The homeopathic remedy does not itself cure sickness or alleviate symptoms. The remedy tells the vital force what is wrong and empowers the vital force to do something about it!

Homeopathy is based on the notion of treating like with like i.e. a substance that can cause certain symptoms can also be used to resolve similar symptoms. Patients are treated with very low dose preparations of substances, which produce symptoms similar to those experienced by the patient. Patients’ symptoms are then monitored, and treatment is adjusted accordingly. As a result treatment is highly individualised and will vary from patient to patient and also between practitioners.

Conditions that are commonly treated with homeopathy include the following:

· where there is no known diagnosis and tests are normal but the patient feels unwell

· chronic conditions where there may be poor prognosis without sufficiently effective treatments

· conditions where drug treatments are poorly tolerated or contra-indicated

· those who suffer from repeated episodes of acute illnesses

Now, there are two organisations in Malaysia that provide information and promote homeopathy practice, British Institute of Homeopathy, Malaysia Regional Office and The Faculty of Homeopathy Malaysia.

Negative Impact for Being Unhappy

Negative Impact for Being Unhappy

Dr Leow Chee Seng

Senior consultant, Yale Consultancy Sdn Bnd

“Why should we feel sad? How many ten years do we have in our life?”

It is hard to define the term happiness. In general, happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. A variety of philosophical, religious, psychological and biological approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources.

Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life, or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion. Happiness in this older sense was used to translate the Greek Eudemonia, and is still used in virtue ethics.

While direct measurement of happiness presents challenges, tools such as The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire have been developed by researchers. Positive psychology researchers use theoretical models that include describing happiness as consisting of positive emotions and positive activities, or that describe three kinds of happiness: pleasure, engagement, and meaning.

Research has identified a number of attributes that correlate with happiness: relationships and social interaction, extraversion, marital status, employment, health, democratic freedom, optimism, religious involvement, income and proximity to other happy people.

In fact, the association between unhappiness and disease is not a new one. In fact, this relationship bas been held to be intuitively valid for ages. In the event of perceived sadness, organs that are inner­vated by neural tissue or acted upon by the excessive secretion of stress hormones increase their metabolic rates. When denied the ability to rest, organs may begin to dysfunction, much like a car engine that overheats on a very hot day. Several states of disease and illness first appear as stress-related symptoms which, if unde­tected or untreated, may result in serious health prob­lems. The following are descriptions of the more com­mon ones.

Bronchial asthma is an illness in which a pro­nounced secretion of bronchial fluids causes a swelling of the smooth-muscle tissue of the large air passage ways (bronchi). The constriction of these passages produces a choking effect, where the individual feels as if he or she cannot breathe. Asthmatic attacks can be severe enough to send someone to the hospital and, in some cases are even fatal. Several studies have linked the onset of asthmatic attacks with anxiety; others have linked it with an overprotective childhood. Currently drugs (e.g.. prednisone) are the first method of treatment. However, relaxation techniques, in­cluding mental imagery, autogenic training, and meditation, may be just as effective in both delay­ing the onset and reducing the severity of these attacks.

Tension headaches. Tension headaches are pro­duced by sympathetic-mediated contractions of muscles of the forehead, eyes, neck, and jaw. Ten­sion usually builds as the parasympathetic inhibi­tion of muscular contraction gives way to sympa­thetic drive, increasing the state of muscular contraction. Increased pain results from increased contraction of these muscles. Lower back pain can also result from the same process. Although pain relievers such as aspirin are the most common source of relief, tension headaches have also been shown to dissipate with the use of meditation, mental imagery, and biofeedback.

Migraine headaches. Unlike a tension headache, which is produced by nervous tension in the facial muscles, a migraine headache is a vascular head­ache. The word migraine literally means “half a skull,” and usually when a migraine occurs, the sensation of pain occupies either the right or left side of the head but not both. Migraines are thought to be the result of a sympathetic response to the baroreceptors of the carotid artery, which undergo a rapid constriction (prodrome) followed by a rapid dilation. During the dilation phase, blood quickly moves in from the periphery to flood the cerebral vasculature. The change in vas­cular pressure combined with humoral secretions is considered the cause of the intense pain so often associated with migraines. Symptoms can include a flash of light followed by intense throbbing, diz­ziness, and nausea. It is interesting to note that mi­graines do not occur in the midst of a stressor, but rather hours later. Migraines are thought to be re­lated to the inability to express anger and frustra­tion. Although several medications are prescribed for migraines, current research indicates that bio­feedback and mental imagery can be equally effec­tive, with fewer side effects.

Temporornandibular joint dysfunction. Excessive contraction of the jaw muscles can lead to a phe­nomenon called temporomandibular joint dys­function or TMJ. In many cases, people are unaware that they have this illness because it occurs during sleep. But when they make a trip to the dentist, they find that they are showing signs of clenching and grinding their teeth (bruxism). Other symptoms include muscle pain, clicking or popping sounds when chewing, as well as tension headaches and earaches. Like migraines, TMJ is often associated with the inability to express feel­ings of anger. However, there are other behaviors which are also associated with this symptom, in­cluding excessive gum chewing, resting one’s chin on a hand, even nail biting. Severe cases require that a mouth brace be worn at night. Relaxation techniques, including biofeedback and progressive muscular relaxation, have been shown to be effec­tive in decreasing the muscular tension associated with TMJ.

Irritable bowel syndrome. lBS is characterized by re­peated bouts of abdominal pain or tenderness, cramps, diarrhea, nausea, constipation, and exces­sive flatulence. It is often considered a result of ex­cessive sympathetic neural stimulation to one or more areas of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. While symptoms may vary from person to person, this stress—related disorder is most commonly associ­ated with anxiety and depression. One reason why lBS is considered so closely related to stress is that -the hypothalamus, which controls appetite regula­tion (hunger and satiety), is closely associated with emotional regulation as well. Various diets and medications may be prescribed, depending on the nature of the symptoms. Several recent studies have employed various types of relaxation and cognitive skills, including thermal biofeedback, progressive muscular relaxation, mental imagery, cognitive reappraisal, and behavioral modification

Our lives are filled with one blessing after another. Sometimes it’s easy to take them for granted. Here are some ways to be a thankful person and stay happily. First, Begin each day with a ‘gratitude moment.’ “Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies,” noted Charles Edward Jefferson. Every day when you first rise, make time to reflect on the blessings in your life and express thanks. Besides, Offer gratitude throughout the day. First thing, in your day, write down things you’re thankful for. Then throughout the day, think about those things. It will make you happy. On the other hand, express your appreciation. People are quick to call in with a complaint but not as many people take the time to express appreciation. Yet, a verbal or written expression of thanks delivers a blessing to the one receiving it as well as the one giving thanks.

To sum up, we should be happy every day. We would not be able to know when we will leave this die. Enjoy every moment in our life and appreciate everything next to us. Appreciation is one of the important elements in our life. We are living in a uncertainty and full of challenging world. We could not predict what would happen in our life every day. Do appreciate whoever next to you. Close your eyes for a few seconds. Try to feel whatever is next to you. You will feel that everything in this world is transforming. Try to appreciate others strength and not only looking in the weakness. You will be more appreciating if u follow it...... Individual in this society can be described as molecules in atmosphere. Some molecules are bonded with strong electrostatic bond but some are bonded with weak Van Der Waals forces. Perhaps you should close your eyes and feel what is next to you. Actually, you will find everything around is transforming. This can be explained by using triple point of phase diagram where solids, liquids and gases reach equilibrium. In short, happy to get know all of you may god wish our bond and relationship to be everlasting.

ABC of Anxiety Disorder: Panic Disorder

ABC of Anxiety Disorder: Panic Disorder

By Dr Leow Chee Seng

Consultant,

Fellow of British Institute of Homeopathy (UK),

Certified Stress Management Consultant (IACT, USA),

We become anxious from time to time. For example, meeting with important person, changing a new job, concern over a new relationship creates anxiety. A person’s anxieties are about the future, whether long-term concerns about a new career.

The terms fears and anxiety is commonly used interchangeable. However, fear refers to an innate, almost biological based alarm response to a dangerous or life-threatening situation. Anxiety, in contrast, is more future oriented and global. The term anxiety is inordinately apprehensive, tense, and uneasy about the prospect of something terrible happening. Anxiety becomes clinically concern when it interferes with the ability to function in daily life, when a person enters a maladaptive state characterized by extreme physical and psychological reactions.

Referring to Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-IV-TR), panic disorder occurs in context of several disorders in this section, criteria sets for a panic attack is listed separately at the beginning.

Diagnostic features of panic attack

A panic attack is a period of intense fear or discomfort, during which a person experiences four or more of the following symptoms, which develop abruptly and reach a peak within 10 minutes:

· palpitations. pounding heart. or accelerated heart rate

• · sweating
• · trembling or shaking
• · sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
• · feeling of choking
• · chest pain or discomfort
• · nausea or abdominal distress
• · feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded. or faint
• · derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from
• · oneself)
• · fear of losing control or going crazy
• · fear of dying
• · paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)
• · chills or hot flushes (Reference: DSM-IV-TR)

Type of panic attack

There are three categories of panic attack mainly, unexpected panic attack, situational bound panic attack and situational predisposed panic attack. For unexpected panic attack, there is no situational cue or trigger. The second type of panic attack, situational bound panic attack occurs where a person has a tendency to have a panic attack in the situation but does not have one every time. For example, when one of my friends hears an ambulance siren, he begins to experience the symptoms of a panic attack. She could not work in a hospital especially in accident and emergency department. So, she finally settled herself in the area of public health. The last category of panic attack is situational predisposed panic attack where a person will have situational panic attack but not every time.

Biological Perspective

In trying to understand the cause and strategy to fight panic disorder, we should discuss both biological prospective and psychological prospective. However, in this article, I will focus more on psychological perspective.

In biological prospective, panic attack is associated with excess of noreponephrine in the amygdala, a structure in limbic system involved in fear. Besides, the disorder derives from defect in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter with inhibitory effects on neurons.

According to anxiety sensitivity theory, people with panic disorder tend to interpret cognitive and somatic manifestation of stress and anxiety in a catastrophic manner. For example, they feel that they cannot breathe even others feel the situation is normal. This false alarm mechanism causes the person to hyperventilate and the person is thrown to a panic state.

Psychological perspective

Turning to psychological perspective, we focus on conditioned fear reactions as contributing to the development of panic attacks. This person relates bodily sensation with memories with the last attack, causing a full-brown panic attack to develop even before measurable biological changes have occurred. Over time, the individual begins to have panic attack before it happens.

David Barlow and his colleagues proposed in a cognitive-behavioural model that anxiety becomes an unmanageable problem for an individual through the development of vicious cycle. The diagram shows the cycle of panic attack.

Stress management techniques help in treatment of panic disorder. In this approach, the client learns systematically to alternative tensing and relaxation muscle all over the body, starting from forehead down to the feet. After stress management techniques, the client should be able to relax the whole body when confronting feared situation.

However, I like to use panic control therapy (PCT) developed by Barlow and his colleagues. This technique consists of cognitive restructuring, the development of an awareness of bodily cues associated with panic attacks, and breathing retraining. I found that clients treated with PCT show marked improvement, at levels comparable to improvement shown by clients treated with antianxiety medication. I would propose combination of both antianxiety medication and PCT should give a marked improve among clients.

During my training in counselling and psychotherapy, Prof Malik Badri, Professor of Psychology, Fellow of International Islamic University Malaysia explained that more comprehensive interventions involving cognitive techniques. He recommended in vivo exposure when treating individual with panic disorder, especially with those with agoraphobia. He taught me the use of graduated exposure, a procedure in which clients expose themselves to increasing greater anxiety-provoking situation. For example, Mr X finds visiting to large shopping malls to be emotionally overshelming. I would recommend that his exposure to stressful environments begin with a small shop in which he feels safe and relatively anxiety free. Step-by-step, Mr X would progress to environments that are higher list of anxiety provoking settings.

I have just completed attending training in conterconditioning. This technique is used to treat hyperventilation, a common symptom in panic attacks. In this approach, the client hyperventilates intentionally and begins slow breathing, a response that is incompatible with hyperventilation. In this training, the client can begin the slow breathing at the first signs of hyperventilation. Hence, the clients learn that it is possible to exert voluntary control over hyperventilation.

If the recommended psychological approach does not able to control anxiety of a person, the use of medication can help alleviate symptoms, with the most commonly prescribed being antianxiety and antidepresant medication.

Prevention is better than cure: Breast Cancer

Prevention is better than cure: Breast Cancer

By Dr Leow Chee Seng

Consultant,

Fellow of British Institute of Homeopathy (UK),

Certified Stress Management Consultant (IACT, USA),

Epidemiology of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and is the most common cancer among women. Various health promotion programs have been conducted to create awareness among citizen because breast cancer has been the second leading cause of cancer admission in Ministry of Health hospitals. Now, breast cancer falls on the fourth place in terms of cancer deaths accounting for 6-8% of all cancer death. (Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2005). Another research conducted by Penang Cancer Registry reported that the incidence of Breast cancer in Malaysia was estimated 34.0 per 100, 000 population and at least 3,500 cases annually.

Factors of Breast Cancer

Dr K McPherson has published an article, “ABC of breast diseases” in British Medical Journal. In his article, a few factors that affect the risk of having breast cancer include:

· The later the age of the first menstrual cycle, the lower the risk.

· Full-term pregnancy at an early age lowers the risk

· Being overweight increases the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer.

· Use of hormone replacement therapy increases the risk, but this increase in risk has been reported to disappear shortly after hormone use is discontinued.

· Being older at the time of the last menstrual cycle confers a higher risk compared with women who have had their last menstrual cycle at a younger age.

· Use of oral contraceptive increases risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Dietary Therapy

Several clinical researches have proven that women who drink alcohol have a higher risk of breast cancer compared with teetotalers. Alcohol increases level of estrogen that stimulates the increase of the risk. For drinkers with low intake of folic acid had a 32% increase risk of breast cancer as compared with nondrinkers. Folic acids supplement is useful among women who drink alcohol because folic acids are able to reverse the damaging effect alcohol on DNA. A research concluded that supplement of at least 600mcg per day was associated with a 43% reduction of risk factor of breast cancer. However, the supplementary of folic acids must not be taken by cancer patients who are taking chemotherapy drug methotrexate.

Insoluble fiber from grains helps reducing breast cancer among young women. Fiber lowers estrogen levels in premenopausal women but not in postmenopausal women. Phytate, an active component in fiber and isoflavones provide protection in the absence of a decrease in estrogen levels. In practice, switching from white rice to brown rice from bakery goods made with white flour or mixed flours to 100% whole wheat bread, whole rye crackers and whole grain pancake mixes.

I encountered a patient that was diagnosed with last stage of breast cancer. The oncologist told the patient to enjoy her last 6 months in her life. She was depressed. I advised her to shift from normal diet to vegetarian diet. Besides, I advise her to steam all organic vegetable without salt and oil during food preparation. Surprisingly, after seven years, I was able to meet her and have a wonderful dinner with her. Female vegetarians have been reported to have lower estrogen levels compared with meat-eating women.

In addition, tomatoes help reduction of risk factor of breast cancer. Tomatoes contain lycopene, an antioxidant that is similar to beta-carotene. Lycopene is able to inhibit proliferation of cancer cells. Higher intake of tomatoes intake of tomatoes reduces risk of variety of cancers in 57 of 72 studies. Besides, tomatoes also improve condition of prostate and lung cancer.

Onion and garlic are rich sources of the potent anti-cancer bioflavonoid quercetin. One onion daily inhibits malignant cell growth, and cooking does not destroy the effectiveness of quercetin. Garlic also contains large quantities of antiviral, antibiotics, and antifungal/anti-yeast compounds such as allicin. Thus it is useful in the treatment of breast cancer with concurrent candida proliferation. Garlic compounds also appear to be effective against leukemia.

On the other hand, omega-3 fatty acids rich in fish are responsible for protection against cancer. Fish eaters have low risk of breast cancer. Hence, fish oil supplement is always associated with reduction of risk factor of breast cancer. Besides, olive oil consumption is able to reduce risk factor of breast cancer. As a strategy of cancer prevention, I would recommend you to take a dressing of salads with olive oil, a little wine vinegar three times a week. Vinegar stimulates qi flow, which is helpful in stagnant condition.

Brassica-genus vegetables such as cabbage, turnip, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts have been recommended in general by the National Cancer Institute for cancer prevention. These contain dithiolthiones, a group of compounds which have anti-cancer, antioxidant properties; indoles, substances which protect against breast cancer; and sulphur, which has antibiotics and antiviral characteristics. The family of vegetables also mildly stimulates the liver and other tissues out of stagnancy. Cabbage and its juice are particularly useful because they help clear mental depression.

Method of meat preparation is directly associated with risk factor of breast cancer. Well-done meat contains more carcinogenic materials than does lightly cooked meet. However, genetic factors may determine which women increase their risk of breast cancer by eating well-done meat.

Several researches have been conducted to determine the relationship between CoQ₁₀ enzyme and the risk factors of breast cancer. Denmark and the United States have been conducted studies to study the effects of CoQ₁₀ among 32 breast cancer patients. From the research, they found that only one patient suffered a recurrence, all were still alive. Patients continued to do well after two years of supplementation, and after three to five years, surprising improvements were reported in two patients who had had advanced disease at the beginning of the trial. Unfortunately, CoQ₁₀ remains unproven as a cancer treatment.

Creating “Wow” Selling Strategies through Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

Creating “Wow” Selling Strategies through Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

The English term that focuses on war is something of a mistranslation. The accurate translation is strategy. This strategy focuses on the strategy “winning without conflict” by espousing unique position in the competitive environment to discover opportunities while turning your opponents’ apparent strengths against them.

Now, businesspeople refer to The Art of War as the guidance for better decision and strategic marketing tools. The principle solidifies vague idea of a strategy into a clear, well-defined set of principle. By understand the principle of Sun Tzu, you will be intrigued by the lessons that emerge when the strategy applied to make sales.

According to Sun Tzu, think competitively is a better strategy rather than having a solid sales process. One of the success key: you present decision-makers with the best possible alternatives for investing their money. As a successful sales manager, you must think strategically in various prospective such as consumer behavior, strategic marketing, product life cycles and others. Hence, you will be able to foreseen and monitor the sales progress effectively.
Sun Tzu stated, the element to success is selecting the right battleground. In marketing, it is interpreted as sales adaptation where we have to highlight on right issues in the buying process. As a superstar salesperson, you can start by understanding your customers need rather than keep on pushing your products. If you focus on the product itself, you would end up like prescribing medicine to a patient without asking what their problems are.

The third principle of Sun Zhu is innovation and differentiation. In Sun Tzu’s terms, you must always adapt to the changes that take place on the field of battle. Innovation and differentiation are the better strategy to sustain and grow in the dynamic marketplace. Digitalization from revolutionary technology, globalization, deregulation from reshaping the economy, privatization creates the needs of innovation.

Based on Sun Tzu school of thought, you cannot success through your own action alone. Sun Tzu emphasizes that opportunity is always abundant; since every problem creates opportunity, we must identify and act fast. Strategic thinking on gaps derives from risk and crisis leads to opportunity is the major key of success. I had experience to conduct consultancy for an educational institution. I identified the opportunity to focus on training and program in the area of nutrition and food technology during the food poisoning crisis in China. This strategy enables the organisation win through customization.

The last principle of Sun Tzu focuses on knowledge and information of a person. According to Sun Tzu, victory goes to the person who is the most knowledgeable. Besides, he added, there is no substitute for knowledge. Hence, understanding and capturing all information about the products and your competitors.

The universal utility of Sun Tzu’s principles means that you can apply it in all scenarios. When exploring Sun Tzu The Art of War, you will develop more insight into Sun Tzu’s methods and apply to your own situation.

Aloe Vera: A Microscopic Review

Aloe Vera: A Microscopic Review
By Dr Leow Chee Seng
Senior Consultant of Yale Consultancy Sdn Bhd
Fellow of British Institute of Homeopathy
Homeopathy Consultant

The short thorny green plants attracted my attention! This is my first experience to visit an
Aloe Vera field which was located at Johor Bahru. Sincerely appreciate my brother Kar
Leong for exposing me to a wonderful experience in the field. This experience inspires me to
further research on the little plants: Aloe Vera.

Most botanists agree, and historical evidence suggests, that the Aloe Vera plant originated in
the warm, dry climates of Africa. The very first record of the Aloe Vera plant in history was
written by Dioscorides, a famous Greek physician from the first century AD. He wrote that
Aloe Vera had the power of “inducing sleep and of thickening the body…it helps loosen the
belly and cleanses the stomach when drunk with warm milk or cold water.” By the 2nd
century AD, Aloe Vera had become indispensible to Roman physicians - the most notable of
which was Galen, the personal physician of the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Galen
was said to have drawn his knowledge from the writings of Aristotle and Hippocrates, who
had gotten their knowledge of Aloe Vera from the Indian and Egyptian “medical writers”. in
the East, Chinese physicians were already writing about how Aloe Vera helped treat sinusitis,
skin disorders, and internal problems such as convulsions in children and worm fever.
The aloe vera plants is characterized by long, hard, sword-shaped, fleshy, green leaves, with
sharp point and an array of barbed spikes on each leaf edge. Each plant can have between
twenty and thirty leaves and these leaves grow a rosette pattern straight out the ground. When
the plant blooms, its bright flowers appear on a central leafless stem high above the gelbearing.
In fact, the fresh leaf gel and latex are used for many purposes. Aloe latex is the
sticky residue left over after the liquid from cut aloe leaves has evaporated.
According to Ms Jessie Ng, of director of the aloe vera field, “Aloe vera is a veritable
treasure chest of nutritional ingredients.” I read a review by Smith and Stenhaus (1851), aloin
or anthraquinone glycosides was the principle ingredient responsible for aloe’s laxative
effects, an ever increasing number of biologically active compounds have been identified. To
date, research has proved aloe vera contain a unique spectrum of micronutrients and the
natural chemical constituents of aloe vera can be catagorised in the following main area:
• Amino acids
• Anthraquinones
• Enzymes
• Lignin
• Mono and polysaccharides
• Salicylic acdis
• Saponins
• Sterols
• Vitamins

Modern research has proven aloe vera to be beneficial for many conditions. It has been used
effectively for treatment radiation burns, skin disorders, wounds, sunburn and dermatitis.
Besides, clinical trial has proven aloe vera also help with inflammation and ulcers. Test tube
studies suggested polysaccharides, such as acemannon, help promote skin healing by anti
inflammatory, antimicrobial, and immune-stimulating actions. Aloe’s effects on the skin may
also be enhanced by its high concentration of amino acids, as well as vitamin E, vitamin C,
zinc and essential fatty acids.

Modern research found that, when applied externally, aloe vera can help to speed healing and
restore skin tissue. It also aids in healing when used externally in cases of wounds, frostbite
and burns. The healing of burns may be due to the moisturizing effect of aloe. It is easily
absorbed into the skin preventing the air from drying the damaged skin. Older case studies
reported that aloe gel applied topically could help heal radiation burns, and a small clinical
trial found it more effective than a topical petroleum jelly in treating burns. However, a large,
modern, placebo-controlled trial did not find aloe effective for treating minor burns.
In clinical, stabilized aloe gel is applied to the affected area of skin three to five times per day.
Besides, treatment of more serious burns should only be done under the supervision of a
healthcare professional. For intestine use of aloe gel, two tablespoons (30ml should be taken
three times per day) for patient with inflammatory bowel condition such as Crohn’s disease
and ulcerative colitis. Remember, the latex form of aloe should not be used by anyone with
inflammatory intestinal disease including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or appendicitis.
It is known to help increase movement in the intestine, relieve constipation, promote
menstruation and aid in digestion. Anthraquinone glycosides are split by the normal bacteria
in the large intestines to form other molecules (aglycones), which exert the laxative action.
Since aloe is such a powerful laxative, other plant laxatives such as senna or cascara are often
recommended. For constipation, a single 50 – 200 mg capsule of aloe latex can be taken each
day for a maximum of ten days. However, for people with constipation, aloe latex should not
be used for more than ten consecutive days as it may lead to dependency and fluid loss.
Extensive fluid loss may lead to depletion of important electrolytes in the body such as
potassium.

On top of that, aloe vera has been found to help in preventing the formation of kidney stones
and to help reduce the size of the stones. It can help clean, soothe and relieve pain on contact.
It rapidly penetrates through all three layers of the skin to promote healing. It contains
salicylic acid and magnesium which work together to produce as aspirin-like analgesic effect.
Two small controlled human trials have found that aloe, either alone or in combination with
the oral hypoglycemic drug, glibenclamide, effectively lowers blood sugar in people with
type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes. In clinical trials, it is proven that the used of one tea
tablespoon (15ml) of aloe juice, twice daily. Treatment of diabetes with aloe should only be
done under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional. Okyar A, et. al. (2001)
reported in Journal of Phytother Res, A. vera leaf pulp and gel extracts were ineffective on
lowering the blood sugar level of ND rats. A. vera leaf pulp extract showed hypoglycaemic
activity on IDDM and NIDDM rats, the effectiveness being enhanced for type II diabetes in
comparison with glibenclamide. On the contrary, A. vera leaf gel extract showed
hyperglycaemic activity on NIDDM rats. It may therefore be concluded that the pulps of
Aloe vera leaves devoid of the gel could be useful in the treatment of non-insulin dependent
diabetes mellitus.

Aloe vera also been used as a treatment for vital diseases such as AIDS and may help prevent
the virus from moving from one cell to the other. According to Dr. Pulse's published report in
the Journal of Advancement in Medicine: "No adverse effects attributable to the essential
fatty acid capsules where observed nor any side effects of the nutritional supplementation
powder nor of the aloe vera juice. Most patients who were symptomatic reported that within
three to five days their energy levels improved, fever disappeared, night sweats stopped,
cough decreased or stopped altogether, shortness of breath decreased, lymph nodes decreased
in size, diarrhea stopped, strength improved, and the only measurable side effect of this
particular study was weight gain, which is a desirable effect.”

Aloe Vera therefore has a complimentary role to play in the management of various
conditions. It is very important however that people should always seek the advice of their
medical professional when the diagnosis is in doubt or where a condition does not
improve. Self diagnosis can be extremely dangerous as many serious conditions can mimic
more simple ones.