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Posted by Elizebath Bijoy Thursday, December 29, 2011 0 comments


Next time, when you reach for that bar of Hershey's, know that it only takes a bite or two of chocolate to get the benefits.
A new study has suggested that a daily bite of chocolate could bolster your workouts, reports theNew York Daily News.
Scientists gave a group of mice a twice-daily dose of purified form of epicatechin, cacao's chief beneficial compound. These mice outperformed the group of mice who had not been given the chocolate-y supplement, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego.
The cacao chemical also increased the physiological response in the test group's leg muscles.
Dark chocolate in tiny amounts has also been shown to lower blood pressure.

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SPICY FOOD AFFECTS METABOLISM

Posted by Elizebath Bijoy Friday, December 16, 2011 0 comments


Spicy food is one of the good things that India has to offer to the world. You may eat spicy food just for the thrill of it, but research suggests spicy foods may offer health benefits as well.
Exploring the physiological connection between spicy foods and an increase in your body's metabolic rate may make you appreciate the heat of spicy foods a little more than you already do and may tempt you to spice up your meals more frequently, whether you're a spice aficionado or someone looking for a metabolic boost.

The capsaicin heat
When you eat spiced foods, not only does your tongue tingle and burn, but sweat beads on your brow, and you may even feel physically hot and begin to pant for breath and reach for water. This is due to the action, within your body, of a chemical called capsaicin, the source of the spicy heat from hot peppers such as jalapenos, red peppers and chili peppers. Interestingly enough, capsaicin's heat-inducing properties are so pronounced that the chemical is used not only to spice up foods, but also as an active ingredient in topical anti-inflammatory creams for muscle aches and joint pain as well as in self-defense pepper spray, reports the Florida State University.

Effects of capsaicin on metabolism and body temperature
Meals that are spiced with hot peppers have the capability to raise your body's metabolic rate by as much as 20 percent, simply by consuming spicy foods. This effect is temporary and lasts only up to 30 minutes after you consume spicy foods. This affects your body's basal, or resting, metabolic rate. The body's metabolism works as a cycle, converting food energy to energy your body uses to perform many vital functions, including regulating body temperature. Capsaicin can raise your body temperature with its chemical heat, contributing to the temporary increase in your overall basal metabolic cycle.

Spicy food and digestion
Another very important component of metabolism is digestion, and spicy foods affect this aspect as well. Foods with added hot peppers can increase the secretion of saliva from the salivary glands in the mouth, and continue to augment digestion by increasing gastric juices in your stomach, as well as promoting the food-breakdown activity in your small intestine. This unique feature of capsaicin-rich spicy foods not only has the potential to speed up your metabolism through increasing the metabolic process of digestion, but can act as an overall aid for good digestive health.

Precautions you should take
Since spicy foods can raise your metabolism temporarily, you may be tempted to spice up everything you eat. However, use caution with the amount of hot peppers you add to your meals, since too much capsaicin can cause upset stomach and gastrointestinal pain. Talk to your doctor about other ways to speed up your metabolism before dramatically increasing the amount of spicy foods you eat.

THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT JUVELINA DIABETES

Posted by Elizebath Bijoy Monday, December 12, 2011 0 comments


It's 1am and, before the alarm in Evelyn Matafonov's bedroom goes off, she is already awake. Pulling on her dressing gown, she tiptoes down the corridor to her son's bedroom.
Michael, 15, is asleep, so she gently takes his index finger and pricks it with a needle. He doesn't stir as a drop of blood is quickly transferred to a special strip on a monitor she carries everywhere. Evelyn is relieved to see the blood sugar reading is normal.
But she can't relax. Next door, her 18-year-old daughter Ksenia is sleeping and so she repeats the procedure, smiling when that reading too is normal. Finally, Evelyn pads back to bed to nap for two more hours before she has to repeat the tests all over again.
Evelyn's children both have Type 1 diabetes - a disorder of the body's immune system that requires regular injections of insulin to help the body regulate its blood sugar levels. Michael was diagnosed first at the age of 9, followed a year later by Ksenia, who was 12 at the time. "We were devastated,' Evelyn, a British expat, tells Friday. "We had noticed that Michael had been very thirsty and was frequently drinking a lot of water and constantly going to the toilet. I thought it was a bladder infection. Apparently when your blood sugar is too high you're constantly thirsty, but I had no idea at the time."
Back home in Arabian Ranches, Dubai, the family were shocked by the news both children had the condition. "We had no family history and were told that our children had developed it probably after a virus attacked their system," Evelyn explains. It has been a great worry for her ever since; once, Michael's blood sugar dipped so low that he even went into hypoglycemic shock. "It was in 2007, two years after Michael's diagnosis," she says. "My husband just happened to check on Michael and saw him shaking in his sleep. We couldn't understand what was going on and a quick test revealed his blood glucose was incredibly low. Michael had been doing a lot of sport beforehand and the blood glucose in his body was trying to adjust but failing. He could have died."
He was rushed to hospital where he recovered, but Evelyn was so worried by the episode that she has diligently checked on both her children every two hours throughout the night ever since. "I haven't had a full night's sleep for eight years, but I don't mind being tired if it keeps my children healthy," she says. "If either of their blood sugar is low, I'll wake them up for a fruit juice or snack. It's the only way to make sure they will be OK." Michael now has an insulin pump, which works constantly, but he also injects himself after meals, while Ksenia has to inject herself morning, night and after meals. "That's a big responsibility for these teenagers," says Evelyn.
Yet she is eager not to let diabetes interfere too much with her children's every day lives. "The kids go for sleepovers to friends' homes, have been for overnight camps and once even went for a week-long diabetes camp to the UK," she says. "I just get someone to text me their blood sugar levels during bed time. The only time I was really worried was during the diabetes special camp when I was not allowed to get in touch with them for a whole week. It's hard not to let it take over your life. There's never a moment I'm not thinking about it."

What is Type I diabetes?
Evelyn is not alone. For thousands of parents here in the UAE, Type I diabetes is a nightmare they can't wish away. It's not lifestyle-related, but has genetic triggers, although little is known about it as yet.
While the UAE has been ranked as a world number two in the incidence of Type II diabetes (the adult onset condition that is largely lifestyle-driven and is aggravated by ingestion of a high-fat diet and obesity), with more than 25 per cent of the country's population suffering from it, few people are even aware of what Type I diabetes is or how it affects the children who fall prey to it.
Dr Abdul Razzak Al Madani, director of the Emirates Diabetes Foundation (EDF), explains: "Type I diabetes is a condition where a child's immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas." Insulin is the hormone in our body that helps move the glucose contained in food we eat into our cells throughout the body. This blood glucose is converted into energy. When the body detects a high level of glucose after we have had a meal, the insulin acts like a key, opening up cells to absorb the sugar and convert it into energy. Any excess glucose is transported to the liver where it is stored as fat.
In the absence of insulin, cells are unable to use the sugar and are starved of energy, while the high sugar circulating in the blood causes dizziness, thirst, blurry vision, irritability and ultimately can push a child into a hyperglycemic coma, or even kill them if left unattended for a long time, such as overnight while they sleep.
But few experts agree on the cause of Type I diabetes. Health nutritionist, Patrick Holford, suspects several things could possibly trigger Type 1 diabetes, including an allergic reaction, food allergies, viral infections, rapid cell growth, which he claims is probably dairy-induced, and a lack of Vitamin D. Meanwhile Dr Khawla Belhoul, director of the UAE's Thalassemia Centre, mother of a Type-I-diabetic and the founder of the Sweetkidz Diabetes Support group, says: "It has a genetic origin but in many cases an environmental trigger such as a virus affects insulin production." Dr Belhoul advises, "While Type I diabetes is not preventable, it can be managed well, so it is important to educate parents to watch out for symptoms such as frequent thirst and urination and loss of weight. Its onset is very sudden and often children reach intensive care units when they become very sick. If parents act quickly they can prevent the long term psychological damage, pain and suffering of the child." 
Alexander's story
Alexander Geisler's mother, Gilly, knows all about that. Her 12-year-old son was diagnosed with Type I diabetes when he was 7. "We had gone skiing to Czech Republic when Alexander developed cold and flu-like symptoms," she says. "When we came back to Dubai, we took him to the doctor. He was misdiagnosed as having a bladder infection. Then one day, all of a sudden, he was so lifeless and it looked like he had lost a lot of weight. We had to rush him to the emergency ward at a private hospital where they diagnosed him with Type I diabetes. We were devastated as no one in our family has diabetes."
Despite his condition, Alexander, who has learnt to jab himself with insulin four times a day, doesn't let it affect his every day life. He plays rugby, goes ice skating twice a week and has a scuba diving license. "If he looks after himself there is absolutely nothing that Alexander cannot do," says Gilly.
A bigger hurdle for parents is to educate school friends, teachers and nurses about their child's condition. Says Dr Belhoul: "Children with Type I diabetes often face a lot of discrimination at school for requiring needle jabs and having to eat before the pre-ordained food breaks to prevent sugar levels dropping. Teachers and school nurses need to be educated to deal with such children with more empathy, which they don't always have."
Looking ahead
A recent survey by the Landmark Group to mark its Beat Obesity campaign, revealed that more than 32 per cent of school children in the UAE are obese. These children are more prone to developing adult Type II diabetes. But, while parents can work hard at changing their children's eating habits and lifestyles to make sure they don't develop Type II, Evelyn and Gilly don't have such a luxury.
They, along with all parents of children with Type I diabetes, are working towards forming more support groups to disseminate information about this condition. "There is not so much of a stigma attached as there is very little awareness about it," says Evelyn, who has been working on sending information to her kids' school to let parents know about the condition. "I want mums whose kids have already been diagnosed with diabetes to come and join our support group.'
Gilly agrees. "A trouble shared is a trouble halved,' she says. "People have no idea what it means for a family to have a child with diabetes and what the child feels about it. It is important for us as a family to have people to talk to about this condition. I want Alexander to know that he is not the only one going through this condition."

How to cope if your child has Type I diabetes 
1. You might feel angry, depressed, frustrated. Cast aside these emotions and be optimistic for your child's sake 
2. Gather as much information on Type I as you can through the internet and local medical centres
3. Learn to monitor your child's blood sugar and act if it is low or high
4. Take your child to an endocrinologist, who will teach him or her how to administer insulin injections. There are different varieties of insulins - rapid action to be taken before meals and long acting especially for the night. Get the dosage set and make sure your child takes the required units
5. Get in touch with a nutritionist, who can teach your child how to count the carbohydrates units he is having. There is a direct connection between the amount of insulin units required and the amount of carbs ingested
6. Try to make sure your child has healthy, wholesome, freshly cooked meals with lot of vegetables and whole grains, which are digested slowly
7. Try to manage his or her diet so that they get to have their favourite food at least some times in a week
8. Once your child has adjusted to these routines, make sure he or she participates in all normal activities and does not feel awkward or different
9. Meet his teachers and friends and chat to them about his condition and treatments
10. Join a support group so that you do not feel alone in your ordeal and share your experiences with others
Spearheading an awareness campaign

As part of its initiative to raise awareness of and hopefully reduce the number of people suffering from diabetes across the region, Landmark Group, along with the Princess Haya Initiative for the Development of Health, Physical Education and School Sports (implemented by Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Association) conducted workshops and health camps in schools to inform children about juvenile diabetes earlier this year.
The campaign was aimed at encouraging students to implement an active lifestyle, educating them about the dangers of juvenile diabetes, and involved a nutrition assessment, as well as diabetes tests for the children. Such safe and non-intrusive procedures included Basal Metabolic Index (BMI) testing, which was conducted by qualified physicians from Zulekha Hospital, who was the medical partner for this initiative.
This programme also saw the launch of the first ever official Dubai Schools Football League. More than 48 league teams - 32 boys teams and 16 girls teams - demonstrated their commitment to leading an active, and healthy lifestyle by taking part in this initiative.


Data from 44 studies showed women with an unwanted pregnancy have a higher incidence of mental health problems in general.
This is not affected by whether or not they have an abortion or give birth.
But anti-abortion campaigners said the review sought to "minimise" the psychological effect of terminating a pregnancy.
Experts from the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH) used the same research methods they use to assess evidence on other mental health issues for NICE.
The work - funded by the Department of Health - came after concerns that abortion may adversely affect a woman's mental health.
Usually, a woman's risk of suffering common disorders such as anxiety or depression would be around 11-12%.
But the researchers said this rate was around three times higher in women with unwanted pregnancies.
'Equal risks'
The director of NCCMH, Prof Tim Kendall, said: "It could be that these women have a mental health problem before the pregnancy.
"On the other hand, it could be the unwanted pregnancy that's causing the problem.
"Or both explanations could be true. We can't be absolutely sure from the studies whether that's the case - but common sense would say it's quite likely to be both.
"The evidence shows though that whether these women have abortions - or go on to give birth - their risk of having mental health problems will not increase.
"They carry roughly equal risks.
"We believe this is the most comprehensive and detailed review of the mental health outcomes of abortion to date worldwide."
Prof Kendall said many previous studies had failed to adequately control for instances when women previously had mental health problems.
After a project which involved a three-month consultation, the researchers believe it would not "be fruitful" to carry out further studies into how pregnancies are resolved.
They say future work should concentrate on the mental health needs associated with an unwanted pregnancy.
Support need
Dr Roch Cantwell, a consultant perinatal psychiatrist who chaired the steering group, said the review was called for in 2008.
He said: "At that time, the Royal College of Psychiatrists issued a position statement saying the evidence on abortion and mental health was imperfect and conflicting.
"We all recognise abortion is a very sensitive and emotive topic. Our aim was not to debate the moral and ethical issues, but to focus on the available scientific evidence."
The scope of the review excluded reactions such as guilt, shame and regret - although these were considered important - and also assessments of mental state within 90 days of an abortion.
This was because the research was not about "transient reactions to a stressful event".
Sophie Corlett, director of external relations at the mental health charity Mind, said: "It is important that medical professionals are given the correct information to provide support for all women, but particularly those with a pre-existing history of mental health problems.
"This study makes it absolutely clear that this group is at the greatest risk of developing post-pregnancy mental health problems and should be given extra support in light of this."
Dr Kate Guthrie, speaking for RCOG, said: "Abortion, including aftercare, is an essential part of women's healthcare services, alongside access to contraception and family planning information."
And, in a statement the sexual health charities FPA and Brook said: "This review of evidence will reassure women who have had or are thinking about having an abortion that it's a safe procedure with no direct impact on their mental health."
'False belief'
However, a spokeswoman for the ProLife Alliance said: "Once again the politics of abortion blinds those who should be rigorously objective in assessing epidemiological evidence.
"This is a pick-and-mix report trying to minimise the psychological effects of termination of pregnancy in a way which does our so-called medical experts little credit."
And Dr Peter Saunders, chief executive of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said: "This new review shows that abortion does not improve mental health outcomes for women with unplanned pregnancies, despite 98% of the 200,000 abortions being carried out in this country each year on mental health grounds.
"This means that when doctors authorise abortions in order to protect a woman's mental health they are doing so on the basis of a false belief not supported by the medical evidence.
"In other words the vast majority of abortions in this country are technically illegal."
Reference: BBC health 
Public Health Minister Anne Milton said: "We are pleased to see the conclusions of this important review.
"The findings will be one of the many sources of information that we will use to inform our sexual health document that will be published next year.
"What is clear is that having an unwanted pregnancy has implications for people's mental health and wellbeing."

CEREAL WITH MILK BEST WAY TO START THE DAY

Posted by Elizebath Bijoy Saturday, December 10, 2011 0 comments

A new study has revealed that the healthiest breakfast choice is cereal with milk. 

According to the research, breakfast is the key to a healthy lifestyle determining the quality of your whole day's nutrition. 

And the best way to start the morning is with a simple bowl of cereal, as it makes people less likely to turn to fatty, sugary food through the rest of the day. 

The study, by nutritionist Sigrid Gibson, and published in the BNF Nutrition Bulletin, revealed that cereal is a good source of calcium and numerous other key nutrients, such as fibre, protein and carbohydrate. 

The research team analysed 12,068 food records from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, which interviewed Britons aged from 19 to 64. 

The results showed that one in five adults ate no solid food for breakfast, one third chose cereal and 45 per cent enjoyed a non-cereal breakfast. The most popular item was tea or coffee, taken on 84 per cent of breakfast occasions. 

Milk was consumed with 82 per cent of breakfasts, followed by cereal (39 per cent), bread (33 per cent) and fruit (14 per cent). 

Women were less likely than men to choose bread, sausage, bacon or eggs and more likely to have fruit instead. 

The study found that eating breakfast was associated with a lower fat and higher carbohydrate intake over 24 hours compared with skipping breakfast. 

But this was mainly attributable to cereal-based breakfasts as non-cereal meals were associated with a higher intake of saturated fatty acid and lower protein intakes. 

"This provides yet more evidence of the importance of eating breakfast and shows the value of making wise choices," the Daily Express quoted Newcastle University's nutrition professor Chris Seal, a member of The Breakfast Panel which commissioned the study, as saying. 

"People who eat breakfast cereal generally eat less fat, saturated fat and sugar than those who do not and have better intakes of protein and important micro-nutrients, such as iron, vitamins and calcium." 

HEALTH ARSENIC POISONING

Posted by Elizebath Bijoy Thursday, December 8, 2011 1 comments


What is arsenic poisoning?

Arsenic is known best as a deadly poison, although in small doses it does have medical benefits. BBC News Online looks at the workings of the chemical infamous for its deadly effects. Arsenic is a semi-metallic naturally-occurring chemical. It is all around us in the environment and we are all exposed to small doses on a regular basis. It is difficult to detect as it is generally odourless and flavourless, meaning people have little idea when it is around.
Arsenic can kill humans quickly if consumed in large amounts, although small, long-term exposure can lead to a much slower death or other illness. Studies have linked prolonged exposure to arsenic with cancer, diabetes, and thickening of the skin, liver disease and problems with the digestive system.
It has also been associated with nervous system disorders - feeling tingling or losing sensation in the limbs - and hearing difficulties. Small doses of arsenic have been shown to send some forms of cancer into remission, and it can also help thin blood. It can be present in many complementary medicines in toxic and sub-toxic levels. The homeopathic preparation contains no detectable arsenic
However, therapies involving the chemical are still in the experimental stages.

Symptoms

A person exposed to large amounts of arsenic - either through eating or drinking it - will usually die, and symptoms will appear within 30 minutes of exposure. Although the onset of symptoms may be delayed as the concentration is likely to be lower, there is a similar outlook for people who breathe large amounts of it.
Acute arsenic poisoning causes a metallic taste in the mouth, excessive saliva production and problems swallowing. The next stage is to suffer vomiting and diarrhoea coupled with garlic-like breath, stomach cramps and excessive sweating.
As the poison's effects progress, the patient will suffer seizures and go into shock, dying within a few hours. If death does not occur at this stage, it will happen a few days when the kidney fails.

Treatment and prevention

Initial treatment of acute arsenic poisoning is to wash any affected skin with copious amounts of water and to remove any contaminated clothes. The patient may need a stomach wash out or irrigation of the bowel with polyethelene glycol to prevent absorption of the arsenic into the gut. Other supportive measures include oxygen, intravenous fluids, blood transfusions and cardiac medication if the heart starts to fail. Fits will also need treating. Pain killers are given when necessary and kidney function needs watching carefully by the attending medical staff. Any burns will need treatment and severe poisoning will probably require a treatment called ‘chelation therapy’ with DMPS, or DMSA.
Chronic poisoning is best treated by removing the source, such as contaminated drinking water and treating complications such as diabetes and heart complaints. Chelation therapy is of uncertain value here but giving micronutrients may be beneficial if sufferers are undernourished.
There is growing concern about levels of arsenic in the environment, both from natural occurrence and from pollution. Forty million people in West Bengal and Bangladesh are thought to be at risk from arsenic-contaminated water supplies, although studies are continuing into what effect the poisoning is having. The contamination is thought to have occurred naturally, as a result of arsenic being released from rocks into underground water supplies.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has an ongoing research programme to look into arsenic in the environment and to establish what constitutes a safe level.



SITTING POSITION INCREASES THE FAT DEPOSITION

Posted by Elizebath Bijoy Wednesday, December 7, 2011 0 comments

London: If you happen to sit more often you are more likely to have a bigger bottom. Experts say that the pressure put on areas of the body used for sitting produces up to 50 percent more fat in those parts.

This can explain why couch potatoes and other sedentary behaviour makes you fat when combined with a lack of exercise. Even people with healthy diet and exercise habits will be affected if they spend long periods sitting behind a desk, The Telegraph reported Monday quoting researchers.

Researchers found that preadipocyte cells - the precursors to fat cells - turn into fat cells and produce even more fat when subject to prolonged periods of 'mechanical stretching loads' - the kind of weight we put on our body tissues when we sit or lie down.

Studying MRI images of the muscle tissue of patients paralysed by spinal cord injuries, researchers noticed that, over time, lines of fat cells were invading major muscles in the body.

This spurred an investigation into how mechanical load - the amount of force placed on a particular area occupied by cells - could be encouraging fat tissue to expand, according to the newspaper.

The research has been published in the American Journal of Physiology - Cell Physiology.


WASHINGTON: In another step toward finding Earth-like planets that may hold life, NASA said on Monday the Kepler space telescope has confirmed its first-ever planet in a habitable zone outside our solar system.
French astronomers earlier this year confirmed the first rocky exoplanet to meet key requirements for sustaining life. But Kepler-22b, initially glimpsed in 2009, is the first the US space agency has been able to confirm.
Confirmation means that astronomers have seen it crossing in front of its star three times. But it doesn't mean that astronomers know whether life actually exists there, simply that the conditions are right.
Such planets have the right distance from their star to support water, plus a suitable temperature and atmosphere to support life.
"We have now got good planet confirmation with Kepler-22b," said Bill Borucki, Kepler principal investigator at NASA Ames Research Center.
"We are certain that it is in the habitable zone and if it has a surface, it ought to have a nice temperature," he told reporters.
Spinning around its star some 600 light years away, Kepler-22b is 2.4 times the size of the Earth, putting it in class known as "super-Earths," and orbits its Sun-like star every 290 days.
Its near-surface temperature is presumed to be about 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 Celsius). Scientists do not know, however, whether the planet is rocky, gaseous or liquid.
The planet's first "transit," or star crossover, was captured shortly after NASA launched its Kepler spacecraft in March 2009.
NASA also announced that Kepler has uncovered 1,094 more potential planets, twice the number it previously had been tracking, according to research being presented at a conference in California this week.
Kepler is NASA's first mission in search of Earth-like planets orbiting suns similar to ours, and cost the US space agency about $600 million.
It is equipped with the largest camera ever sent into space -- a 95-megapixel array of charge-coupled devices -- and is expected to continue sending information back to Earth until at least November 2012.
Kepler is searching for planets as small as Earth, including those orbiting stars in a warm, habitable zone where liquid water could exist on the surface of the planet.
The latest confirmed exoplanet that could support life brings to three the total number confirmed by global astronomers.
In addition to French astronomers' confirmed finding of Gliese 581d in May, Swiss astronomers reported in August that another planet, HD 85512 b, about 36 light years away seemed to be in the habitable zone of its star.
However, those two planets are "orbiting stars smaller and cooler than our Sun," NASA said in a statement, noting that Kepler-22b "is the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a star similar to our Sun."
"The Europeans have also been very active, actively working on confirming our candidates," said Natalie Batalha, Kepler deputy science team lead at San Jose State University.
"They have already confirmed two that are published and they have got another batch that are on the preprint servers so those will be, I'm sure, in the published literature soon," she added.
"So we are just thrilled about this. We need all telescopes observing these candidates so we can confirm as many as possible."
A total of 48 exoplanets and exomoons are potential habitable candidates, among a total of 2,326 possibilities that Kepler has identified so far.
The top rankers are listed in an online catalog that indexes bodies outside our solar system, available online at http://phl.upr.edu.


Radiations from WiFi connections can reduce sperm activity in up to a quarter of men, a new study has suggested.
Conrado Avendano and his team from the Nascentis Medicina Reproductiva in Cordoba also found that working on a laptop wirelessly may hamper a man's chances of fatherhood.
The researchers took sperms from 29 men aged 26 to 45 and placed them either under a wi-fi connected laptop or away from the computer.
The laptop then uploaded and downloaded information from the Internet for four hours.
At the end of the experiment, 25 per cent of the sperm under the laptop had stopped moving and 9 per cent showed DNA damage.
By comparison, just 14 per cent of samples kept away from the wi-fi stopped moving, and just 3 percent suffered DNA damage.
Scientists from the University of Argentina believe that wireless connection creates electromagnetic radiation that damages semen.
"Our data suggest that the use of a laptop computer wirelessly connected to the internet and positioned near the male reproductive organs may decrease human sperm quality,' the Daily Mail quoted Avendano as saying.
"At present we do not know whether this effect is induced by all laptop computers connected by WiFi to the internet or what use conditions heighten this effect," he said.
A separate test with a laptop that was on, but not wirelessly connected, found negligible EM radiation from the machine alone.
The study has published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

HAIR & SKIN CARE

Posted by Elizebath Bijoy Monday, December 5, 2011 0 comments


Cosmetologist Dr Rekha Sheth shares her tips for healthy hair and skin.

- Remember that the most important factors that decide the quality of your skin and hair are your genes and family history, your nerves and emotions, and your immune system.
- Use an appropriate face wash meant for your skin type and wash twice a day.
- Use cleansers at night to remove make up and dirt before using a face wash.
- Use sunscreen everyday even if you are indoors - the sun's UVA rays come through windows too and contribute to aging, pigmenting and tanning. Ideally, sunscreen should be applied every three hours.
- Sunscreen should have an SPF of 30 or more. SPF is the degree of protection against UVB rays, hence sunscreen must have UVA protection as well. The usual UVA protection ingredients are Avobenzone, Titanium dioxide, Zinc oxide, Mexoryl and Tinosorb.
- Make up products like foundations, mineral powders and compacts do not have adequate sun protection.
- Indian skin tends to tan and pigment easily and patchily. There is a very thin line between tanning and pigmentation. If your tan hasn't gone in 4-6 weeks, see a dermatologist.
- It is advisable to use mild skin lightening creams as prevention. Look for botanical ingredients like Arbutin, Bearberry, Licorice, Mulberry, Ginseng, Gingko, Emblica, Turmeric - curcuma, Grapeseed and vitamins like C and A, and Niacinamide.
- Aging can be intrinsic, i.e. genetic, and can be delayed by exercise and, to a lesser extent, through diet. Extrinsic factors include increased UV intensity, increased pollution as well as stress. All these factors tend to dry the skin and make it more prone to pigmentation and aging. Hence it is important to start caring for your skin in your teens.
- Extrinsic factors produce Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which are naughty oxygen molecules that damage the cells and make them age faster. Anti-oxidants neutralise these ROS.
- At night, use a moisturiser with an age-protecting agent.
- For younger skin, look for ingredients with antioxidants like vitamins C, E or a whole range of botanicals like green tea, grapeseed or pomegranate extract, curcumin, etc. You might also like to look out for the following: Genistein, ECGC, Resveratrol, Idebenone and Coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10.
- Kitchen ingredients like fruits do not work.
- For older skin, look for the following ingredients: peptides, vitamin A and derivatives like retinol and other retinoids, Alpha, beta and polyhydroxy acids.
- Exfoliation should be done with extreme caution and only with modern bead exfoliators. Avoid granular scrubs as these tend to damage the skin microscopically, which can lead to slow, insidious and patchy darkening.
- It is advisable to visit a dermatologist at least once a year. There are a lot of nuances in skin colour, texture, smoothness, etc. that we can't see for ourselves. These can be detected by the dermatologist and mild creams/treatments can be recommended.
- Always use a conditioner after you shampoo your hair. It protects your hair and is a better option than oil. Conditioners neutralise electrical charge in the hair shaft and help in detangling. Conditioners also improve shine and to some extent repair minor frays in the hair shaft.Conditioning agents like hydrolized protein or silicons are added to increase manageability and shine in the hair.

BENEFITS OF COCOA

Posted by Elizebath Bijoy Friday, December 2, 2011 0 comments

would not think that cocoa would have any health benefits at all right? Well, they do.

Cocoa itself comes from the bean and in turn can be turned into cocoa powder and that can be used in chocolate or as a powdered drink. The main component in cocoa is flavonoids. The compounds that is found in plants and in plant based foods and drinks. The health benefits that are linked to the cocoa flavonoids is that the flavonoids as an antioxidants.


Antioxidants are known as free radicals that are smaller than molecules that are make up during the process.

The flavonoids act as antioxidants by cleaning up the free radicals in the cell and there fore limiting the damage they can cause. 



Cocoa can also be used as a protector of the heart. Cardiovascular disease is a very difficult disorder that can use many different mechanisms that do affect the blood vessel functions. In the early stages of heart disease, the artery walls begin to harden and in that case the walls restrict the flow of blood and clots may form and the condition could be severe. If a blood clot forms it can cause a heart attack or stroke.


The Oxidation of LDL cholesterol (bad) cholesterol by the free radicals releases the air which stops the artery walls from hardening.

Flavonoids act as a suppressant of the tendency for small blood cells and they can clump together otherwise t form blood clots. These are said to have an aspirin like effect.

It is believed that the flavonoids are cancer inhibitors, they can't prevent cancer but they have the power to inhibit many side effects.

It is proven however, that the flavonoids are used to treat diarrhea. The cocoa inhibits fluids that are found in the small intestine.

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Warm welcome to my health blog! This was introduced with an objective to educate and spread awareness among people, encouraging them to live healthier lives with longevity. Let me emphasize that our contemporary situation in individual’s life are so fast moving that we tend to neglect and spare some moments for our own health. My inspiration has turned into passion in a health care that turned into a blog. The ample of support and response was tremendously changed into positive results. I dedicated this blog for all those people who are very conscious for their health and life style. Hope so, I can bring differences for healthy living the fore my viewer comments are always valuable and your continued patronage is important for me. Wish you a happy and healthy life ahead!

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