Open your eyes to eyeball jewelry

My daughter is a student in Amsterdam and she’s bugging me about the latest trend that’s hitting the young and young-at-heart: It’s eyeball jewelry! I think I have to put my foot down on this one! She had her navel pierced and her ankle tattoed. I allowed her to do this because she told me that all her friends had done it. But eyeball jewelry is really out of this world. What will they think of next? Anyway, could you explain to me what this stupid fashion is all about?

Appalled Mother

Indeed, what will they think of next! It seems that Dutch eye surgeons at the Ophthalmic Research and Development Institute in Rotterdam have pioneered a kind of cosmetic procedure that does eye jewelry. In an experiment they conducted recently, the eye surgeons implanted tiny pieces of jewelry called "JewelEye" in the mucous membrane of the eyes of six women and one man. The procedure involves inserting a 0.13-inch wide piece of specially developed jewelry – the range includes a glittering half moon or heart – into the eye’s mucous membrane under local anesthetic at a cost of $610 to $1,232.

The piece of jewelry is inserted in the conjunctiva – the mucous membrane lining the inner surface of the eyelids and front of the eyeball – in sterile conditions using an operating microscope. The procedure takes about 15 minutes. "Without doing any harm to the eye we can implant a jewel in the conjunctiva," says Gerrit Melles, director of the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery. "So far we have not seen any side effects or complications and we don’t expect any in the future."

The Rotterdam-based institute, which develops new ocular surgical techniques in corneal, cataract and retinal surgery, developed and patented the jewelry made with special materials and the surgical procedure. So in effect, the jewelry has to be bought from them.

The institute carries out the procedure in cooperation with an eye clinic in the city of Ultrecht and they have a long waiting list of people wanting the implant.

"In my view, it is a little more subtle than body piercing. It is a bit of a fun thing and a very personal thing for people, " said Gerrit Melles.

In my opinion, this is a bit too much of a fun thing to allow your daughter to indulge in. It is also a costly procedure. Allowing your daughter to indulge in all the latest fashion trends at her young age is not good for her character formation. Next thing you know, she would want to pierce her nose, her eyebrows, her chin, her tongue and her private parts, etc.

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Keeping The Weight Off

I am taking my three children for a two-week summer break in Baguio. I know that it will take a lot of will power on my part to keep my weight down as eating well is part of enjoying a vacation. I have lost a lot of weight from dieting and exercising and I don’t wish to pack it back. I had a difficult time losing 10 lbs. and now that I look and feel good, I want to keep it that way. Any tips on how to keep slim all the way?

Serious On Maintaining Weight

Weight loss isn’t easy and staying slim is tricky. That’s why a lifestyle overhaul works better than dieting. At the Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Tucson, Arizona, Michael Hewitt, director for exercise science, believes in positive thinking. "Once you have reached your desired weight, tell yourself that your body is absolutely perfect. Maybe you are not as lean as you want to be, but within your genetic potential, which you can’t escape, your body has adapted perfectly to your patterns of eating, exercise, and the way you’ve been living your life." Translation: I’m OK, you’re OK, but we sure aren’t perfect. A lifestyle change is necessary to become slim and stay that way.

Maintaining your weight loss begins in your mind. "Visualize how you want to look. Then decide what you have to do to get there. To maintain a leaner, lighter you, how will you have to live your life?"

The answer is cutting down on calories. Maintaining your weight requires constant vigilance. Metabolism slows down 10 percent every decade. You need to cut back on the calories or they will catch up on you. If you want that piece of cake, you have to figure out what you have to trade for it: like skipping a glass of wine and potato salad and having green salad for your meal instead.

Another tip is to eat breakfast. When you wake up, your metabolic weight is low. When you put food in your system, it gets your metabolism going. You have to make sure you have protein in your breakfast so you are not starving two hours later. It makes you less hungry for other meals and helps you control what you eat.

Exercise is the other side of the equation. While there’s no surefire formula, there are basic guidelines:

1) To maintain good health, do 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week. Try walking fast – fast enough that you are slightly out of breath.

2) For weight loss, do 40 minutes of aerobic exercise four times or more in a week. Enroll in a gym and get into an exercise program and go as often as you can.

But if you have tried and tried but work and family must take priority, make self-acceptance your goal, says Hewitt. "Stop beating yourself up that you’re not a super model. Work toward being healthy enough so you have the energy you need to enjoy your life. If you are doing the best you can, accept that this is a good weight for you." It is indeed healthy to have priorities besides weight loss.

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For your questions, write to Mayenne Carmona
at Star Gate Media Inc. 6th floor Jaka Bldg., Ayala Ave. Makati City.