Detoxing the right way can help optimise body’s functions. It not only boosts energy levels and stamina, but also improves your skin & hair...
Detox for overall health
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hough detox literally means getting rid of toxins from your body, it is equally important for your skin and hair. There are too many environmental pollutants and chemicals around and most of the time, your body cannot handle them. You begin feeling listless and restless — and that is the time you need to go on a detox for a day or two. There are many ways to do it — fasting, being on a juice diet, or going off sweets/salt for a day are a few examples. If you stop overloading the body with food, the system gets some time to rejuvenate. Detoxing does lead to a little weight-loss, but a detox should never be done with that in mind. If one wants to lose weight, the best option is to exercise and follow a regular balanced diet. Detoxing once a week or month helps your system to flush out toxins and here are some simple tips to detox the healthy way... MINIMISE ALL TOXIN LOAD Stay away from refined sugar, saturated fats, alcohol, coffee and smoking. Also, avoid using too many chemical products on your face and body for a day. HAVE FRUITS AND VEGGIES When on a detox, include many fruits and vegetables in your diet. Take ones that are different in colour, because each colour family usually has a particular vitamin in it. You could have fresh juices — the canned and packaged ones have too much sugar and preservatives that may be harmful. If you are only on fruits and vegetables, you should aim for at least five-six portions a day. They usually have a wide range of essential vitamins and minerals and are also rich in antioxidants and fibre.
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STAY WELL HYDRATED Water is definitely the best option and so are all kinds of fruits and vegetable juices. Have green tea, camomile or rose tea. Avoiding caffeine, alcoholic and non-alcoholic fizzy drinks and aerated beverages are ideal. EAT LESS SALT Avoiding salt for a day is a great idea. In your general meals also, you should not have excess salt. HAVE FIBRE-RICH FOOD This is important because the fibre helps cleanse your system thoroughly. It will prevent constipation and also keep your digestive system healthy. WHAT DOES DETOXING DO FOR YOU... 1. Your organs get a rest because you are not overloading it with all kinds of food. 2. Stimulates your internal organs to remove toxins from the body and eliminate them. 3. Toxins and free radicals affect mental functions also so, a detox programme can help you deal with fatigue, sleep problems, memory etc. 4. Detoxing refuels the body.
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Stay safe & healthy this summer
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t’s forecast to be a long and hot summer, which means heat related-illnesses are likely to be on the increase. We look at the warning signs and how to keep cool over the holiday period.
It’s important to take care of diet in summer which will help you keep fit during the hot season. Summer are going robe here and it is important for one to take care of one’s health during the peak het spells. Diet, in particular, requires utmost attention in summer.here are ways to a perfect summer diet that will keep you beat the heat this summer: Time for some summer coolers Make it a point to include more liquid component in your diet. Liquid intake is very important during dry weather. Beverages like ice tea, cold coffee, cold coco and chaas are the obvious summer coolers which can be your thirst quenchers. Mock tails can also be prepared whenever in one feels like having something different. Aam pan a is one cooler which is not only mummy, but also makes for a healthy beverage with all it’s nutrients, so is lassi. Add a fruit punch Seasonal fruits like mangoes are very important component of summer diet. Having mango in your diet not only makes it
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rich in anti oxidants, but the vital nutrients in the fruit come with lot of health benefits. Similarly, watermelon and musk melon are other coolants which are rich in water and fibre content and are considered natural thirst quenchers. Stock up on fresh salad Toss us some salad from farm fresh veggies like zucchini, lettuce, boiled kidney beans, a dash of freshly ground pepper, salad oil and a hunt of soya sauce. Keeping it ready before meals is always desirable. Salad will act as a scrumptious filler both healthy and light. Go for less carb rich stuff More fibre rich and less carb rich diet will help the metabolic process. A fibre rich diet is both satisfying and healthy. So avoid vegetables which are known to be carb rich. AVOID HEATSTROKE THIS SUMMER Heatstroke is more serious because it’s a lifethreatening illness that happens when your core temperature rises above 40°C (104°F). ‘This is a far more dangerous, partly because you may not recognise it’s happening because sweating will often stop due to the fact your body becomes intent on saving as much fluid as it can,’ warns Dr Henderson. ‘This means the body’s temperature can rise to
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staggering levels, such as 43°C or higher,’ he says. Symptoms to watch out for in heatstroke include many of the symptoms of heat exhaustion. But there are also some more severe symptoms, such as: • mental confusion • hyperventilation (rapid shallow breathing) • loss of consciousness • seizures • muscle cramps • lack of sweating • frequent vomiting Heat exhaustion requires immediate attention. The best advice is to retreat to a cool place, loosen clothing and replace the lost fluids and salts with fluids and electrolyte rehydration tablets – such as Dioralyte. You should see a rapid recovery within half an hour – if you don’t, you should see a doctor immediately. ‘Fortunately, progression to the next stage is rare because most people recognise the warning signs. ‘But if there’s continued exposure to unusually high temperatures, with lack of action, heatstroke will occur,’ says Dr Henderson. Heatstroke on the other hand is a serious medical emergency situation, and should be treated as such, because it can cause unconsciousness within minutes of feeling unwell – as well as multiple organ failure, brain damage and death. While you’re waiting for assistance, it’s important to go to a cool, shady place, and try to cool down. Treatment at hospital involves cooling down the body to lower the core temperature and intravenous fluid replacement. If treated quickly, 90 per cent of people with heatstroke survive. If not, the survival rate is as low as 20 per cent – especially among vulnerable people, such as the elderly and the young. BEAT THE HEAT Heat-related illnesses claim the lives of hundreds of people each year, so it is important to take these precautions when working or playing outside during the hot summer months. 1. Drink plenty of water or other non-alcoholic
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beverages. 2. Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing that is light in color. 3. Reduce strenuous activities or do them during the cooler parts of the day. 4. Prevention is better than cure. Keep curtains and blinds closed during the day to block the heat and direct sunlight. 5. Close windows once the outside air is warmer than indoors. 6. At night, once the mercury drops, purge the accumulated hot air by opening windows and doors. 7. Halogen lights, dishwashers, cooking appliances and dryers all produce heat. Avoid using them during the hottest part of the day. Halogen lights are worth replacing to save energy, anyway. 8. Heat rises. If you have a two-four storey house, stay downstairs. Sleep there, too. 9. Electric fans create cooling air movement using minimal electricity. For extra cooling, keep a spray bottle handy and regularly mist yourself with water. 10. But remember that a fan only works when it is blowing on you. If you’re not in the room, switch it off. 11. Barley, rice or wheat-filled bags (used in winter as ‘heat packs’) can be put in the freezer and used as personal ice packs. 12. It’s the best excuse you’ll get to skip your lunchtime jog. Avoid excessive activity or switch to exercising very early in the day or very late in the evening, when it is cooler. 13. If you’ve got children, submerge some plastic toys in an ice-cream container filled with water. Freeze it. Then tell the kids they’re on an ice fortress rescue mission!
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10 lifestyle tips to prevent oral cancer
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ral cancer in India continues to be a grievous affliction affecting people from all walks of life, age groups and genders. To make matters worse, people tend to ignore their health in a bid to catch up to their hectic lifestyle. The scenario in the country has grown so abominable that India is known as the oral cancer capital of the world, with 86 percent of the world’s cases recorded in it. This is probably also due to the fact that India is renowned for cosumption gutka and tobacco products. Also, the rise in the number of cancer patients amongst the youth is a serious cause of concern, with many of them falling victims to the awful disease due to their consumption of oral forms of tobacco. There is a misconception that cancer is an unavoidable disease, the general tendency among most people is to blame fate or bad luck for the disease. The fact is that cancer like most other diseases are caused by a variety of lifestyle choices that we make throughout our lives. Smoking, drinking, eating junk food and a sedentary lifestyle as well as many more factors play a part in causing cancer. Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, Professor, Head and
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Neck Surgeon, Tata Memorial Hospital, suggests some tips and changes that you can make to your lifestyle to avoid the dreaded disease: 1. Quit Tobacco Chewing: It is a proven fact that tobacco whether chewed raw or in the form of gutka is the single biggest cause of oral cancer in India. 2. Quit Smoking: Smoking in any form whether cigarettes, bidi, pipes or hukka is well known to cause oral cancer. 3. Quit Betel nut and Pan masala: Betel nut or supari is an independent risk factor for oral cancer and it is the main ingredients of pan masala. 4. Quit Alcohol: Alcohol is an established risk factor for oral cancer. The carcinogenicity increases many folds when consumed along with tobacco. 5. Maintain Good Oral Hygiene: Brush and floss your teeth daily as bad oral hygiene is a known risk factor for oral cancer. 6. Regular Self Oral examination: Examine your oral cavity in good light once every month to look for non-healing ulcers, areas of bleeding, abnormal patches or any swellings, as these may be signs of cancer and early detection means better cure.
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7. Regular Dental Checkup: The dentist may be the first person to detect oral cancer, also inform him about any sharp tooth causing repeated trauma.
If you spot any ulcers or bleeding that do not respond to treatment for 2 -3 months, please get it checked out as it could be something much more serious.
8. Avoid Increased Sun Exposure: UV rays are a known risk factor for cancer especially of the lower lip. Try and limit sun exposure and ensure that you wear a good sun screen whilst going out.
10. Proper Diet and a Healthy Lifestyle: A diet rich in vegetables, fruits and nuts with regular exercise is known to protect from oral cancer. Most of us have sedentary lifestyles and we must try and balance this by doing some form of regular exercise.
9. Don’t ignore any ulcer / bleeding / pain:
How honey helps fight antibiotic resistance Our grandmothers have extolled the medicinal virtues of honey, for everything from cold and sore throats to colitis and even diabetes. Now add battling bacterial resistance to the list. That’s the finding of a study conducted as part of the 247th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society. “The unique property of honey lies in its ability to fight infection on multiple levels, making it more difficult for bacteria to develop resistance,” the study’s leader Susan M. Meschwitz of the Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, was quoted as saying in a statement. According to her, honey uses a combination of weapons, including hydrogen peroxide, acidity, osmotic effect, high sugar concentration and polyphenols -- all of which actively kill bacterial cells. For instance, the osmotic effect, which is the result of the high sugar concentration in honey, draws water from the bacterial cells, dehydrating and killing them.
bacterial virulence, rendering the bacteria more susceptible to conventional antibiotics”. Quorum sensing is the way bacteria communicate with one another and may be involved in the formation of biofilms. What’s more, unlike conventional antibiotics, honey doesn’t target the essential growth processes of bacteria. The problem with this type of targeting, which is the basis of conventional antibiotics, is that it results in the bacteria building up resistance to the drugs. Honey is effective because it is filled with healthful polyphenols, or antioxidants, she said. These include the phenolic acids, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid and ellagic acid as well as many flavonoids. “Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between the non-peroxide antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of honey and the presence of honey phenolics,” Meschwitz added.
Several earlier studies have shown that honey inhibits the formation of biofilms or diseasecausing bacteria.
A large number of laboratory and limited clinical studies have confirmed the broad-spectrum antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties of honey, she said.
According to Meschwitz, “honey may also disrupt quorum sensing, which weakens
Her team too found that honey has antioxidant properties and is an effective antibacterial.
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PASSIVE SMOKING Causes irreversible damage to kids’ arteries
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xposure to second-hand smoke in childhood causes irreversible damage to children`s arteries - increasing their risk of heart attacks or strokes when they grow up, according to a large international study published on Wednesday.
Of the more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer, the WHO says - and creating 100 percent smoke-free environments is the only way to protect people fully.
The research, which lends weight to campaigns for smoking to be banned in private cars and homes, found passive smoking leads to a thickening of children`s artery walls, adding some 3.3 years to the age of blood vessels by adulthood.
About 40 percent of all children are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke at home, and almost a third of the deaths attributable to second-hand smoke are in children.
“Exposure to passive smoke in childhood causes direct and irreversible damage to the structure of the arteries,” said Seana Gall, a researcher in cardiovascular epidemiology who led the study at the University of Tasmania. She said parents, or even those thinking about becoming parents, should quit smoking - both to aid their own health and protect the future health of their children. Smoking causes lung cancer, which is often fatal, and is the world`s biggest cause of premature death from chronic conditions like heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. On top of the 6 million people a year killed by their own smoking, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says another 600,000 die a year as a result of exposure to other peoples` smoke - so-called second-hand or passive smoking.
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ARTERY WALLS This latest study, published in the European Heart Journal, was the first to follow children through to adulthood to look at links between exposure to parents` smoking and thickness of the innermost two layers of the arterial wall, known as carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). Researchers from Finland and Australia looked at data from 2,401 people in Finland 1,375 people in Australia who were asked about their parents` smoking habits. The scientists used ultrasound to measure the thickness of the children`s artery walls once they had reached adulthood. The results showed that carotid IMT in adulthood was 0.015 millimetres thicker in those exposed to both parents smoking than in those whose parents did not smoke. Gall said that while this was a “modest” increase, it was nonetheless an important extra and irreversible risk for suffering heart attacks or strokes later in life.
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New method boon for kidney stone treatment
idney stone pain has been compared to childbirth in it’s intensity. If pain like that strikes in the flank region chances are you may be suffering a kidney stone attack. Kidney stones are responsible for 500,000 Emergency Room visits a year. Once the attack begins the only way it will end is upon exit of the stone(s). There are a few options; surgery, ESWL (shock wave therapy to disintegrate the stone,) and a little known herbal remedy. Modern fast paced lifestyle is leading to rising incidence of kidney stones in the world. Giving new hope to kidney stone patients engineers from Duke University in Durham have devised a way to improve the efficiency of lithotripsy. Lithotripsy is the medical procedure of demolishing kidney stones using focused shock waves. The engineers after intensive research devised that all it took was cutting a groove near the perimeter of the shock wave-focusing lens and changing its curvature,
wave was focusing on target. They broke apart synthetic stones in a model human kidney and in anesthesised pigs and used a high-speed camera to watch the distribution of cavitation bubbles forming and collapsing - a process that happens too fast for the human eye to see. During the past two decades, lithotripter manufacturers introduced multiple changes to their machines, but they couldn’t improve effectiveness of kidney stone treatment. While the current commercial version reduced 54 percent of the stones into fragments less than two millimeters in diameter, the new version pulverised 89 percent of the stones while also reducing the amount of damage to surrounding tissue.
Have less fear though, the simple remedy doesn’t involve surgery or other invasive procedures. First, make sure your condition is properly diagnosed by a medical doctor.
“We’ve developed a simple, cost-effective and reliable solution that can be quickly implemented on their machines,” said Pei Zhong, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke University. In laboratory tests, the researchers sent shock waves through a tank of water and used a fiber optic pressure sensor to ensure the shock
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patterns of activity.
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cientists, including one of Indian-origin, have found that our brain stores memories by their “temporal context” - what happened before, and what came after - and not by content. Very often, our memories must distinguish not just what happened and where, but when an event occurred - and what came before and after, researchers said. “We need to remember not just what happened, but when,” said graduate student Liang-Tien (Frank) Hsieh, first author on the study published in the journal Neuron. The hippocampus is thought to be involved in forming memories. But it’s not clear whether the hippocampus stores representations of specific objects, or if it represents them in context. Hsieh and Charan Ranganath, professor in the Department of Psychology and the Center for Neuroscience, looked for hippocampus activity linked to particular memories. First, they showed volunteers a series of pictures of animals and objects. Then they scanned the volunteers’ brains as they showed them the same series again, with questions such as, “is this alive?” or “does this generate heat?” The questions prompted the volunteers to search their memories for information. When the images were shown in the same sequence as before, the volunteers could anticipate the next image, making for a faster response. From brain scans of the hippocampus as the volunteers were answering questions, Hsieh and Ranganath could identify patterns of activity specific to each image. But when they showed the volunteers the same images in a different sequence, they got different
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In other words, the coding of the memory in the hippocampus was dependent on its context, not just on content. “It turns out that when you take the image out of sequence, the pattern disappears. For the hippocampus, context is critical, not content, and it’s fairly unique in how it pulls things together,” Ranganath said. Other parts of the brain store memories of objects that are independent of their context, Ranganath said. SHORT AND LONG TERM MEMORY Once a memory is created, it must be stored (no matter how briefly). Many experts think there are three ways we store memories: first in the sensory stage; then in short-term memory; and ultimately, for some memories, in long-term memory. Because there is no need for us to maintain everything in our brain, the different stages of human memory function as a sort of filter that helps to protect us from the flood of information that we’re confronted with on a daily basis. The creation of a memory begins with its perception: The registration of information during perception occurs in the brief sensory stage that usually lasts only a fraction of a second. It’s your sensory memory that allows a perception such as a visual pattern, a sound, or a touch to linger for a brief moment after the stimulation is over. Important information is gradually transferred from short-term memory into long-term memory. The more the information is repeated or used, the more likely it is to eventually end up in long-term memory, or to be “retained.” (That’s why studying helps people to perform better on tests.) Unlike sensory and short-term memory, which are limited and decay rapidly, long-term memory can store unlimited amounts of information indefinitely.
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Fried foods linked to obesity in people with genetic risk questionnaires, which was based on how often they ate fried food consumption - both at home and away from home. Body mass index (BMI) and lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, were also assessed. Genetic risk scores were calculated based on genetic variants associated with BMI. A new study suggests eating fried and junk foods, that most of us love to gorge on, have enough trans-fats, salt and sugar to lead us to an early onset of obesity and related chronic diseases, in people with genetic risk. Salt in fried food, however, is not the real problem, but, consuming trans-fats, or the ‘bad fats’ is a big threat. A team of US researchers analysed data from 9,623 women in the Nurses’ Health Study, 6,379 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and 21,426 women in the Women’s Genome Health Study. Participants
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The results of the study showed that regular consumption of fried foods was associated with higher BMI, after taking into account other dietary and lifestyle factors. In addition, the study showed that the association between overconsumption of fried foods and obesity was particularly pronounced among people with a greater genetic predisposition to obesity. On the other hand, the genetic effect on BMI among those who ate fried foods more than four times a week was about twice as large compared with those who ate them less than once a week. The study has been published in the British Medical Journal.
New approach to cure blood cancer developed Researchers have developed a novel and unique approach to treating Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), a form of blood cancer that often requires repeated chemotherapy treatments to which it grows resistant.
cells and re-sensitized them to conventional chemotherapy as well as novel agents. Because the CLL cells used were obtained from patients with this disorder, these findings are immediately relevant to the clinic.
The researchers, led by Alexey V. Danilov, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and HematologistOncologist at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, modeled the lymph node microenvironment where CLL cells are found in the laboratory. They were able to disrupt the activity of a pathway (NFkappaB) that ensures the survival and resistance of the CLL cells in such micro environments.
Danilov says that unlike other novel therapies that have shown promise in the treatment of CLL, this approach is unique because it does not directly target proteins within the B-cell receptor pathway. He also notes that other research models that mimic the natural lymph node micro environment have typically induced prolonged survival of CLL cells and made them resistant to in vitro chemotherapy. This research used novel model systems which reversed the pro-survival effects of the micro environment.
Danilov said that in this in-vitro micro environment, we used MLN4924 to disrupt the activity of the NF-kappaB pathway by targeting Nedd8, which controls activation of NF-kappaB, asserting that this decreased the survival of CLL
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The study has been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
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5 THINGS
TO IMPROVE SPERM COUNT AND QUALITY
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any couples try to increase their chances of getting pregnant by regularly having sex, taking vitamins and supplements, and changing their habits in order to increase fertility. One thing of concern for a couple trying to conceive is learning how to maximize sperm count. There are a few ways to do that, but some of the best solutions are to maintain a healthy diet, exercise and refrain from practicing bad habits. Read on after the jump to learn how you can maximize your sperm count, and increase the chances of getting pregnant. 1 Break bad habits: Avoid drinking alcohol, stop smoking and don’t use illegal drugs. All of these habits can reduce sperm counts and damage sperm, causing an inability to fertilize eggs. If these habits cannot be broken, reduce the regularity of each of them.
days: By providing a time span between sexual encounters, you are giving your body a chance to build up sperm in your system. Couples may also want to try to plan this schedule around the woman’s fertility. 5 Have sex in the morning: Studies have repeatedly proven that a man’s sperm count is usually higher in the morning and early afternoon hours. By the end of the day, sperm counts may be reduced due to stress, fatigue and a number of other factors.
2 Eliminate processed foods from your diet: It’s important to maintain a diet high in protein, vegetables and whole grains. Aim for a diet low in fat. When a healthy diet is followed, sperm count is enhanced because your body is healthier and your metabolism is functioning properly. When possible, opt for organic foods to maintain a healthier diet. 3 Exercise regularly: By working out at least 30 minutes per day, exercise may reduce stress hormones in the body that can damage sperm. Low impact exercise is best, such as Tai Chi, yoga or meditation. However, it’s important to not overdo and stress your body too much or participate in activities that could damage the testicles. 4 Limit sexual intercourse to every three
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4-ways to soothe a sore throat SALTWATER GARGLE Several studies have found that gargling several times a day with warm salt water can reduce swelling in the throat and loosen mucus, helping to flush out irritants or bacteria. Doctors generally recommend dissolving half a teaspoon of salt in one cup of water. If the salty taste is too unpleasant for you, try adding a small amount of honey to sweeten the mixture slightly. (Just remember to spit the water out after gargling, rather than swallowing!) FLUIDS Staying hydrated is very important, especially when you’re sick and your throat is irritated or inflamed. You should be drinking enough fluid so that your urine is light yellow or clear. This keeps your mucous membranes moist and better able to combat bacteria and irritants like allergens, and makes your body better able to fight back against other cold symptoms. What you drink is up to you. Water always works, but you can also change it up with something slightly sugary, like a watered-down fruit juice,
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or something salty, like chicken broth. TEA Tired of drinking water? A warm cup of herbal tea can offer immediate, soothing relief for a sore throat. What’s more, non-herbal teas— whether they’re made with black, green, or white leaves—contain antioxidants that are thought to strengthen immunity and ward off infection. For an extra boost, add a teaspoon of honey. It’ll help the “medicine” go down, and it has antibacterial properties that may help you heal faster. CHICKEN SOUP An age-old home remedy for colds, chicken soup can help soothe a sore throat, as well. The sodium in the broth may actually have antiinflammatory properties, and it can feel good going down. Soup has an added benefit when you’re sick: Eating can be painful and difficult with a swollen or very sore throat, so sipping some liquid nourishment will ensure that you’re getting the nutrients you need to fight off your infection.
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Alarming spread of drug-resistant TB threatens global health
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he medical aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has published a briefing paper about the alarming spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis, which they refer to as the “biggest threat to global health you’ve never heard of.” Tuberculosis (TB), which is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Standard TB is curable, but because of inadequate global response, there is now a growing epidemic of strains that are drug resistant, says the MSF briefing paper. For example, Medical News Today reported on a Lancet study that found patients in South Africa with untreatable forms of TB were being discharged into the community and contributing to the spread of the disease. The result is that deadlier drug-resistant TB (DRTB) strains are spreading at an alarming rate, even to people who have never had TB before. Drug-resistant TB is much harder to cure. Half a million new cases of it are diagnosed every year. Standard drugs do not work, and doctors have to resort to long, expensive, complex and arduous treatments that only cure half of infected patients, at best. DRUG-RESISTANT TB ‘IS EVERYBODY’S PROBLEM’
Every year, around 8 million people around the world fall ill with TB, and 1.3 million die of it. TB spreads when a person with an active infection in the lungs coughs or sneezes droplets containing the bacteria into the air and these are then inhaled by someone else. The disease usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other organs. Typical symptoms include persistent coughing, sometimes with blood, weight loss, night sweats, fever, fatigue and loss of appetite. INADEQUATE GLOBAL RESPONSE HAS LED TO SURGE IN DRUG-RESISTANT TB
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MSF Medical Director Dr. Sidney Wong says:”The DR-TB crisis is everybody’s problem and demands an immediate international response. It doesn’t matter where you live; until new short and more effective treatment combinations are found, the odds of surviving this disease today are dismal.” One of the reasons that DR-TB is spreading so rapidly is because only 1 in 5 people infected get the treatment they need. And when they do get the treatment, they have to endure 2 gruelling years of daily injections and have to swallow over 10,000 pills. Moreover, the treatments are toxic and make the patients horrendously ill, with some becoming psychotic or suffering permanent loss of hearing.
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Adopt sesame seeds and oil for good health O ne of the first oil seeds known to humankind, sesame seeds are used in culinary as well as in traditional medicines for their nutritive, preventive, and curative properties. Here are few medicinal properties of this food-medicine: 1.The seeds are incredibly rich sources of many essential minerals. Calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium, selenium and copper are especially concentrated in sesame seeds. Many of these minerals have a vital role in bone mineralization, red blood cell production, hormone production, as well as regulation of cardiac and skeletal muscle activities. 2. Sesame seeds are especially rich in monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid which comprise
up to 50 per cent fatty acids in them. Oleic acid helps to lower LDL or bad cholesterol and increases HDL or good cholesterol in the blood. 3. Sesame oil has been shown to lower blood pressure in hypertensive diabetics. Additionally, magnesium helps lower blood pressure and sesame seeds are loaded with magnesium. 4. Infant health/massage oil: A study says that massaging infants with sesame oil improves both their growth and post-massage sleep. 5. Relieves constipation: Sesame seeds are rich in fiber, which is known to pave way for a healthy digestive system.
Shortness of breath linked to heart failure Have you ever noticed shortness of breath while bending over such as when putting on shoes? Get alarmed as this may be a symptom of heart failure. The condition, which cardiologists at University of Texas’ (UT) southwestern medical center refer to as ‘bendopnea’, is an easily detectable symptom that can help doctors diagnose excessive fluid retention in patients with heart failure. “Some patients thought they were short of breath because they were out of shape or overweight. We wondered if there was something more to it. So we developed this study to further investigate this symptom,” said Jennifer Thibodeau, assistant professor of internal medicine at University of Texas. ‘Bendopnea’ is not a risk factor for heart failure but rather a symptom that heart failure patients are becoming sicker and may need to have their medications or treatments adjusted.
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To understand this condition, doctors enrolled 102 patients who were referred to the cardiac catheterisation lab for right heart catheterisation and found that nearly one-third of the patients had ‘bendopnea’. “We discovered that patients with ‘bendopnea’ had too much fluid in their bodies causing elevated pressures, and when they bent forward, these pressures increased even more,” Thibodeau observed. Bendopnea is a way for both doctors and patients to recognize something may be amiss with their current heart failure treatment. Patients should speak with their cardiologist or health care provider if they experience bendopnea, Thibodeau noted in a paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure.
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Energy drinks ‘pose threat to kids’ health’
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ighly-caffeinated energy drinks pose serious health risk to children, according to an editorial. It argues that the growing availability of energy drinks is a potential danger to the health of young people who are vulnerable to the effects of caffeine. Energy drinks contain supplements and vitamins and are required to list warnings on the label about consuming more than the recommended serving. Caffeine: This is the most common energy drink ingredient and one of the most widely consumed substances in the world. Caffeine tolerance varies between individuals, but for most people a dose of over 200-300mg may produce some initial symptoms: restlessness, increase heartbeat, insomnia. Caffeine can be found in other ingredients such as guarana, green tea extract, and coffee extract as well as many other names, so be aware of this when reading energy drink labels.
caffeine to consumers. “At a minimum, all products with caffeine levels exceeding 100 milligrams should have labels and advertising that carry warnings comparable to those required for caffeine tablets. To minimize use by children, there should be no advertising targeting this vulnerable group,” the editorial stated. Caffeine tablets carry warnings they should not be taken by children and that excessive amounts of caffeine can lead to irritability, loss of sleep, nervousness, and even rapid heart rate. The answer is not to increase caffeine even more – but to reduce, detox, and get the adrenal glands back to a healthy state. Remember it’s hard to pinpoint a safe dose because it varies from person to person and according to a person’s tolerance.
Red Bull is one highprofile example of a caffeinated energy drink. But the market for these products has exploded in recent years, meaning there is a growing number of products available that deliver high levels of
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• Fat is stored in the body as a reserve of energy • Excessive fat in the body leads to obesity • A useful measure of body weight is BMI or Body Mass Index • When a person weighs 20% over the ideal body weight, he or she is obese Causes: • Excessive intake of high calorie food • Genetic factors • Metabolic disorder • Certain medications Natural home remedy using honey and lemon juice: 1. Take 1 glass of warm water 2. Add 1 tsp of honey 3. Add 1 tbsp of lemon juice 4. Mix well 5. Drink in the morning on an empty stomach
Tips: • Eat 2 ripe tomatoes first thing in the morning • Have a bowl of cabbage once everyday. Cabbage contains tartaric acid, which restricts the conversion of sugar and other carbohydrates into fat These remedies are based on the principles of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of healing, and are completely natural, non-invasive, and can be prepared at home. Consult your doctor if the symptoms persist. Refer to the terms of use.
Natural home remedy using lemon juice, black pepper and honey: 1. Take 1 cup of water 2. Add 3 tsp of lemon juice 3. Add a pinch of powdered black pepper 4. Add 1 tsp of honey 5. Mix well 6. Drink 2 times everyday for 1-2 months Natural home remedy using triphala powder: 1. Take 2 tbsp of triphala powder, a commonly available ayurvedic herb 2. Mix it in 500 ml water 3. Heat for 5 min 4. Strain the liquid 5. You may add honey to taste 6. Drink this 2 times everyday
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What to do about your bad breath
ad breath can emanate from many sources. Certain foods, such as garlic, can become digested, absorb into your bloodstream, travel to your lungs and reappear as bad breath. Other contributors to halitosis include poor dental care, dry mouth, tobacco products and certain medications and medical conditions.
But what about those people who don’t have any of these contributors? Why do these millions of people still have constant bad breath? If this describes you, it’s very likely that your bad breath is caused by bacteria living on the back of your tongue. These little critters create a foul-smelling gas (called volatile sulfur compounds) that resembles the smell of rotten eggs. Unfortunately, these bacteria usually live so far back on your tongue that brushing your tongue with a normal toothbrush can’t reach them. Fortunately, there is a solution that appears to work for many bad breath sufferers. Here are four simple steps to, hopefully, curing your halitosis: Rinse with a mouthwash containing chlorine dioxide. Then gargle with your tongue sticking out. Studies show that chlorine dioxide is very effective at neutralizing the stinky volatile sulfur compounds created by oral bacteria.
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Scrape the back of your tongue using a specialized tongue scraper/ cleaner (can be purchased at your dentist) and going from back to front. It may help to pull your tongue out with the fingers of one hand and scrape with the other hand. The farther back you scrape off those little critters, the more effective this will be. Rinse the tongue cleaner after each scrape. Floss and brush your teeth with your regular toothpaste, taking care to brush the rest of your tongue and the inside of your mouth. Consider rinsing one more time with the chlorine dioxide rinse, keeping with the instructions on the bottle. Certain mouth conditions can exacerbate bacterial growth and odor, such as gum disease and dry mouth. Gum disease causes bloody gums, creating more elements for those pesky bacteria to putrefy. But it is a dry mouth that is the more common cause of bad breath. Before embarking on a treatment regimen for your bad breath, make sure to check with your dentist to confirm that your halitosis doesn’t have a medical cause. Otherwise, these four simple steps can hopefully save you unnecessary embarrassment and make you a much better seatmate on a plane.
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What your body odor means about you Most people spend at least a portion of every day trying to prevent body odor – showering, applying deodorant and even sniffing their armpits to detect any trace of an off-putting smell. For most people, body odor is completely normal; it’s the simple result of the interaction between sweat and bacteria on a person’s skin. “Body odor doesn’t necessarily signify anything, and you know a lot of our perceptions of body odor have to do with society norms,” Dr. Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research in the department of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, told FoxNews.com. But while the average person can easily control his or her body odor with proper hygiene, for others it isn’t so simple. Do some diseases make body odor worse? Certain rare diseases can alter the way a person’s body odor smells, according to George Preti, an organic chemist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, who focuses on the nature and origin of human odors. One such condition is trimethylaminuria (TMAU), which affects just 1 in 200,000 people. “Metabolic
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will lend a very different odor to the individual,” Preti said. “It’s out of the ordinary. In the bad cases, the individual will produce a rotting fish or garbage-y smell perceptible at social distances.” This rare condition is characterized by the body’s inability to properly metabolize trimethylamine, a byproduct of gut metabolism. As a result, individuals with TMAU develop an excess of trimethylamine within their body, causing them to give off a strange odor. TMAU is typically diagnosed in young people, and unusual body odor is the primary outward symptom of the disease. Other metabolic conditions, like advanced kidney and liver disorders or diabetes, can also produce strange body odors – usually in the form of bad breath. However, this typically only occurs at very advanced stages of disease. While bad smells or bad breath are not used to diagnose any of these conditions, some organizations are considering training dogs to detect these diseases by their smell. “There are groups looking to fund research with dogs as detectors because dogs can pick up the odor in people, particularly children who are not properly regulating themselves, type 1 diabetic children,” Preti said. “They can be trained to pick up this peculiar odor on the breath at an early stage and warn people that they are having a low or going into a high of blood sugar.” www.ahmedtimes.com
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Breastfeeding could increase healthy bacteria in infants
esearchers have suggested that breastfeeding until at least nine months of age increases prevalence in the gastrointestinal tract of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria, species which are known to contribute to development of a healthy immune system. In the study, the investigators sampled the gut microbiota in the feces of 300 children at 9, 18, and 36 months of age. The nutritional factor with the greatest impact on the composition of the gut flora was the time of cessation of breast feeding.
the investigators found that one particular enterotype-like grouping was prevalent at 18 months and another at 36 months, but the children frequently flipped a few times between the two. Corresponding author Tine Rask Licht, of the Technical University of Denmark said that the research could ultimately lead to supplementation of infant formulas-or food for adults-with specific bacteria or carbohydrates expected to promote a healthy gut microbiota.
The investigators also examined the microbiota, seeking enterotypes, or characteristic microbial communities.
She and her collaborators are currently involved in studies testing effects of such pro- and prebiotics in animal models as well as in humans, she says, noting that in Denmark, several multinational companies are also involved in this research.
While enterotypes tend to be stable in adults (absent antibiotic use or major changes in diet)
The research was published online in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Chronic pelvic pain in women
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elvic pain in women refers to pain in the lowest part of your abdomen and pelvis. If asked to locate your pain, you might sweep your hand over that entire area rather than point to a single spot. Chronic pelvic pain is pain in your pelvic region — the area below your bellybutton and between your hips — that lasts six months or longer. Chronic pelvic pain can be a symptom of another disease, or it can be a condition in its own right. The cause of chronic pelvic pain is often hard to find. If the source of your chronic pelvic pain can be found, treatment focuses on that cause. Chronic pelvic pain has many different characteristics. Signs and symptoms may
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include: Severe and steady pain Pain that comes and goes (intermittent) Dull aching Sharp pains or cramping Pressure or heaviness deep within your pelvis In addition, you may experience: Pain during intercourse Pain while having a bowel movement or urinating Pain when you sit for long periods of time Your discomfort may intensify after standing for long periods and may be relieved when you lie down. The pain may be mild and annoying, or it may be so severe that you miss work, can’t sleep and can’t exercise.
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Extremely scary sleep-related disorders
leep is supposed to be a time of peace and relaxation. Most of us drift from our waking lives into predictable cycles of deep, nonREM sleep, followed by dreamfilled rapid-eyemovement (REM) sleep. However, when the boundaries of these three phases blur, sleep can be sometimes scary. In fact, some sleep disorders seem more at home in horror flicks than in your bedroom, going beyond sleep walking and awful nightmares.
the night. They’re most common in children. The person in the midst of a terror may suddenly sit upright, eyes open, often yells or screams, and can’t be awakened or comforted. In some cases, night terrors mix with sleepwalking. After 10 or 15 minutes, the person usually settles back into sleep. Most don’t remember anything about their episode the next morning. The cause of night terrors is a mystery, but fever, irregular sleep and stress can trigger them.
EXPLODING HEAD SYNDROME This disorder occurs during the onset of deep sleep, when the person is suddenly startled awake by a sharp, loud noise. These noises range from cymbals crashing to explosives going off. To the person hearing them, the explosions seem to originate either from right next to the person’s head or inside the skull itself. However, there is no pain involved, and no danger, either.
R.E.M. BEHAVIOUR DISORDER If sleep paralysis is an example of too much immobility, so-called REM behaviour disorder is an example of too little. Sometimes, the brain doesn’t properly signal the body to stay still during REM sleep. When that happens, people act out their dreams.
SLEEP PARALYSIS During REM sleep, dream activity ramps up and the voluntary muscles of the body become immobile. This temporary paralysis keeps us from acting out our dreams and hurting ourselves. Sometimes, though, the paralysis persists even after the person wakes up. You know you are awake and you want to move. But you just can’t. Sleep paralysis coincides with hallucinations. And these hallucinations, when they occur with sleep paralysis, are no picnic; people commonly report sensing an evil presence, along with a feeling of being crushed or choked. Studies have found that certain factors — such as age, sleep deprivation and irregular sleeping patters — make you more likely to get sleep paralysis. Night terrors Unlike nightmares, night terrors occur early in
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They may yell, thrash, punch and kick, and even get out of bed and run around. When woken up, they’ll usually remember their dream, but fat chance that they’ll recall moving around. Given the violence of these outbursts, injuries are common. REM behaviour disorder occurs most often among older adults, and it can be a symptom of Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder. Doctors usually treat the disorder with medications that reduce REM sleep and relax the body. NOCTURNAL EATING People with sleep-related eating disorder go on eating binges at night, only to wake the next morning with little to no memory of the event. Some endanger themselves by chopping ingredients or turning on the stove. Others eat raw ingredients, like frozen food or plain butter. The disorder is poorly understood, but, like sleepwalking, it occurs during non-REM sleep.
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