In the spirit of gift giving this Christmas, Nestlé Health Science encourages you to share the most valuable gift you could give to your family —the gift of health.

By opting for a balanced diet and ensuring the regular intake of nutritional supplements, you can put your family on the path to general wellness.

Maintaining a balanced diet during the holiday season is difficult. As you enjoy the celebratory spirit, you forget that overindulgence in food and drink can have a huge impact on your health.

Together with a balanced diet, it’s also important to opt for complete nutritional supplements that enhance the way your body functions and recovers from any risks you may experience, especially as you age.

Supplements specially formulated for the aging body are essential. A nutritional supplement that contains specific nutrients such as high-quality whey protein, prebiotics and probiotics enables you to regain the strength that you may lose as you get older. These nutrients target and invigorate body parts, enabling you to live a full life despite your age.

MakatiMed’s Cellular Therapeutics Center

Makati Medical Center shares some fast facts to help us understand what stem cells are all about through its Cellular Therapeutics Center (CTC).

1) Stem cells have two forms. These are embryonic stem cell and adult (somatic) stem cell. Adult stem cells reside in body tissues and can develop into the same type of cell as the tissue they are designated, such as muscle tissue.

Embryonic stem cells can develop into new, specialized cells which create bone, nerve, muscle and other tissues in the body.

2) Stem cells can be “programmed.” Stem cells are formed with no specific function, thus giving them potential to be “educated” to copy different cell types. Like kids who later become doctors, lawyers or engineers, stem cells can be educated to function like heart cells or brain cells.

3) Stem cells for therapeutic use can come from you, or from someone else. Stem cells can be autologous, or from the patient’s own body; allogeneic, or from a donor; and syngeneic, or from an identical twin.

4) Stem cells can be used to treat various diseases. Stem cells have shown encouraging results in the treatment of heart diseases, osteoarthritis, auto immune diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.

In the Philippines, MakatiMed is one of only four hospitals accredited by the Department of Health to engage in cell-based therapy in the Philippines under DOH Administrative Order No. 2013-0012.

MakatiMed’s recent participation in the International Society for Cellular Therapy Annual Convention held in Singapore is a testament to the capabilities of its Cellular Therapeutics Center. It presented a case report of a heart disease patient who was closely monitored for 15 months after stem cell administration.

Call MakatiMed at 8888999; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.makatimed.net.ph.