The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Virgin coconut oil: Eat it and wear it! Posted: 25 Aug 2012 07:21 PM PDT  Tan Boon Yoong of BIOCOCO says that the vitamin E content in virgin coconut oil is 60 times more potent than other oils. — Picture by Choo Choy May Tan did not want to continue taking statins — a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol — for the rest of his life as he was concerned about the drug's side effects, so when he heard about the health benefits of virgin coconut oil, he decided to give it a try. And after taking it daily for three years, his cholesterol level has dropped from 5.8 to 3.6! Today this former advertising executive runs a company that manufactures and sells virgin coconut oil. "I started this company five years ago. At that time, the awareness of virgin coconut oil was not widespread and it was tough the first two years. My friend who is an agronomist is in charge of manufacturing and I handle the marketing and advertising," said Tan.  BIOCOCO's Skin Repair Serum is light and is absorbed into the skin easily. — Picture by Choo Choy May "Basically, we have six product categories. The virgin coconut oil is for consuming. We also have a moisturiser which is basically coconut oil and essential oils — it is very good for dry skin and eczema. Two and a half years ago, we decided to add the serum with tocotrienol vitamin E. Very few oils have this amount of vitamin E which is 60 times more potent than normal vitamin E. The serum is good for anti-ageing and pigmentation. We got a lot of good feedback for this serum. "The Skin Repair Serum is meant for the face because women don't mind spending for the face. Then we came up with a fourth category which is soaps because my motto is 100 per cent natural. Oil and water doesn't mix so we decided to just come up with bar soaps. There is no water at all and we don't put in any preservatives. Liquid shampoo or soap is a result of water and oil mixing and you need an emulsifier and usually a chemical is used to emulsify but because my products are 100 per cent natural we do not have liquid shampoo and soaps. "The fifth category is hair treatment and the sixth one is hair soap," added Tan.  Oil and water don't mix and that's why BIOCOCO offers bar soaps instead of liquid soaps.l — Picture by Choo Choy May The owner said that natural products should have very few ingredients and that these ingredients should be ingredients you can find in Nature. If you see chemical names and so on, then the product is no longer "natural." "I advise parents to use virgin coconut oil for their babies and children because unlike other oils, virgin coconut oil has lauric acid which is found in mother's breast milk. It is anti-bacterial and anti-viral which are an added bonus," said Tan. He recommends that people drink a minimum of one tablespoon of BIOCOCO's virgin coconut oil a day. "The most you can drink is four tablespoons and if you find the taste unpleasant, you can add it to juice, or any other beverage." Water doesn't mix well with oil so please don't try adding it to water! And according to Tan, once you get used to the taste, you will reap the benefits of the oil. For people with gum problems, you can gargle with BIOCOCO's virgin coconut oil. BIOCOCO products are not sold everywhere though. Tan works closely with organic shops to sell the products. "Our stand is 100 per cent natural and secondly, we use pure ingredients. We decided to be niche and we don't want to go into the mass market where sometimes it is diluted or too many chemicals are used. Our essential oils come from Europe and are all natural," he said.  The complete range of BIOCOCO products are made of virgin coconut oil, palm oil and essential oils and do not have suspicious chemicals in them. — Picture by Choo Choy May "There is this organisation in the US that gives information about products called EWG which stands for Environmental Working Group. From there you can see if a product has chemicals. We use that site as a guideline to help with our research." The price range of BIOCOCO products is between RM36-RM140 which is pretty reasonable for something fully natural and beneficial. Check out the entire range of BIOCOCO products on www.biococo.com.my |
| US gynaecologists alarmed by plastic surgery trend Posted: 25 Aug 2012 09:03 AM PDT  File photo shows a surgery to fix a cleft palate on a patient. In the US, female genital cosmetic surgery is a small segment of the US plastic surgery market, but it is growing, with thousands of women estimated to undergo such procedures every year. That growth comes despite a warning from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, in a 2007 notice to member physicians, that strongly questioned the medical validity and safety of female genital cosmetic surgery. – Reuters pic The Atlanta surgeon, who has performed gynaecological surgery for nearly 20 years, cites cases of patients who say their sexual response improved after vaginoplasty, a procedure to surgically tighten a vagina stretched by childbirth or aging. "Women come to me and say they don't have the urge to have sex anymore because they don't feel anything," Miklos said. "I guarantee that if a man didn't feel anything, he wouldn't have sex either." Female genital cosmetic surgery is a small segment of the US plastic surgery market, but it is growing, with thousands of women estimated to undergo such procedures every year. That growth comes despite a warning from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG), in a 2007 notice to member physicians, that strongly questioned the medical validity and safety of female genital cosmetic surgery. Earlier this year the group debated the trend at its annual meeting in San Diego. "None of these procedures have proven effectiveness, and there is potential for harm," Dr Cheryl Iglesia, a Washington, D.C., gynaecologist and former ACOG committee member, wrote in an editorial published in the June issue of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. "Women are being misled or are confused about what is normal," she wrote – and about what constitutes a condition that can actually be helped through treatment. Critics say the trend is the latest service aimed at women pursuing an impossible ideal of physical perfection, hyped by Internet pornography and advertising by surgeons who may not explain all the risks, such as infections, scarring, pain and the loss of the very sensations some patients seek to enhance. "Even when women are told of potential complications, like insensitivity of the clitoris ... they still may be unstoppable if they have the notion that they need a younger-looking or more perfect or more desirable vulva," said Harriet Lerner, a psychologist specialising in women's issues. More than 2,140 US women underwent "vaginal rejuvenation" last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons put the US total at nearly 5,200 in 2010. Experts note such figures do not include the many procedures done by gynaecologists. ACOG not only points to the risks of genital surgery but also emphasizes that female sexual response is driven by psychological factors rather than genital appearance. The group has asked its members to be aware of how they might unwittingly influence a patient to consider surgery. In practices across the country, doctors say more women, from teenagers to those in their late 70s, want to discuss the procedures, which can cost between US$2,500 (RM7,752) and US$12,000 and are usually not covered by insurance. "I tell every patient you are normal the way you are," said Miklos, who each year performs as many as 180 labiaplasties to cut back the skin flaps surrounding the vaginal opening. "I would never suggest that they get one. What is the right size of a nose, or a chin? That's up to the individual. It's her right to decide." FROM REPAIR TO AESTHETICS Corrective gynaecological surgery has been available for decades, including procedures to alleviate incontinence or sagging of the vaginal canal after childbirth. In the 1990s surgeons began offering procedures that promised the improved aesthetics, self-esteem and confidence associated with nose jobs or other plastic surgeries. "One side was longer than the other side. ... It was something that bothered me," said Kari, a 36-year-old labiaplasty patient of Beverly Hills, California, plastic surgeon Fardad Forouzanpour. (She did not want to give her last name.) "It makes me more comfortable. I like the way that it looks." She said her boyfriend was not involved in her decision, but she did "look at a few Playboys here and there." One patient, who did not want to use her name, said she had surgery because she hated the look of her labia, even though her husband had no problem with her appearance. Other procedures include creating a new hymen for "revirgination" and "G-spot amplification," which involves injecting the area in the front wall of the vagina with collagen or another filler to enhance sexual gratification. In some cases, patients may not leave satisfied. One way Miklos seeks clients is by running a website called botchedlabia.com, where women who have already experienced complications can get advice on revisions. UNDUE INFLUENCE Surgeons say many patients have been influenced by images of the waxed, buffed or surgically altered genitals of porn actresses. "They see these porn stars who have things done, and they look so nice and clean-cut," said Forouzanpour, who does 15 to 25 labiaplasties a month. "It is normal to have some extra skin, or some discoloration." While studies have shown some social advantages to plastic surgery that improves a person's overall appearance in public, like a nose job or face-lift, there is no data showing the benefits of altering one's genitals. "The ethical question is: How much are you playing on women's insecurities?" Dr Iglesia said. "Women are getting very much duped into thinking there is a standard look for the vulva." By all measures, Miklos has thrived on his expertise. Along with partner Dr Robert Moore, he now has practices in Atlanta, Georgia and Beverly Hills. He says he tries to stay away from procedures with more dubious outcomes. For example, surgery claiming to enhance the "G-spot," which may play a role in sexual arousal, raises red flags as no controlled studies have been done, or are likely to be done, to show whether it has any effect. "I don't routinely do them. People ask for them, but I don't want someone to pay US$1,000 and have high hopes," Miklos said. "People get upset when there is no response." – Reuters |
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