Diet & Lifestyle
Clear your myths about Diet & Lifestyle
Type 2 diabetes, Arthritis, Body aches, Muscular pains, Osteoarthritis, spondylitis, Osteoporosis, Obesity, Cancers, High cholesterol & heart problems are mostly caused by lifestyle mismanagement.
Below we provide information related to improving lifestyle in a simple, effective and economical way without needing to spend money on health products which are usually fraudulent..............
Clearing misconceptions for Social cause with safe healthy information without any advertisements or personal benefits.........
Pls use it and share.....open and free
Weblinks to the related information are provided and that too from very reliable scientific resources........
HEALTH
Tasty...........vs...............healthy
Healthy and tasty......salads with spices and lemon..
The benefits of intermittent fasting
“If you can make the informed decision of eating the evening meal an hour earlier and not snacking, you may be getting into that ketosis state by morning.....helps for removing fat from body.
Autophagy induced by fasting occurs in our sleep, but it is also brought on by exercise and starvation.
Water can cut hunger well.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220110-the-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting-the-right-way
Raw vegetables and fruit daily ............ ....500 gm to 800 gms...
10 portions a day......each portion is 80 gm
So over 3/4 kg or more daily........
This contains all vitamins, nutrients, minerals, protein, essential fat and carbohydrate - for good digestion and health....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/39071696
Forget 5-a-day, think 10-a-day! New fruit and veg advice
Your parents and teachers have probably told you to eat up your fruit and veg.
Or you may have even heard the advice we should eat five different fruits or vegetables every day.
Well new research carried out by Imperial College London thinks we should be trying to eat more like 10 different fruit and vegetables every day.
And if you're a fan of potatoes, some bad news for you.......
Deep-frying spoils all natural healthy benefits of vegetables and fruits
Always half-fry vegetables.......that too half plate..........rest salads
Sedentary lifestyle, poor dietary habits and pollution are the major causesof osteoarthritis cases in youngsters
Should we be eating less cooked food........Yes
Giving our bodies at least 12 hours a day without food allows our digestive system to rest, as hunger is often a psychological sensation, not a food need.
Fasting improves our glycaemic response, smaller blood glucose increase allows you to store less fat in the body.
Eat often but less calories.....eat late morning as breakfast was industrial concept for labor job.........try to not eat too late or early and try to not have huge meals......so we need fewer calories to be healthy....
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220412-should-we-be-eating-three-meals-a-day
Walking for 3 minutes every half an hour, few minutes every hour, standing more at work or while on phone help improve blood sugar levels in Type 1 Diabetes and health
The reality is simple ways of encouraging moving more through the day should benefit the vast majority of people.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-65349089
Diabetes - type 2 / adult or early age onset type curable without medications - by Diet & Lifestyle management.
The key is - low calorie diet, salads, exercises
Reverse diabetes even if from many years and those on insulin by low calorie diet with plenty of veg fruit raw salads and regular exercise.....
Motivation and sustenance of healthy eating and lifestyle is the key
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210917-why-eating-colourful-food-is-good-for-you
Eating varied colours for fruit and vegetables.
It's also worth noting that artificial colouring in foods, such as cake and sweets, sadly don't count towards a varied healthy diet.
There are other ways, aside from colour, to get a range of nutrients and phytonutrients from your diet, researchers say, such as paying attention to taste.
One study found that participants who ate bitter and strong-tasting vegetables over 12 weeks had lower blood pressure and blood sugar at the end, because of their fibre content and the range of phytonutrients they contain.
The study states: "Root vegetables and cabbages are rich sources of antioxidants such as flavonoids, carotenoids, and other bioactive phytochemicals; ingesting these combined in whole foods may allow for synergistic action, thus providing enhanced health-promoting effects."
Eating all the colours of the rainbow can help boost brain health and reduce the risk of heart disease.
It's widely accepted by researchers that we need a varied diet, and that one way to do this is by eating all the colours of the rainbow.
The proof may be in the Mediterranean diet, which contains a lot of fruit, vegetables and healthy fats as the healthiest diet by scientists.
It's no coincidence that the diet is packed with different colours, says Francesco Sofi, associate professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Florence.
"Eating a traditional Mediterranean diet means you consume different nutrients and phytonutrients," he says.
Phytonutrients are small chemical compounds produced by plants that help us to digest larger nutrients and also play a role in removing toxins from our bodies.
"However, the diet doesn't always contain every colour – it depends on the season, as followers of the diet eat seasonally and locally, and grow their own fruit and vegetables."
The benefits of intermittent fasting
“If you can make the informed decision of eating the evening meal an hour earlier and not snacking, you may be getting into that ketosis state by morning.....helps for removing fat from body.
Autophagy induced by fasting occurs in our sleep, but it is also brought on by exercise and starvation.
Water can cut hunger well.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220110-the-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting-the-right-way
What if the whole world went vegan?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/what-if-the-whole-world-went-vegan/p082l2r8
Vegetarian diet is very healthy in long term for humans.
It also saves the environment, reducing global heating and environment damage.
Ingredients for remarkable longevity......of living to 100?
Getting plenty of daily exercise
Eating LESS - only until the stomach is 80% full.
“Calorie restricted” diets ...... decreases the risk of forming damaging mutations in our DNA, which could lead to diseases like cancer.
“Calorie restriction appears to reduce DNA damage and improve DNA repair,”
Eat plant-based diet.....not even milk and dairy products
Social interaction, friendships and spirituality
Longivity of Okinawa’s residents in two of its most common ingredients: the sweet potato and the bitter melon – that may have life-extending properties.
Rice, the sweet potato has long been the most common carb on Okinawa has a low glycaemic index, meaning that its energy is released slowly into the bloodstream.
It is also dense with nutrients like vitamins A, C and E: antioxidants that can mop up damaging free radicals, and which also reduce inflammation, chances of heart problems ans cancer.
Bitter melon, Nutrient-dense marine organisms like seaweed, algae and kelp – all of which are consumed in Okinawa – are also attracting increasing interest for their potential to stave off age-related diseases, for instance.
A lifegiving landscape
Less researched, but equally tantalising, is the possibility that the very place where these people live may hold some clues to their exceptional longevity.
The Sardinian Blue Zone, for example, lies in incredibly mountainous, and breath-takingly beautiful, regions of the island – often called the “Selvaggio Blu” (Blue Wild) to describe the rugged terrain sweeping straight from the coast.
Most of the centenarians living in Sardinia were farm workers, leading Pes and Poulain to speculate that the steep slopes increased the physical activity of their already demanding day-to-day lives.
They were athletes thanks to the natural landscape and a traditional way of life.
Combination of many factors – some of which are shared between the regions, and some of which are unique to each individual place.
While that may not be as enticing as the discovery of a miraculous anti-ageing elixir or superfood, there are nevertheless many ways we could learn from these discoveries.
Eating moderately with plenty of fruit and vegetables, exercising plenty, drinking coffee and tea, and finding space for spiritual solace (whether that’s church, temple, place of worship or a long mountain walk) – these are things that we can all build into our daily lives.
The secret to a long and healthy life - Eat less
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170601-the-secret-to-a-long-and-healthy-life-eat-less
Permanently cutting the daily calories you consume may turn out to have a profound effect on your future life, according to some tantalising scientific studies.
“Calorie restriction”.... This diet goes further than cutting back on fatty foods.
It’s about making gradual and careful reductions in portion size permanently.
So reduction in the amount of food consumed per day has been linked to longer, more active lives
Eating less certainly seemed to help, but calorie restriction is much tougher for people out in the real world.
For one, our access to regular, high-calorie meals is now easier than ever; with companies like Deliveroo and UberEats, there is no longer a need to walk to the restaurant anymore.
And two, gaining weight simply comes more naturally to some people.
“There’s a huge genetic component to all of this and its much harder work for some people than it is for others to stay trim,”
Epigenetics..................................................Your DNA is not your destiny
You can change it for good
https://www.bbc.co.uk/reel/video/p08lzgyr/your-dna-is-not-your-destiny
Our lifestyle choices have a major impact on our gene expression and our lives
......That is Epigenetics
We can change our DNA and improve the effects of good DNA
Most Indians eat very unhealthy food........compared to rest in the world
Risk factors for Dementia include high rates of smoking, obesity and diabetes
Dementia cases expected to almost triple across the world by 2050
Coronavirus: Obesity increases risks from Covid-19
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53532228
Being obese or overweight puts you at greater risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19, experts say after examining existing studies.
Losing weight brings huge benefits for health.............
Ultra-processed foods 'make you eat more'
Ultra-processed foods lead people to eat more and put on weight"
"It's suggestive that this may be playing a role in the larger population."
the "obesity epidemic"..........ultra-processed food more palatable, ate more quickly and consequently more -
possibly because it took longer for them to feel full.
"A very interesting outcome of the study is the cost-per-energy:
the ultra-processed diet was considerably cheaper than the unprocessed control diet, and this is likely to have implications from a public health point of view."
Ultra-processed food linked to early death
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48446924
Ultra-processed foods - such as chicken nuggets, burgers, ice cream and breakfast cereals - have been linked to early death and poor health, scientists say.
Their studies suggesting ultra-processed foods lead to overeating.
Overweight or obese make people ill and sick.
Why is being obese a risk?
The more overweight you are, the more fat you're carrying, the less fit you are and the lower your lung capacity.
This means it is a bigger struggle to get oxygen into the blood and around the body.
This impacts on the heart and blood flow too.
"Because people are more overweight, they also have a demand for more oxygen.
So that means their system is actually undergoing greater pressure," says Prof Naveed, from the University of Glasgow.
During an infection like coronavirus, this can be serious.
"Eventually the obese body becomes overwhelmed by the lack of oxygen getting to the major organs," says Dr Dyan Sellayah, from the University of Reading.
That is one reason why overweight and obese people in intensive care are more likely to need assistance with breathing and support with kidney function.
The ability of the body to fight off the virus - known as the immune response - is not as good in people who are obese.
That's due to inflammation driven by immune cells called macrophages interfere with how our cells respond to infection.
According to scientists, this can lead to a 'cytokine storm' causes excess inflammation and serious harm.
This may explain why people from Asia, African and ethnic minority backgrounds (BAME), who have more of this type of tissue, "have elevated rates of diabetes, and may be more vulnerable to the virus," Dr Sellayah says.
Obesity often comes with other health issues, such as a weak heart, lungs, kidney or type 2 diabetes.
Blood clots are also more likely to develop, but it's not clear why.
What about hospital care?
There can be challenges when it comes to managing patients with obesity, more difficult to intubate them, and to scan them because of weight limits.
What can I do to be healthy?
The best way is to eat a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly.
Fast walking, cycling are good options, even with social distancing measures in force.
Eat slowly and eat healthy.
How bad is obesity problem?
Clear link with deprivation.............
As well as putting people at risk of complications from coronavirus, being obese is also linked to a higher risk of other conditions - from heart disease, diabetes and cancer, to problems during pregnancy and joint pain.
Supplements: a waste of time?
The majority of clinical trials to date have found no evidence that taking individual or combinations of antioxidants can offer healthy people protection against disease.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zwpyvcw
A quick fix for good health?
Eating a diet rich in some antioxidants has been shown to protect against the development of coronary heart disease, strokes, some cancers and age-related diseases.
Diabetes is no more a life-long condition
An HbA1c blood test count below 6.5 three months after stopping medication qualifies as “diabetes in remission.”
A sugar imbalance disorder that increases a patient's risk to heart disease, stroke, blindness and kidney failure among other morbid conditions, diabetes needn't be a lifelong condition as it was once feared to be, according to the new endocrinology guidelines released in August.
An HbA1c blood test count below 6.5 three months after stopping medication qualifies as “diabetes in remission.”
Moreover, on the bright side, unlike cancer which needs months or years of rigorous treatment, diabetes remission could even be reached without medicines.
“Type II diabetes is mainly a lifestyle disease.
There is now enough evidence to state that in the first decade of the disease, remission is possible with lifestyle modifications alone,”
Shed those extra seven kilos andHbA1c levels dropped to 5.3.
“We use the ABCDE rule,”.
‘A’ stands for patient’s age and denotes that younger people have better chance at remission
‘B’ stands for body weight to mean higher the weight, more the chances of reduction.
“C stands for Cpeptide marker to check the working of pancreas
‘D’ is for duration of diabetes. So a person who has had diabetes for 20 years may not be able to get into remission while a patient who is only two years into the diagnosis has a better chance
‘E’ stands for the patient’s enthusiasm.
“If patients monitor their stress, manage adequate sleep and keep off substances, they should be able to get into remission,”
“It is possible to reverse early diabetes in patients who are obese by using diets, drugs and sometimes bariatric surgery in order to lose 10-12 kg weight.
Diet to reverse diabetes must be initiated under expert supervision.
Luckily nature has provided us with a balanced package of antioxidants.
There is certainly no evidence to suggest that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables can be bad for you.
Taking many vitamin supplements can lead to unwanted side effect
The pills could irritate the oesophagus, or allow some stomach acid to creep back up the oesophagus when it enters the stomach.
The pills could irritate the oesophagus, or allow some stomach acid to creep back up the oesophagus when it enters the stomach.
There's no definitive evidence that they confer health benefits.
Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, and whole grains, should help to regain the extra nutrients that the body needs……..it may be a good idea to stop taking the supplements altogether.
Liquid vitamins could be an alternative. It will be easier to swallow and minimise irritation.
Vitamin D pills, fish oil no guard against cancer or heart diseases
Vitamin D and fish oil supplements do not lower the risk of heart disease and cancer in healthy adults, says a study.
Vitamin D was no better than placebo for lowering the risk of heart disease and cancer. There were similar conclusions for omega-3 fatty acid supplements, which people consume as fish oil.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51674313
Fish oil pills 'no benefit' for diabetes / cancer
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-49419462
"This is really expensive stuff.
If somebody's at risk of diabetes, there are much better things to spend money on, like a physical activity.
Douglas Twenefour, deputy head of care at Diabetes UK, said:
"Eating a healthy, varied diet is incredibly important, - including fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, yoghurt and cheese - can help to lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.
Complementary cancer therapy pills 'do more harm than good'
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50409431
Cancer patients should tell their doctors if they are taking herbal products because some of the ingredients could stop their treatment working, a cancer conference has heard.
Garlic, ginger and ginkgo pills, for example, can delay the healing of skin wounds when breast cancer spreads.
There was no evidence that herbal therapies or creams worked.
If in doubt, it was best not to take anything.
With a lot of unproven information available online and little reliable research into these products.
Therapies like yoga, mindfulness could have a positive impact on patients' quality of life.
Scrap 'quick-fix diets and tea-toxes'
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50946224
If you have to lose some weight, avoid fad diets, because they don't work and can be harmful, says NHS England's top doctor.
Diet pills, "tea-toxes" and appetite suppressant products are no quick fix.
Products making this claim can have side-effects, including diarrhoea and heart issues, he warns.
Getting in shape safely takes time and requires eating sensibly, and exercise.
Party drips
Model Kendall Jenner was hospitalised following a bad reaction to a nutrient therapy IV drip, made up of saline solution, magnesium, calcium, B vitamins and vitamin C.
In extreme cases, regularly resorting to drips for hangover cures can cause nausea, liver damage, or death due to a toxic overdose of vitamin A.
The NHS has tips to help people achieve their New Year health goals:
Lose weight: start the NHS 12-week weight loss plan
Quit smoking: download the NHS Smokefree app for advice and a free personal quit plan
Get active: boost your fitness with fun and practical ideas to help you get into shape, including Couch to 5K, Strength and Flex and the NHS Fitness Studio
Drink less alcohol: calculate your units, get tips on cutting down, track your drinking and find out where to get help and support
Eat more fruit and veg: whether you're cooking for a family or eating on the go, our tips and recipes can help you get your five a day
How to spot a fad diet
The British Dietetic Association (BDA) advises people to stay away from diets that promote a magic ingredient or product to solve your weight problem, without you having to change your lifestyle in any way.
Any diet that promises rapid weight loss of more than 2lbs (0.9kg) of body fat a week is also dubious.
Fad diets often promote eating only one type of food or avoiding whole food groups.
And don't be fooled by celebrity endorsement - if it sounds too good to be true, the chances are it is.
The BDA says: "Eat a nutritionally balanced and varied diet, and be physically active."
The notion of "detox" is nonsense, says the BDA
Avoid alcohol and get more sleep, fresh air and exercise.
The body has its own built-in system to detoxify and remove waste.
There are no pills or specific drinks, patches or lotions that can do a magic detoxifying job.
Is it better to avoid milk?
While calcium is good for bones.............................
but extra calcium does not prevent fractures
A number of studies have found no significant decrease in fracture risk from drinking milk.
Some research suggests that milk could actually contribute to fracture risk.
One study in Sweden found that women who drank more than 200 ml of milk daily – had a higher risk of fractures..
The UK National Health Service recommends children between the age of one and three consume 250 ml milk for calcium.
But when it comes to adults, research as to whether cow’s milk helps to keep our bones healthy is conflicting.
“Only very high milk intake can be bad, but there’s no research suggesting that moderate intake is harmful,” he says.
Soya milk is the best replacement for cow’s milk in terms of protein, as it’s the only one with comparable protein content.
But the proteins in alternative drinks may not be “true” protein
Whatever you decide, you won’t necessarily be missing out on vital nutrients if you eat a balanced diet.
In most cases, a substitute, or substitutes, can be used in place of milk.
It’s not necessary to drink milk.
“It can be replaced with other products – there’s no single food that’s absolutely necessary to our health.”
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191123-what-milk-is-best-cows-dairy-free-alternative
Watch out for sports drinks
Sports drinks contain salts and sugars.
Many of them are packed with carbohydrates however – which means they also contain calories.
Unless you have over burnt as professional atheletes, it’s wiser to choose simple water, or a zero-calorie electrolyte drink and avoid the hidden calories.
Activity doesn’t just mean the gym
Moving more doesn’t mean you need to join a gym.
From walking up stairs to gardening, any activity that gets your heart rate going and your muscles moving will have an effect.
Walk your way to weight loss
You don’t necessarily need to take up a high intensity Zumba class to lose weight either.
Research shows that moderate exercise, such a walking, can be just as effective for weight loss since it doesn’t trigger the appetite hormones, which can lead to you reaching for the biscuit tin after a hard workout.
Move more, eat wisely
There’s little point in going to the gym five times a week if you’re going to undo it by eating a poor diet and consuming more calories than you’ve managed to burn.
When it comes to food choices and losing weight, it’s a case of eating less and eating wisely.
Alongside upping your activity levels, eating regular meals, avoiding hidden calories in alcohol, shunning saturated fats, increasing your intake of vegetables and snacking wisely will help you to shed those excess pounds.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/exercise-weight-loss-tips
Remember why you’re doing it
To lose weight, you need to be in calorie deficit from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
In plain English, the amount of calories you eat needs to be less than the amount of calories you burn each day.
If you’re embarking on a fitness and weight loss programme, it’s worth remembering the basic principle of this energy balance equation.
To understand exactly why that extra gym class may help to remove whatever deposited quickly, but may be harmful as well.
So do it comfortably by eating sensibly, mindfully along with being very active and sleep well.
Also eliminating that daily bag of crisps at lunch can help you lose weight.
Gym - Excess Training 'as bad as no exercise at all'
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-31095384
Training very hard may be as bad for you as not putting on your running shoes at all, a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says.
Scientists studied more than 1,000 healthy joggers and non-joggers over a 12-year period.
The study suggests jogging at a steady pace for less than two and a half hours a week was best for health.
UK guidance says adults should aim for 150 minutes of exercise each week.
'Brisk walking'
"This study shows that you don't have to run marathons to keep your healthy.
"Light and moderate jogging was found to be more beneficial than being inactive or strenuous jogging.
"National guidelines recommend we do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week.
"It may sound like a lot, but even brisk walking is good exercise.
And if you're bit of a couch potato, this is a good place to start."
The dangerous downsides of a fitness addiction
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200117-the-dangerous-downsides-of-a-fitness-addiction
Yet while physical activity and balanced eating are certainly important, the dark side to fitness obsession can pose a serious danger to the people striving for perfection.
Orthorexia nervosa, or addiction to ‘healthy’ eating and over-exercise.
It is a medical condition rising in prominence alongside the #fitspiration Instagram fad.
Untreated, it can lead to malnutrition and mental health complications, and those in the long recovery process are vulnerable to frequent relapses.
“Fitness shouldn’t mean having to work out every day or weighing your damn lettuce,” says Jen Brett, a recovering orthorexia survivor and fitness influencer.
Yoga – More than just an exercise......its YOGIC way of LIVING....... Exercises, Diet and Outdoor mind relaxation activity combined
https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/yoga-more-than-just-an-exercise/83710605
Yoga sounds like a magic pill, doesn’t it? ----- It is a combination of Slow sterching relaxing exercises, Healthy eating of vegetarian diet along with plenty of raw uncooked salads mixed with spices, lemon juice and Outdoor activity for mind relaxation.
Its not just exercises which help alone. Yoga isn't just exercises, its YOGIC way of LIVING.
Well, it is, but only if you stick with it and practise it with consistency.
When regularly done, yoga affects change at three levels --Physical, Mental, and Emotional. Here are the ways yoga goes beyond the physical body and effects our entire being:
Physical: Yoga builds strength and flexibility in equal parts in our bodies: Flexibility is perhaps the first thing that comes to one’s mind when people think of yoga. Good yoga practice helps enhance flexibility by allowing your muscles to go deeper into a stretch. And with improved flexibility, you get to lead a pain- and ache-free life.
Yoga also helps build tremendous strength in our bodies. People often associate strength training with lifting external weights and doing a lot of work in the gym. But tell me, what better way to build strength than lifting your own bodyweight? That is exactly what a strong yoga asana practice trains one to do. Yoga is a complete physical practise, which you likely need not supplement with anything else. It builds flexibility, stamina, balance, strength, and with its breathing exercises, it also builds an incredible amount of lung health.
Mental: Yoga alters the wiring of our brains: When you’re practicing yoga regularly? Your brain cells develop new connections, and changes occur in brain structure as well as function, resulting in improved cognitive skills, such as learning and memory. Yoga strengthens parts of the brain that play a key role in memory, attention, awareness, thought, and language. Think of it as weightlifting for the brain.
According to studies conducted and published in the Harvard Medical Review (HMR), using MRI scans and other brain imaging technology it is now proven that people who regularly did yoga had a thicker cerebral cortex (the area of the brain responsible for information processing) and hippocampus (the area of the brain involved in learning and memory) compared with non-practitioners. These areas of the brain typically shrink as you age, but the older yoga practitioners showed less shrinkage than those who did no yoga. This suggests that yoga may counteract age-related declines in memory and other cognitive skills.
Meditation also reduces activity in the limbic system—the part of the brain dedicated to emotions. As your emotional reactivity diminishes, you have a more thought-through response when faced with stressful situations. Research also shows that yoga and meditation enhance reasoning, decision making, memory, learning, reaction time, and accuracy on tests of mental ability.
Emotional: Yoga makes us happier and more content: The calming effects of the yoga practice that many speak about and maybe even you have experienced personally, can all be linked to a common mechanism
The calm, relaxed, and sociable wellbeing by affecting the states of the body or the states of the mind.
Diet - Healthy balance eating of low oil cooked vegetarian diet mixed with 1/2 kg to 1 kg salads as raw per day. It reduces weight dramatically along with bringing freshness and activity to human body
A regular holistic yoga practice which includes all 3 – meditation, breathing, and performing yoga postures (asanas) . Even a short practice of yoga for 10-15 minutes daily can leave us feeling more content and happy.
So, the next time someone refers to yoga as a workout - do let them know that it is as much more.
Tips for longevity from the oldest people on Earth
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191218-tips-for-longevity-from-the-oldest-people-on-earth
The secret isn’t medication or specific foods, but a connection with their loved ones, enjoy going on walks and swapping stories with her friends........
Staying active through exercise and socialising.............and having a hobby which is driving force and source of passion.
Residents of Okinawa, otherwise known as the 'island of the immortals’, are more likely to live to 100 than people in most other regions of Japan..................
This area in which some of the world’s oldest people live, and has been home to more than 1,000 centenarians throughout the past 40 years.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200122-are-there-health-benefits-to-going-vegan
The vegan diet could be one of the healthiest diets, because of higher in fruit, vegetables and legumes and the health benefits from this compensate anything else.
Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables with a variety of colours, nuts, wholegrains and beans and lentils, as well as chia, hemp and flax seeds, which contain omega 3.
“Typically, vegans smoke less, drink less alcohol and exercise more,”
And lower intakes of animal products, scored better on health markers.
These lifestyle factors, which can also contribute to a lower risk of heart disease and mortality..
Staying indoors weakens immunity
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200521-can-staying-inside-weaken-the-immune-system
Sunlight and nature are great healers, and they also come for free.
Getting outdoors can also improve the quality of our sleep.
Shut inside during lockdown could have disrupted our circadian rhythms
Vitamin D enables the macrophages – a first line of defence against respiratory infections – to spew out an antimicrobial peptide called cathelicidin, killing bacteria and viruses directly.
It also tweaks the activity of other immune cells, such as B and T cells, which orchestrate longer-term responses.
People with low levels of vitamin D, especially NATURAL sunlight, are at greater risk of viral respiratory tract infections such as influenza.
Lungs 'magically' heal damage from smoking
Your lungs have an almost "magical" ability to repair the cancerous mutations caused by smoking - but only if you stop, say scientists.
The mutations that lead to lung cancer had been considered to be permanent, and to persist even after quitting.
But the surprise findings, published in Nature, show the few cells that escape damage can repair the lungs.
The effect has been seen even in patients who had smoked a pack a day for 40 years before giving up.
The thousands of chemicals in tobacco smoke corrupt and mutate the DNA in your lung cells - slowly transforming them from healthy to cancerous.
The study uncovered that happening on a massive scale in a smoker's lungs even before they had cancer.
Is sugar really bad?
A diet of more than 150g of fructose per day reduces insulin sensitivity – and increases health problems like high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
But this occurs most often when high sugar intake is combined with excess calories like fat, proteins in form of biscuits, sweets, ice-creams, fast food etc...
So the effects on health are "more likely" due to sugar are from excess calories, not the impact of sugar alone.
“People who drink more fruit juice or soft drinks have bad dietary or lifestyle habits, exercise less which affects brain health.
One recent study found that consuming sugar can make older people more motivated to perform difficult tasks and improve memory & performance in older adults.
We demonise the things we find difficult to resist – including sugar, which may be needed at times.
There was a difference between added sugar and sugar as a carbohydrate as natural sugars found in fruit, vegetables, starches and legumes.
Carbohydrates are must to fuel body cells and function.
Irony is we might be better off thinking about it less.
We’ve really overcomplicated nutrition because everyone is searching for complete, perfect and successful nutition, But that doesn’t exist.”
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180918-is-sugar-really-bad-for-you
Those who drank soft drinks and fruit juices had smaller brain poorer memory function
Those who drank soft drinks and fruit juices had smaller brain poorer memory function
The scary truth behind generic drugs in India
Often, generic drugs manufacturers produce medicines of higher quality for European and American markets...
Because regulation is tighter there....................whilst blithely selling inferior and ineffective drugs in India
Many generic drugs and, particularly, those made in India. A large number are actually ineffective and a few even harmful.
This is the key message of a book to be published next week called Bottle of Lies: Ranbaxy and the dark side of Indian Pharma. According to its dust jacket, its author, Katherine Eban, “relies on over 20,000 FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) documents and interviews with over 240 people to show how fraud and treachery are deeply entrenched in much of the (generic drugs) industry in India and raises troubling questions about some of its biggest Pharma companies”.
At the core of this book is its research into the shameful story of Ranbaxy. In 2013, in a well-covered court case in America, the company pleaded guilty to seven charges of selling adulterated drugs and paid $500 million in fines.
This is what Eban concludes of Ranbaxy’s approach to testing drugs before they are sold – “You had to test the drugs to see if they were properly formulated, stable and effective.
The resulting data was the only thing that proved the medicine would cure instead of kill.
Yet Ranbaxy was treating data as an entirely fungible marketing tool … it was an outright fraud that could mean the difference between life and death …
the company manipulated almost every aspect of its manufacturing process.”
Dinesh Thakur, the man who blew the whistle on Ranbaxy, told Eban: “Testing the drugs for India was just a waste of time …
Because no regulators ever looked at the data …
Companies just invented the dossiers on their own and sent them to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
What was needed for the DCGI was not real data but good connections.”
Eban’s book is full of hair-raising accounts of visits by US FDA regulators to manufacturing plants in India where fraud, insanitary conditions and deliberately poor standards of manufacturing are revealed.
In the microbiology laboratory of one plant, where they were testing for microbes and bacteria, the actual samples didn’t exist: “They were testing nothing.
The entire laboratory was a fake.”
If even a quarter of what Eban reveals is true, it is frightening.
It means our faith in Indian generic medicines is often misplaced.
They frequently don’t work.
Sometimes, no matter how many tablets you take, they will not treat the disease or infection.
If it’s of any comfort, that’s also true of many Chinese generic drugs.
As a last resort, in 2016, Thakur petitioned the Supreme Court.......but it was not effective.....
Neither the executive nor the judiciary are bothered about this deplorable situation.
You and I may keep taking generic drugs believing they’re efficacious, but we’re being made fools of.
Now, antacids must carry ‘kidney injury’ warning
In a bid to promote patient safety, widely-sold antacids (anti-acidity pills) will hereon need to carry a side-effect warning of ‘acute kidney injury” as part of their package insert leaflets.
Manufacturers of Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) — to incorporate ‘acute kidney injury’ as an adverse drug reaction (ADR).
The warning will be inserted in the packaging of these formulations, including Pantoprazole, Omeprazole, Lansoprazole, Esomeprazole, and their combinations.
Recent global studies on anti-acidity pills — for treating “gas” and heartburn — have serious adverse events.
Long use can cause long-term kidney damage, acute renal disease and chronic kidney disease, and in certain cases, even gastric cancer.
Since these reports are mostly restricted to nephrology journals, many physicians may not be aware of these adverse effects, experts pointed out.
Yoga 'can cause serious hip problems'
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50181155
The problem lies in people repeatedly pushing their bodies into "prescribed" positions, when their physiology prevents it.
Moderate the "prescribed" yoga positions, so as not to put too much stress on their joints.
"Yoga is a fantastic activity for people to do, with lots of benefits for your health and general wellbeing.
"However, as with any form of exercise, it's important to do it safely.
Also understanding your own limits, as we are all built differently.
"Yoga is not about being in competition with anyone else.
If you stay aware of your abilities and practise within your own limits, you will gain all the great benefits.
Healthy habits 'deliver extra disease-free decade'
Women can gain 10 and men seven years of life free of cancer, heart problems and type-2 diabetes from a healthy lifestyle, a study in the BMJ suggests.
They must exercise regularly, avoid alcohol, have a healthy weight BMI 19 -24, good veg salad diet and not smoke.
Why focus on these diseases?
Cancer, cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes are three of the most common diseases in old age.
They are also closely linked to people's lifestyles.
Being obese is linked to 13 different types of cancers, including breast, bowel, kidney, liver and oesophagus.
Why consuming excessive protein is not good for health
Health problems that can be caused due to high protein diets.
Recommended protein intake per day
As they say, nothing in excess and everything in balance.
This mantra can help you live a healthy life without disrupting the balance.
The Dietary Reference Intake (DRA) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight or 0.36 grams per pound.
Consult your doctor to know how much protein you should add in your diet. If you consume excessive protein, it can affect your health in the following ways.
Weight Gain If you intake more protein than recommended rather than losing them.
Excess protein gets stored as fat in the body and on the contrary, it leads to weight gain.
Organ Damage
Consuming a lot of protein than required can lead to organ damage.
Excess protein intake can also cause certain digestive problems.
This is because high-protein diets are quite low in fiber which restricts the smooth functioning of bowel movements.
Also, as they have a high-fat content, they become difficult for the body to digest.
This further leads to problems like constipation, nausea, diarrhea, bloating etc. which cause a lot of discomfort.
High Cholesterol from protein diets, especially animal-based, risks heart diseases like strokes and heart attacks.
Dehydration due to high protein diet and puts a lot of strain on the kidneys.
A lot of nitrogen waste may cause problems like dry mouth and dehydration.
Therefore, make sure the amount of protein you consume is not too much but also not too less.
A balanced amount of this essential nutrient can help you remain fit and in the pink of health.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-31095384
Eat a rainbow
Catherine Collins, principle dietician at St George's Hospital NHS Trust, recommends eating more plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, pulses and grains, which are all rich in dietary antioxidants and also a good source of fibre.
No Super Food or Magic Bullet to solve dietary needs
A big problem is our focus on individual nutrients or ingredients.
This takes the focus away from fresh produce and towards processed foods.
Our fixation with specific vitamins or mineral also creates an environment in which manufacturers can add nutrients to food and make health claims for those foods.
Nutritionist Stanton is yet to find an Australian deficient in the sort of nutrients that go into fortified cereals
“Then it achieves a health halo and it sells, and you see this with heavily sweetened breakfast cereals. Stanton points out that she is yet to find an Australian deficient in the sort of nutrients that go into fortified cereals.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161124-why-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-superfood
In general, same age-old dietary wisdom still holds: lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, small amounts of protein, particularly fish and seafood.
What is a vegan and what do vegans eat?
What are the main reasons people go vegan?
There are many reasons people decide to go vegan. They include:
1. Animal Cruelty
Some people become vegan because they love animals and they think harming any animal is cruel.
For vegans, it's not just about animals which are killed for food, but also concerns about the way that cows and chickens used for dairy and eggs are treated, especially in big factory farms.
2. Environment
The United Nations says that farmed livestock accounts for 14.5% of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions.
This is roughly equivalent to the exhaust emissions of every car, train, ship and aircraft on the planet.
Just one cow gives off enough harmful methane gas in a single day to fill around 400 litre bottles, which is really bad for the environment.
Another argument used for veganism is that meat and dairy production uses too much land.
3. Health
Some vegans worry about getting the right vitamins and minerals from a vegan diet.
The British Dietetic Association, experts in nutrition, says that a "balanced vegan diet can be enjoyed by children and adults".
However, it also says it is important to plan meals to make sure that it includes enough nutrients.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180126-the-100-most-nutritious-foods
Fibre is present in fruit, vegetables, wholegrain bread, pasta and lentils
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-46827426
What is it? - Fibre in food
Fibre - eating and found there are huge health benefits.
"The evidence is now overwhelming and this is a game-changer, tells BBC News.
It's well known for stopping constipation - but its health benefits are much broader than that.
Naturally it reduces the chances of heart attacks and strokes as well as life-long diseases such as type-2 diabetes.
And it helps keep your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels down.
It's cheap and widely available in the supermarket.
It also showed lower levels of type-2 diabetes and bowel cancer as well as lower weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
And the more fibre people ate, the better.
What is fibre doing in the body?
But fibre makes us feel full and affects the way fat is absorbed in the small intestine - your gut bacteria's dinner.
The large intestines are home to billions of bacteria - and fibre is their food.
Why is this relevant now?
The fact fibre and whole-grains and fruit and vegetables are healthy should not come as a surprise.
Crucial link between the food we eat and health
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190218-how-the-bacteria-inside-you-could-affect-your-mental-health
The current understanding of the gut-brain axis does at least add to the growing evidence that a healthy, balanced diet could be an important preventative measure to reduce the risk of developing an illness like depression in the first place.
“Mediterranean diet” – to describe diets rich in vegetables, fruit, nuts, sea food, and unsaturated fats and vegetable oils, and low in refined sugar and less meat.
people eating the traditional Mediterranean diet were roughly half as likely to be diagnosed with depression over a four-year period.
The unhealthy diets reducing lives every year
Too much salt - three million deaths
Too few whole grains - three million deaths
Too little fruit - two million deaths
Low levels of nuts, seeds, vegetables, omega-3 from seafood and fibre were the other major killers.
How is this killing people?
Around 10 million out of the 11 million diet-related deaths were because of cardiovascular disease and that explains why salt is such a problem.
Too much salt raises blood pressure and that in turn raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Salt can also have a direct effect on the heart and blood vessels, leading to heart failure when the organ does not work effectively.
Whole grains, fruit and vegetables have the opposite effect - they are "cardioprotective" and lower the risk of heart problems.
Cancers and type 2 diabetes made up the rest of the diet-related deaths.
How far is the world off a perfect diet?
No country is perfect and each favours some part of a healthy diet more than others, but this is how far the world is from an optimal diet.
Nuts and seeds missing from healthy diet.
The biggest problems leading to bad health are a lack of whole grains, fruit, vegetables and raw nuts and unprocessed seeds.....
Non- Veg diet 'ups cancer risk'
Even small amounts of red and processed meat - such as a rasher of bacon a day - can increase the risk of bowel cancer, according to research.
The latest study led by Oxford University and Cancer Research UK, adds to evidence, from the World Health Organization.
Eating red meat can be harmful.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47947965
What makes it risky?
Processed meat - including bacon, some sausages, hot dogs, salami - is modified to either extend its shelf-life or change the taste - the main methods are smoking, curing, or adding salt or preservatives.
It is thought the chemicals involved in the processing could be increasing the risk of cancer. High temperature cooking, such as on a barbecue, can also create carcinogenic chemicals.
When it comes to red meat like beef, lamb and pork, there are suggestions that one of the proteins (that gives it its red colour) can damage the gut when it is broken down. .................
"a range of lifestyle factors have a significant impact on the risk of bowel cancer, most notably age, genetics, lack of dietary fibre, inactivity and high alcohol consumption".
Nitrosamines also form from the chemical reactions that occur during high-heat cooking.
As a result, cancer risk can have more to do with how we prepare it.
Grilling and frying are particularly high risk.
The good news?
Choosing a cooking method that reduces the cancer risk, such as slow-cooking, is a preventative measure we can all do.
Replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats has been shown to reduce the risk of death by any cause by 19%, however.
So, switching from animal-based oils and fats to sunflower oil can help.
Clearly, then, our foods contribute towards our health risks.
We consume far more protein that we really need – and supplementing your diet with extra protein is pointless.
Most people already get more than their daily recommended protein allowance from their food.
Even the fitness-conscious should not spend money on protein supplements – unnecessary protein is excreted out of the body.
Taking supplements is like flushing money down the loo.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20191002-is-meat-really-bad-for-you
Diabetes increases cancer risk.....
Researchers have found that DNA sustains more damage and gets fixed less often when blood sugar levels are high compared to when blood sugar is at a normal, healthy level, thereby increasing one's cancer risk.
Exposure to high glucose levels leads to both DNA damage and the suppression of their repair, which in combination could cause genome instability and cancer
Which foods can improve your gut bacteria?
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38800977
Homemade foods and products made by traditional methods contained a wide array of bacteria.
"commercial varieties, subjected to pasteurisation to ensure their safety and extend their shelf life.
But kill off the important bacteria, whereas that wouldn't be the case for the homemade varieties," says Dr Cotter.
So if you want to try fermented foods to improve your gut health ................................
it's best look for products that have been made using traditional preparation and processing..................
or make them yourself, to ensure you're getting the healthy bacteria you're after.
Jerusalem artichokes are rich in prebiotic fibre
Soft drink consumption linked to risk of early death
High soft drink consumption may be a marker of overall unhealthy diet.
Also, high soft drinks consumers had higher body mass Index (BMI) and were also more likely to be smokers
Uncontrolled Diagnostic Labs in India.....
puts patients at risk with misdiagnosis and treatment
25 batches of drugs of 18 pharma companies found substandard
The Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI), which implements the Centre's flagship affordable medicine scheme PMBJP, has found 25 batches of drugs of 18 different pharmaceutical companies to be of substandard quality since January 2018, according to an official document.
While 17 out of the 18 companies are private, one is a public sector unit (PSU) -- Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), according to the document.
Both the BPPI and the IDPL work under the Department of Pharmaceuticals of the central government.
Once the affordable generic drugs are procured from pharmaceutical companies by the BPPI, they are supplied to various Janaushadhi Kendras that are managed under the Pradhan Mantri Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).
The dangerous myth of vitamin pills/ Anti-oxidants....
Far from being the elixir of life, antioxidants could send you to an early grave
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161208-why-vitamin-supplements-could-kill-you
“The idea that antioxidant [supplementation] is a miracle cure is completely redundant,” says Enriquez.
Antioxidants have a dark side. Without free radicals, cells would continue to grow and divide uncontrollably
We now know that free radicals are often used as molecular messengers that send signals from one region of the cell to another.
Without them, cells would continue to grow and divide uncontrollably. There’s a word for this: cancer.
We would also be more prone to infections from outside. When under stress from an unwanted bacterium or virus, free radicals are naturally produced in higher numbers, acting as silent klaxons to our immune system.
In response, those cells at the vanguard of our immune defense – macrophages and lymphocytes – start to divide and scout out the problem. If it is a bacterium, they will engulf it like Pac-Man eating a blue ghost.
It is trapped, but it is not yet dead. To change that, free radicals are once again called into action. Inside the immune cell, they are used for what they are infamous for: to damage and to kill. The intruder is torn apart.
From start to finish, a healthy immune response depends on free radicals being there for us, within us.
Taking Probiotics could back-fire......
Promoted by marketing companies. Lack solid evidence suggesting probiotics actually work.
Researchers have found that taking probiotics after antibiotics in fact delays gut health recovery
“This is the reason why regulatory authorities such as the US’s Food and Drug Administration and European regulators have yet to approve a probiotic for clinical use.
These are unscientifically promoted, Due to heavy marketing by companies.
The group who had a small sample of their own stool – taken before the antibiotic treatment – returned to their colon once the treatment was over.
The surprising finding was that the group who received the probiotic had the poorest response in terms of their microbiome.
They were the slowest group to return to a healthy gut.
Even at the end of the study – after five months of monitoring – this group had not yet reached their pre-antibiotic gut health.
The good news, incidentally, is that the group who received a faecal transplant did very well indeed.
Within days, this group completely reconstituted their original microbiome.
At the moment, the lack of consistency in the findings on probiotics comes in part because they are being treated like conventional drugs.
When you take a paracetamol tablet, you can be more or less sure that the active component will do its job and work on receptors in your brain, dulling your sensation of pain.
This is because most people’s pain receptors are similar enough to react in the same way to the drug.
But the microbiome is not just a receptor – it is closer to an ecosystem, and sometimes likened to a rainforest in its complexity.
As a result, finding and tailoring a probiotic treatment that will work on something as intricate and individual as your own internal ecosystem is no easy task.
And it’s not so surprising that a dried-out pack of bacteria from market shelf may well not do the trick.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190124-is-it-worth-taking-probiotics-after-antibiotics
Curd / Yoghurt - linked to lower rates fracture and better than milk.......
More milk may be more harmful than curd / yoghurt
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190408-should-we-drink-milk-to-strengthen-bones
In 2014 two large Swedish studies led to headlines.................
That drinking more than three glasses of milk a day – was no help to your bones and might even harm you.
Drinking a glass of milk a day appeared to be associated both with more broken bones, and with early deaths.
Milk probably does have benefits for bone health, but benefits are shorter lived than you might have hoped...
It’s worth keeping your bones strong with exercise and getting enough vitamin D from sunshine....
Swedish studies have shown that yoghurt / curd consumption lowers of bone fractures........
Gardening: Could you extend your life and drop your stress
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20181210-gardening-could-be-the-hobby-that-helps-you-live-to-100
Mood elevator
It is well-known that an outdoor lifestyle with moderate physical activity is linked to longer life, and gardening is an easy way to accomplish both.
“If you garden, you’re getting some low-intensity physical activity most days, and you tend to work routinely,” says Buettner.
He says there is evidence that gardeners live longer and are less stressed.
A variety of studies confirm this, pointing to both the physical and mental health benefits of gardening.
Australian researchers following men and women in their 60s found that those who regularly gardened had a 36% lower risk of dementia than their non-gardening counterparts
How exercise in old age prevents the immune system from declining
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43308729
Doing lots of exercise in older age can prevent the immune system from declining and protect people against infections, scientists say.
They followed 125 long-distance cyclists, some now in their 80s, and found they had the immune systems of 20-year-olds.
Prof Norman Lazarus, 82, of King's College London, who took part in and co-authored the research, said:
"If exercise was a pill, everyone would be taking it.
"It has wide-ranging benefits for the body, the mind, for our muscles and our immune system."
Steve Harridge, professor of physiology at King's College London, said: "Being sedentary goes against evolution because humans are designed to be physically active.
Do it for health, because it's sociable, and enjoy the freedom it gives you."
Cycle for a sense of wellbeing and to enjoy our wonderful countryside."
Diabetes 'barely detectable'
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-44368601
In two weeks his type 2 diabetes, which he had had for 17 years, was barely detectable.
And six out of the seven lost 3 kg in 2 weeks.
There are three types - starch, sugar and fibre.
Starch is what we usually understand carbs to mean - foods like bread, pasta, potatoes and rice -
but these "beige" varieties aren't good for you.
Neither are "white" carbs - found in sugary foods such as fizzy drinks, sweets and processed and refined foods including cakes and biscuits.
Most of the starch and sugar in these beige and white carbs are broken down into glucose for energy,
and if you eat too much, the glucose is stored as fat.
Diet tips
Reduce:
Flour, rice, potatoes, pasta, breakfast cereals and other processed grains
White or highly processed brown bread
Replace with:
Cauliflower rice, celeriac, sweet potatoes
Rye or pumpernickel bread
Include:
Unpolished rice, legumes, nuts - raw
And half of each dish should be green or brightly coloured: fresh vegetables, salad greens, tomatoes and aubergines
But there is another type of carb - dietary fibre, found in fruit and vegetables - what we might call "green carbs".
It keeps you full, slows stomach emptying, and is usually the part of the plant that supplies you with vitamins and minerals.
It's good for your teeth and gums and good for your guts, keeping everything moving and feeding your gut bacteria.
And then there is resistant starch - found in high-fibre foods such as lentils, beans and unprocessed whole grains - is also hard to digest in a good way:
it gets right down into your lower digestive tract (your colon) where its main job is not to feed you but rather to feed your gut bacteria.
Healthy gut bacteria are linked to a wide range of benefits, both physical and mental.
And one other tip - reheating can also turn bad carbs into good -
if you reheat starches like pasta or toasted bread from the freezer....
the molecules reconfigure themselves and become more resistant......
allowing them to travel further in your gut and feed your microbiome.
Diet tip - eat whole grains to reduce type 2 diabetes risk
Consuming whole grains of rye bread or oats daily can prevent the development of Type-2 diabetes.
The study, showed that all whole grain product or cereal the participants ate —
ryebread, oatmeal, and muesli, for example, seem to offer the same protection against Type-2 diabetes.
Type-2 diabetes: 'Weight loss arrests disease for years'
Consuming 850 calories a day for three months and then keeping the weight off can arrest type-2 diabetes for at least two years, a study suggests.
The study report builds on earlier work suggesting weight loss is one key solution and offers more time off medication than previously thought.
"All I could see for the future was continuing to take these pills forever."
When he started the trial diet - consuming only low-calorie shakes every day - he found it very difficult.
But he saw rapid results, dropping from 90kg (14st 2lb) to 73kg in just 12 weeks.
"It gets you to the point where you can take destiny in your own hands."
Two years later, his weight is stable at 77kg.
He exercises regularly and hopes to become a lifestyle coach when he retires.
Can single detoxing help your health....
Ans..no
Its lifestyle change for healthy habits...
When it comes to alcohol...... it’s healthier to avoid it all or as much as possible.
Spending a period of time focussing on eating more fruit and vegetables is of course beneficial for your health too.
A quick fix is not going to work as well as pledging to eat a Mediterranean diet and to exercise for shorttime.
Its a lifestyle change for healthy habits, healthy behavious and healthy eating of lots of salads, water and low oil diet the rest of your life.
But the idea of detox is something many find appealing.
If it feels good to punish yourself to compensate for your over-indulgence, maybe it’s your sins rather than your toxins that you’re keen to wash away.
But if you can hack it, it’s possible that psychologically, a detox could provide a new start – a break between your old habits and the new ones you’d like to acquire.
However, you need to have a plan for what happens next or your old habits will return.
Perhaps we should think of a detox as more of a metaphor for shedding your old habits, rather than something that flushes impurities from your gut and your organs.
Your body is constantly detoxing itself without special teas, juices or diets.
But you can help it to do its job by eating a healthily diet, drinking water, taking regular exercise and getting the sleep you need.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190130-can-detoxing-help-your-gut-health
Time-Restricted Feeding without Reducing Caloric Intake Prevents Metabolic Diseases
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190304-how-meal-timings-affect-your-waistline
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Time restricted feeding (8h/day) improves clock and nutrient sensor functions
It prevents obesity, diabetes and liver diseases in mice on a high fat diet
Nutrient-type and time of feeding determine liver metabolome and nutrient homeostasis
It raises bile acid production, energy expenditure and reduces inflammation
Some are advocating a more hardcore approach of forgoing all food for at least 12 hours, and possibly for as long as 14-16 hours overnight.
In a landmark study published in 2012, Panda and his colleagues compared
one set of mice that had access to fatty and sugary foods at any time of day or night
with another group that could only consumed these foods within an 8 to 12-hour window during their “daytime”.
Even though they consumed the same number of calories, the mice whose eating window was restricted appeared to be completely protected from the diseases that began to afflict the other group: obesity, diabetes, heart disease and liver damage.
What’s more, when mice with these illnesses were placed on a time-restricted eating schedule, they became well again.
“Almost every animal, including us, evolved on this planet with a very strong 24-hour rhythm in light and darkness, and the associated rhythms in eating and fasting,” explains Panda.
“We think a major function [of these cycles] is to enable repair and rejuvenation each night.
You cannot repair a highway when the traffic is still moving.”
Human trials of time-restricted eating are just beginning.
For instance, when men with prediabetes eat all their meals between 7 hrs - 8am and 3pm,
their sensitivity to insulin improved and their blood pressure dropped by 10-11 points on average,
compared to when they consumed the same meals within a 12-hour period.
And it’s almost certainly worth fitting a padlock on the fridge overnight.
How to cut your dementia risk
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clldg965yzjo
Things to avoid include smoking and alcohol.
Eating a healthy diet is beneficial
Vitamin pills makes not useful.
Brain activity worthwhile.
Causes
While there is no treatment that can cure it, there are things people can do to lower their risk of the disease or slow its onset.
Old age is the strongest risk factor but not inevitable consequence of ageing.
Genetics also play a role, but many risk factors are modifiable.
Experts have previously suggested lifestyle changes could prevent around a third of dementia cases.
The guidelines recommend:
1) Exercise - At least 1/2 to 1 hrs of outdoor physical activity daily..... exercise, cycling, or everyday housework
2) Stop smoking
3) Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit is beneficial
4) Don't take vitamin pills - there is no evidence that they help lower dementia risk
5) Avoid alcohol
6) Brain training - activities to challenge the brain beneficial
7) Be social - staying connected with friends is linked with good health and wellbeing
8) Keep a healthy weight, fit and healthy
9) Beware high blood pressure
10) Get treated if you have diabetes
11) Beware high cholesterol
"While we cannot change the genes we inherit, taking the steps outlined in this report can still help to stack the odds in our favour."
"It's estimated a third of dementia cases could be prevented
Prevention would be so much better than a distant cure."
Dementia: The greatest health challenge of our time
1 in 3 cases could be prevented by lifestyle changes including:
Treat hearing loss in mid-life |
Keep studying and educating
Don't smoke
Avoid depression
Be physically active
Be Social
Avoid high blood pressure
Avoid obesity, type 2 diabetes
They prepare the brain for flexibility and not getting dementia.
"People who are very healthy and take good care of themselves are the group that I would say is most resilient to Alzheimer's disease," says Prof Spires-Jones.
Eating slowly, eat less, chew more and drink more water to lose weight:
A study has found that eating slowly and having smaller bites makes us feel less hungry an hour afterwards than if we wolf down food.
People who ate slowly also drank more, which helped them feel fuller, the researchers said.
If you're trying to lose weight, eating slowly and more mindfully can help you eat less and lose weight.
Recent research has proven that it takes time for the brain to realize that it is no longer hungry.
When you consume your food quickly, your brain may fail to register how much you've actually eaten and may cause you to end up eating too much.
Many studies have shown that eating more slowly and more mindfully can help you eat less and manage your weight.
Incorporate some easy ways to slow yourself down during meal time to help manage your weight more effectively.
Sweet potatoes are one of the principle ingredients in traditional Okinawan cuisine
a high carb diet may explain why okinawans live so long...
Okinawans may be living longer due to the fact that they are eating (mostly) fruit and vegetables.... its high carb, low protein content.
Okinawans smoke less, and physically active.
Their tight-knit communities also help the residents to maintain an active social life into old age.
Social connection has also been shown to improve health and longevity by reducing the body’s stress responses to challenging events.
Loneliness, in contrast, has been shown to be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
A feeling of social connection can protects health, while loneliness may be as damaging as smoking 19 cigarettes a day
Obesity: Study of 2.8 million shows increased disease and death risks
The study also showed:
BMI of 35-40, the risk of Type 2 diabetes was almost nine times higher, and 12 times higher for sleep apnoea
severe obesity BMI of 40-45 were 12 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea that was 22 times greater
BMI of 40-45 had triple the risk of heart failure, high blood pressure, and dyslipidaemia
BMI of 40-45 was also linked to a 50% higher risk of dying prematurely from any cause
The BMI result is assigned to a standard category:
Less than 18.5 - underweight
18.5 to 24.9 - healthy weight
25 to 29.9 - overweight
30 to 39.9 - obese (split into two categories for the new study)
40 and over - very obese (also known as morbidly obese)
Sugar 'not necessary' for a good cup of Tea / Coffee
It might be a ritual for many but scientists say your cup of tea does not actually need a spoonful of sugar.
A study found participants were able to cut it out without their enjoyment being affected
suggesting a long-term change in behaviour was possible.
The case of a three-year-old girl in the US who developed type 2 diabetes has driven doctors to raise fresh concerns about diet in childhood.
The child had a version of the illness more commonly seen in older people.
She weighed 35 kg OBESE when she saw specialists. And an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise played a large role in her condition.
He says an early diagnosis, changes to lifestyle and in some cases medication can give children better odds of remaining healthy and sometimes reverse the condition.
The Hispanic girl was been given treatment and her family improved her diet and the amount of exercise she took.
Only six months after diagnosis the girl no longer needed medication and her blood sugars returned to normal. She had lost nearly 9 kg (1.4 stone) by this time.
Vitamin D 'heals damaged hearts'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35959556
Vitamin D supplements helps people with diseased hearts.
A trial on 163 heart failure patients found supplements of the vitamin, which is made in the skin when exposed to sunlight, improved their hearts' ability to pump blood around the body.
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals team, who presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology, described the results as "stunning".
The British Heart Foundation called for longer trials to assess the pills.
Vitamin D is vital for healthy bones and teeth and may have important health benefits throughout the body but many people are deficient.
http://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/vitamin-d-may-be-useless-study/52792657
Vitamin D medicines may be 'useless'
Those who pop vitamin D pills regularly, may be better off simply spending cash on fruit and vegetables as a recent study has suggested that the supplements give no protection against diseases.
The vital nutrient that comes with the sun's rays is widely seen as an important element to good health.
Many people place strong belief in its potential benefits in treating a number of medical conditions, such as depression or Multiple Sclerosis, and feel a need to supplement their vitamin D intake.
But according to lead author Michael Allan, much of that belief isn't validated by science.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36675460
Gardening improves the nation's health
Gardening can play important role in the fight against chronic health conditions.
Sue Biggs, director general of the Royal Horticultural Society, has spoken of how the beauty of plants in her garden helped her recover from breast cancer.
She says gardening is also a way to heal communities.
"It's not just about gardening and horticulture it's also about happiness, because I can't think of a better thing to make people happy - and they are tough times at the moment - and I think gardening, it's just a joy," she says.
"When you walk out into a garden and you literally smell the roses and see the bees buzzing on the lavender and just look at all that beautiful colour and scent, you feel happier, and that can't be a bad thing can it?"
Obesity-related cancers rise for young
Cancers linked to obesity are rising at a faster rate in in younger generations.
there has been mounting evidence that certain cancers can be linked to obesity.
'Dangers of extra weight' ....
the rates of obesity-related cancers (colorectal, uterine, gallbladder, kidney, pancreatic and multiple myeloma - a blood cancer) all went up, particularly in people under the age of 50.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47061079
Strong evidence of link between obesity and major cancers
A review conducted in the UK finds strong evidence to support a link between Body Mass Index (BMI) and major cancers.
The team now calls for finer selection of people at high risk, who could be selected for personalized primary and secondary prevention strategies.”
Dementia risk factors
The six risk factors are heavy drinking, genetics, smoking, high blood pressure, depression and diabetes.
Physical exercise and healthy eating - Healthy lifestyle protective factors against the disease.
Hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.....can increase risk of cancer
Suffering from chronic diseases including hypertension, heart disease and diabetes together can put you at higher risk of cancer and mortality
Several common chronic diseases including hypertension, heart disease and diabetes, together account for more than a fifth of new cancer cases and more than a third of cancer deaths
They also found that physical activity was associated with a nearly 40% reduction in the excess risks of cancer and cancer death associated with chronic diseases and markers.
Besides, chronic diseases, lifestyle factors like smoking, insufficient physical activity, insufficient fruit and vegetable intake, alcohol consumption, also lead to cancer
Cycling to work can cut cancer and heart disease
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-39641122
Want to live longer? Reduce your risk of cancer? And heart disease? Then cycle to work, say scientists.
The team in Glasgow said cycling took no willpower once it became part of the work routine - unlike going to the gym
Other explanations include cyclists being leaner (even if they are not weighing any less) and lower levels of inflammation in the body.
Cycling is thought to be better than walking as the exercise is both longer and more intense.
Clare Hyde from Cancer Research UK said: "This study helps to highlight the potential benefits of building activity into your everyday life.
"You don't need to join a gym or run the marathon.
"Anything that gets you a bit hot and out of breath - whether it's cycling all or part way to work or doing some housework - can help make a difference."
Why stress makes you fat
Chronic stress disrupts our sleep and our blood sugar levels. This leads to increased hunger and comfort eating.
And that then leads to further disrupted sleep, even higher levels of stress and even more disrupted blood sugars. In time, this can lead not only to unhealthy levels of body fat, but also to type-2 diabetes.
The reason this happens is that when you are stressed, your body goes into "fight or flight" mode.
Your body thinks it is under attack and releases glucose into your blood to provide energy for your muscles.
some well established "stress-busting" techniques - such as exercising, gardening, mindfulness or yoga.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-42788280
Want to lose that extra belly fat?
how to actually cut out sugar and lose belly fat?
One of the most popular diets for those trying to cut out sugar and lose belly fat is the keto diet.
Fighting belly fat is 80% healthy diet.
Reduce calories by vegetables, whole grains.
A great trick is a sprinkle masala / spices without fat, oil, butter in your salads, coffee or oatmeal - to help stabilise blood sugar.
It also slows the rate at which food exits the stomach, which helps you feel fuller longer.
Thus, the conclusion is that if you want to reduce fat in a healthy and effective way...........
it's the age-old advice of a combination of healthy diet with lots of salad, less cooked food and yoga type slow stretching exercises.
The fast way to losing weight?
https://thefastdiet.co.uk/michael-answers-frequently-asked-questions/
Intermittent fasting, often referred to as IF, is an increasingly popular eating plan that involves significantly restricting your food intake on certain days, while eating normally on others
Huge claims have been made for IF around enhanced weight loss, including improved mental functioning, a reduced risk of disease and even a longer life.
So how does it work?
There are a number of ways to approach IF depending on how often you decide to fast each week and how much you eat on fasting days.
One of the most popular IF regimes is the 5:2 plan, where each week is made up of five days eating normally (preferably healthily) and two days fasting. The latter are not technically fasting days, as you're allowed to consume 600 calories on each day if you're a male and 500 calories if you're a female. The final rule is that the two fasting days should not be consecutive.
Some practical tips and considerations
You're obviously going to feel some degree of hunger and even some lack of energy on the fasting days, so you should carefully consider how this will affect your life.
Fasting on days when you're busy can be a good idea so that you don't have too much time to think about eating. Exercising on a fasting day however is not advisable, as your energy levels will be lower and you're likely to feel even hungrier for the rest of the day.
Stay hydrated on fasting days with plenty of water and fruit or herbal teas - this will prevent dehydration and help you to feel more full, as well as have a mild detoxifying effect.
And finally, if you have any medical conditions whatsoever that may be affected by changes to your diet, then you should talk to your doctor GP first before starting.
So how do I lose weight?
The BDA has a fact sheet recommending some of the best ways to lose weight. They suggest:
Keep a food and mood diary to monitor how the two are connected
Make a list of non-food related tasks you can do to distract you from thinking about food
Set realistic goals: losing only 5-10% of your weight has massive health benefits
Avoid eating at the same time as doing something else, such as watching TV, as this can cause you to overeat
Half fill your plate with vegetables/salad and divide the other half between a protein and a starchy carbohydrate like potatoes or rice
https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/Want2LoseWeight.pdf
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-42264838
Set yourself realistic goals:
• Realistic goals are achievable and success boosts confidence in your ability to lose weight.
• Losing just 5-10% of your weight has massive health benefits.
Food Fact Sheet Remember there is no quick fix.
Aim to eat more fruit and vegetables – at least five portions (350 gm) of fruit and vegetables each day.
One portion is about a handful.
• Half fill your plate with vegetables/salad and divide the other half with cooked food
• Choose foods and drinks that are low in fat and sugar and limit sweet, fatty and salty snacks.
• If you drink, moderate your alcohol intake. Alcohol is high in calories and dissolves your good intentions.
• Watch your portion sizes especially when eating out.
• Avoid eating at the same time as doing something else, for example when working, TV, as this can cause you to overeat.
• Eat slowly, concentrate on and really taste the food you are putting in your mouth.
• Aim to drink 4-5 litres of fluid per day
. It is important not to ‘diet’.
Diets are often extreme, strict and nutritionally unbalanced
• And finally, it takes time for your brain to know your stomach is full
so wait at least fifteen to twenty minutes before eating more.
Be more active:
Moving your body around means using up more calories than if you are sitting down – every little helps...
Slowly build on the amount of activity you do so that it becomes part of your daily routine and not just a passing phase you find too difficult to keep up.
People who do this are far more successful with long term weight control and maintenance.
Look for easy ways to fit more movement into your day-to-day routine,
for example, stand up when on the phone,
use a toilet further away,
park a bit further away from your destination,
take the stairs or get off the bus a stop earlier.
People who successfully lose weight and maintain diet in realistic way.......
develop techniques to make their new lifestyle and activity habits an enjoyable way of life.
We do not need as much proteins as we eat.......
Many of us consciously eat a high-protein diet, with protein-rich products readily available................................ but how much protein do we really need?
And does it actually help us lose weight?
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180522-we-dont-need-nearly-as-much-protein-as-we-consume
But even if athletes and gym goers may benefit from a post-workout protein boost, that doesn’t mean they should reach for the supplements and smoothies.
Most people get more than their daily recommended allowance from food, says Kevin Tipton, a sport professor of the University of Stirling.
“There’s no need for anyone to have supplements.
They’re a convenient way to get protein, but there’s nothing in supplements you can’t get in food.
Protein bars are really just candy bars with a bit of extra protein.”
Studies also show that eating large amounts of animal protein is linked to weight gain and red meat in particular is linked to an increased risk of cancer as well as heart disease.
The risk of consuming too much protein is small, but the bigger risk might just be falling for overpriced products offering us more protein than we need.
“Some products labelled as high protein aren’t, and they’re quite expensive.
Anyway, consuming more protein than need is wasteful in terms of money, and it’s paid down the toilet,”
Sipping acidic fruit teas can wear away teeth
Sipping acidic drinks such as fruit teas and flavoured water can wear away teeth and damage the enamel, an investigation by scientists has shown.
The King's College London team found that drinking them between meals and savouring them for too long increased the risk of tooth erosion from acid.
The research, in the British Dental Journal, looked at the diets of 300 people with severe erosive tooth wear.
It said the problem was increasing as people snacked more.
Fruit squashes, cordials, fruit teas, diet drinks, sugared drinks and flavoured water are all acidic and can cause wear and tear to teeth, the researchers said.
And continuously sipping or holding these drinks in the mouth before swallowing increased the risk of tooth erosion.
Eat less for long healthy life....
Permanently cutting the daily calories you consume may turn out to have a profound effect on your future life
Calorie restriction involves a permanent reduction in a diet
Balanced diet ---- more salads - vegetables & fruit, less cooked food
They believe that the the key to a better old age may be to reduce the amount of food on our plates, via an approach called “calorie restriction”.
This diet goes further than cutting back on fatty foods from time-to-time; it’s about making gradual and careful reductions in portion size permanently.
Since the early 1930s, a 30% reduction in the amount of food consumed per day has been linked to longer, more active lives in worms, flies, rats, mice, and monkeys.
Across the animal kingdom, in other words, calorie restriction has proven the best remedy for the ravages of life.
And it’s possible that humans have just as much to gain.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170601-the-secret-to-a-long-and-healthy-life-eat-less
Hippocrates, one of the first physicians to claim diseases were natural and not supernatural, observed that many ailments were associated with gluttony; obese Greeks tended to die younger than slim Greeks, that was clear and written down on papyrus.
“We have a lower incidence of diabetes, and lower incidence of cancer in the Calorie Restricted groups,”
Not only did their Calorie Restricted monkeys look remarkably younger – with more hair, less sag, and brown instead of grey – than monkeys that were fed a standard diet, they were healthier on the inside too, free from pathology. Cancers, such as the common intestinal adenocarcinoma, were reduced by over 50%.
The risk of heart disease was similarly halved. And while 11 of the ad libitum (“at one’s pleasure,” in Latin) monkeys developed diabetes and five exhibited signs that they were pre-diabetic, the blood glucose regulation seemed healthy in all Calorie Restricted monkeys.
For them, diabetes wasn’t a thing.
it means that ageing itself is a reasonable target for clinical intervention and medical treatment.”
“If you cured all cancers, you wouldn’t offset death due to cardiovascular disease, or dementia, or diabetes-associated disorders. Whereas if you go after ageing you can offset the lot in one go.”
“There’s a huge genetic component to all of this and its much harder work for some people than it is for others to stay trim,” says Anderson.
“We all know someone who can eat an entire cake and nothing happens, they look the exact same. And then someone else walks past a table with a cake on it and they have to go up a pant size.”
Ideally, the amount and types of food we eat should be tailored to who we are – our genetic predisposition to gaining weight, how we metabolise sugars, how we store fat, and other physiological fluxes that are beyond the scope of scientific instruction at the moment, and perhaps forever.
Calorie restriction may be one of the most promising avenues for improving health and how long it lasts in our lives
I think that delaying the progression of chronic diseases is something that everyone can get behind and get excited about, because nobody wants to live life with one of those.”
Nine lifestyle changes can reduce dementia, heart problems, arthritis and cancer risk
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-40655566Media caption
Want to avoid dementia? This might help
Not smoking, doing exercise, reducing obesity, treating high blood pressure and diabetes reduce the risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
One in three cases of dementia could be prevented if more people looked after their brain health throughout life.
It lists nine key risk factors including lack of education, hearing loss, obesity, smoking and physical inactivity.
Nine factors that contribute to the risk of dementia
Mid-life hearing loss - responsible for 9% of the risk
Failing to complete secondary education - 8%
Smoking - 5%
Failing to seek early treatment for depression - 4%
Physical inactivity - 3%
Social isolation - 2%
High blood pressure - 2%
Obesity - 1%
Type 2 diabetes - 1%
"Although dementia is diagnosed in later life, the brain changes usually begin to develop years before," said lead author Prof Gill Livingston, from University College London.
"Acting now will vastly improve life for people with dementia and their families and, in doing so, will transform the future of society."
The report, which combines the work of 24 international experts, says lifestyle factors can play a major role in increasing or reducing an individual's dementia risk.
It examines the benefits of building a "cognitive reserve", which means strengthening the brain's networks so it can continue to function in later life despite damage.
A cheat's guide to staying active
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36895789
Avoid TV screens......go out.....walk
Watching TV for more than three hours was associated with an increased risk of premature death for all but the most active.
The researchers suggest this is likely to be because people might snack while they watch, or because they are more likely to watch TV after eating their evening meal which might affect their metabolism.
It could, they say, also be a sign of a more unhealthy lifestyle in general.
Those who sat for eight hours a day, but were physically active, had a much lower risk of premature death compared with people who sat for fewer hours a day, but were not active.
Sitting for a long time as well as being inactive carried the greatest risk.
He said: "For many people who commute to work and have office-based jobs, there is no way to escape sitting for prolonged periods of time.
"For these people in particular, we cannot stress enough the importance of getting exercise, whether it's getting out for a walk at lunchtime, going for a run in the morning or cycling to work.
"An hour of physical activity per day is the ideal, but if this is unmanageable, then at least doing some exercise each day can help reduce the risk."
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36912881
Restaurant dishes 'contain more calories than fast-food meals'
The calorie content of meals in UK restaurants is "excessive" and sit-down restaurants are unhealthier than fast-food chains, BMJ research suggests.
Health experts say meals should not exceed 600 calories, but in this study they averaged 1,033 in restaurants and 751 in fast-food chains.
University of Liverpool researchers analysed thousands of meals from places like Hungry Horse and McDonald's.
They said their findings were a cause for concern.
The research team looked at more than 13,500 meals on the menus of 21 sit-down restaurants and six fast-food chains.
'Healthiest hearts in the world' found
Most of the diet comes from family farms growing rice, maize, manioc root (like sweet potato) and bananas
It is topped up with foraged fruit and nuts
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-39292389
"The Tsimane get 72% of their energy from carbohydrates.
"The exact opposite to many recent suggestions that carbohydrates are unhealthy."
Prof Naveed Sattar, from the University of Glasgow, said: "This is a beautiful real life study which reaffirms all we understand about preventing heart disease.
"Simply put, eating a healthy vegetarian raw diet very low in fat and full of unprocessed products, not smoking and being active life long, is associated with the lowest risk of having heart diseases.
Here’s why despite exercising women gain weight post-pregnancy
Sleep deprivation, food cravings and not being able to take out sufficient time to work out causes new mothers to put on weight even if they want to follow a healthy diet.
The findings showed that mothers keep the weight on by eating food off their child’s plate or sitting down for longer periods of time. Further, sleep deprivation – increases food cravings, lack of healthy diet leads to weight gain.
Type 2 diabetes and the diet that cured me
When our bodies are deprived of normal amounts of food they consume their own fat reserves, with the fat inside organs used up first.
The idea of diet is to use up the fat that is clogging up the pancreas and preventing it from creating insulin, until normal glucose levels return.
Scientists are cautious, and research is continuing, but evidence is growing that the diet can indeed remove the symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
It wasn't easy. Yet water staved off the worst hunger pangs. "If you feel hunger, celebrate the fact with a glass of water, even fizzy water,"
I had stuck to the diet for just 11 days and reduced my blood sugar to a healthy non-diabetic level. It has remained that way for the past seven months.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/may/12/type-2-diabetes-diet-cure
Diet change could reverse diabetes
Research on animals has shown the condition could be treated with what is called ‘very low calorie diet’ (VLCD).
In a study published online on November 9 in the journal ‘Cell Metabolism’, researchers led by scientists from Yale University found VLCD can rapidly reverse type 2 diabetes in animal models.
The Yale-led team’s study focused on understanding the mechanisms by which caloric restriction rapidly reverses type 2 diabetes,” Science Daily reported.
The team studied very low calorie diet VLCD, consisting of one-quarter the normal intake, on a rodent model with type 2 diabetes.
Researchers tracked metabolic processes that contribute to the increased glucose production by the liver and performed a comprehensive set of analyses of key metabolic fluxes within the liver that could cause insulin resistance and increased rates of glucose production, the two processes that result in increased blood-sugar concentrations.
Researchers found three major mechanisms that explain very low calorie diet VLCD’s dramatic effect of rapidly lowering blood glucose concentrations in diabetic animals.
“In the liver, VLCD lowers glucose production by:
1) decreasing the conversion of lactate and amino acids into glucose;
2) decreasing the rate of liver glycogen conversion to glucose; and
3) decreasing fat content, which in turn improves the liver’s response to insulin.
These positive effects of the VLCD were observed in just three days,” Science Daily reported.
‘Losing weight can reverse diabetes’
The results published in the international journal, The Lancet, show remission of diabetes was closely related to the degree of weight loss.
Type 2 diabetes can be reversed if you can lose weight radically, according to a study by UK scientists who managed to reverse the chronic condition in nearly half the participants who followed their weight management programme.
All participants had been diagnosed with the condition within the past six years.
The results published in the international journal, The Lancet, show remission of diabetes was closely related to the degree of weight loss.
As many as 86% of participants who achieved at least 15kg of weight loss had beaten back the disease while 73% of those with weight loss of 10kg or more had the same result.
Why it’s a big deal: Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95% of all cases
Doctors withdrew the anti-diabetic and antihypertensive drugs of those opting for weight loss for diabetes remission.
They were put on a total diet replacement phase for three months thereafter, extendable up to five months if wished by participant. During this period, the patients were given a low energy formula diet (825 - 853 kcal/day).
This was followed by structured food reintroduction of two to eight weeks and an ongoing structured programme with monthly visits for long-term weight loss maintenance. There was no increase in physical activity during total diet replacement.
'I cured my type 2 diabetes with 200-calorie drinks' - very low calorie diet daily
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-42154666
Nearly half of patients have reversed type 2 diabetes in a "watershed" trial, say doctors in Newcastle and Glasgow.
People spent up to five months on a low-calorie diet of soups and shakes to trigger massive weight loss.
Isobel Murray, 65, who had weighed 15 stone, lost over four stone (25kg) and no longer needs diabetes pills. She says: "I've got my life back."
Why does losing weight work?
Body fat building up around the pancreas causes stress to the beta cells in the organ that controls blood sugar levels.
They stop producing enough of the hormone insulin, and that causes blood sugar levels to rise out of control.
Dieting loses the fat, and then the pancreas works properly again.
The trial looked at only patients diagnosed in the past six years. It is thought having type 2 diabetes for very long periods of time may cause irreversible damage.
Prof Mike Lean, from Glasgow University, told the BBC: "It's hugely exciting."
"We now have clear evidence that weight loss of 10-15kg is enough to turn this disease around.
One in 11 adults worldwide has diabetes, and most of them have type 2.
Eight tips for healthy eating
These eight practical tips cover the basics of healthy eating, and can help you make healthier choices.
Base your meals on starchy carbohydrates
Eat fish instead of meat
Cut down on saturated fat and sugar
Eat less salt – no more than 6g a day for adults
Get active and be a healthy weight
The key to a healthy diet is to:
Eat the right amount of calories for how active you are, so that you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use. If you eat or drink too much, you'll put on weight. If you eat and drink too little, you'll lose weight.
Eat a wide range of foods to ensure that you're getting a balanced diet and that your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.
It is recommended that men have around 2,500 calories a day (10,500 kilojoules). Women should have around 2,000 calories a day (8,400 kilojoules). Most adults are eating more calories than they need, and should eat fewer calories.
Base your meals on starchy carbohydrates
Starchy carbohydrates should make up just over one third of the food you eat. They include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals.
Choose wholegrain varieties (or eat potatoes with their skins on) when you can: they contain more fibre, and can help you feel full for longer.
Most of us should eat more starchy foods: try to include at least one starchy food with each main meal. Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram the carbohydrate they contain provides fewer than half the calories of fat.
Keep an eye on the fats you add when you're cooking or serving these types of foods because that's what increases the calorie content, for example oil on chips, butter on bread and creamy sauces on pasta.
Eat lots of fruit and veg
It's recommended that we eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. It's easier than it sounds.
Why not chop a banana over your breakfast cereal, or swap your usual mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit?
Unsweetened 100% fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies can only ever count as a maximum of one portion of your 5 A DAY. For example, if you have two glasses of fruit juice and a smoothie in one day, that still only counts as one portion.
Chromosomes are composed of DNA, and telomeres protect the genetic material at either end, playing a role in cell ageing
Sedentary lifestyle in older women 'ages body cells'
Women who lead a sedentary lifestyle have faster-ageing cells than those who exercise every day, research suggests.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38665668
those who spent many hours sitting and exercised for less than 40 minutes a day had cells that were biologically eight years older.
As people age, their cells age, causing DNA protectors to shorten and fray.
But health and lifestyle factors may speed up the process, researchers from California said.
Even in old age, it was important to keep active and avoid sitting for more than 10 hours a day.
"Discussions about the benefits of exercise should start when we are young, and physical activity should continue to be part of our daily lives as we get older, even at 80 years old."
It says adults aged 65 or older who are generally fit and mobile should try to do:
.......At least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, such as cycling or walking, every week
.......Strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)
Older adults at risk of falls, or with poor balance, should also do exercises to improve balance and co-ordination at least twice a week.
Cracking the secret of a longer life
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42791876
there are nine key habits that people living in these places share.
They keep moving
They have a sense of purpose
They have ways of de-stressing
They only eat enough to be 80% full
They eat mainly beans, with vegetables, fruit and whole grains
They drink moderate amounts of wine
They're part of a religious community
Have close family ties
Have good friends and socialise
The improvements came after the city made a series of changes including widening pavements and adding bike lanes to make exercise easier.
Vegan alternative
It's the same approach that Patrick Brown, the founder of US firm Impossible Foods, has taken with his vegan, plant-based alternative to ground meat.
The plant-based material is made from wheat, coconut oil, potatoes and something called heme that mimics the red, bloody colour of meat.
How your mindset determines your health
Even seeing old age as something that begins later in life can help boost health
Comparing our fitness to our friends can lead to negative effects
It’s long been established that beliefs about the strength of a painkiller, for example, can influence its effectiveness in the body. The opposite is the nocebo, where if you have negative expectations, the physiological effect of a treatment is reduced.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180410-how-your-mindset-determines-your-health
Take hotel housekeepers.
Just by doing their daily work they are getting plenty of exercise, walking up and down hotel corridors, pushing heavy trolleys of towels, scrubbing baths, vacuuming and changing sheets.
But a study in 2007 found they didn’t count this as exercise.
Then, Alia Crum, also from Stanford University told half these hotel housekeepers just how much exercise they were getting and why this benefitted them.
Four weeks later, this group of housekeepers had lost weight and had lower blood pressure.
Once they viewed work as an opportunity to exercise, it had more of a physical impact on them. Perhaps they began vacuuming more energetically.
Cipla & Pfizer among 200 under lens for poor drugs
The Drug Controller General of India has launched inspections against 200 drugmakers, including leading firms like Cipla and Pfizer, for allegedly selling poor quality medicines and non-compliance to manufacturing norms.
UK drugs regulator to halt approvals for Indian clinical trials firm
It found several issues with data integrity in a clinical trial Quest had conducted, including discrepancies in Quest’s patient records and instances where electrocardiogram (ECG) data of patients had been deleted or manipulated.
The World Health Organisation told Quest in July last year about similar ECG data manipulation issues in another drug study.
“serious doubt on the integrity of any data produced.”
Similar issues around data at Quest’s larger rival GVK Biosciences led to a recall of about 700 drugs across Europe last year.
Your pathlab report may not be ‘verified’
Delhi Medical Council (DMC) recently ordered removal of a pathologist’s name from the state medical register for one year who was lending his signature to labs without even going through the reports.
“There are many lab technicians who are running standalone lab facilities in the country.
They use scanned signature of pathologists to prepare report.
This practice is more widespread in rural areas where there are not enough qualified pathologists,” he said.
An MCI official said many private labs do sync testing where they test the blood sample for one or two parameters and if they are in a normal range they report all parameters to be normal thus endangering the patient’s life.
Last year, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) also removed the names of four pathologists who were found to be signing reports which they did not test or supervise.
A pathologist’s work involves testing blood, urine or tissue sample to make diagnosis of a particular infection or disease. Based on their report, the doctor decides the course of treatment.
“A wrong or poorly analysed report can lead to wrong diagnosis. It is dangerous,” a doctor said.
He added that patients should beware of small labs that offer a range of tests at a very low cost.
Navi Mumbai : FIR lodged against pathology lab
http://medicaldialogues.in/navi-mumbai-fir-lodged-against-pathology-lab/
The lab technician, despite not being authorized, has appended her own signature on a patient’s test report,” Dr Sandeep Yadav, Maharashtra Association of Practicing Pathologists and Microbiologists informed TOI.
Illegal pathology labs mushrooming in the state as well as some MD pathologists lending their names for renumerations without visiting labs at all.
http://medicaldialogues.in/navi-mumbai-fir-lodged-against-pathology-lab/
Bad Medicine! Pfizer, Cipla, DRL, other 63 drug firms fail quality test
According to the notification, 25 samples by Pfizer, nine each by Dr Reddy’s and Alembic, seven by Cipla and six by Zydus Healthcare were found to be not of standard quality.
Pfizer, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Cipla are among 66 drug makers that have some of their products failing quality tests carried out by the country’s drug regulator.
Samples tested from these companies were found to be not of standard quality during a drug survey carried out through the National Institute of Biologicals over two years, according to a Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) notification posted on its website.
At least five samples of drugs from these companies failed the tests during the 2014-2016 survey, CDSCO said.
According to the notification, 25 samples by Pfizer, nine each by Dr Reddy’s and Alembic, seven by Cipla and six by Zydus Healthcare were found to be not of standard quality. It didn’t specify the drugs that failed the tests.
27 medicines sold by top firms ‘fail’ quality tests
Face charges of false labelling, wrong quantity of ingredients.
The drug regulators alleged that medicines — sold by 18 major drug companies in India including ...........Abbott India, GSK India, Sun Pharma, Cipla and Glenmark Pharma — are of “substandard” quality.................................................... citing grounds such as false labelling, wrong quantity of ingredients, discolouration, moisture formation, failing dissolution test and failing disintegration test.
These include key drug brands of eight top-tier companies, which are the leaders in their respective molecule categories (pharma companies sell the same molecule under different brand names) with a market share ranging from 47 per cent to 92 per cent.
Some of the key brands which were alleged to be substandard are: antipsychotic drug Stemetil and antibiotic drug Pentids from Abbott India, anti-bacterial medicine Althrocin by Alembic Pharma, migraine medication Vasograin by Cadila Pharma, popular cough syrup Ascoril by Glenmark Pharma, worm infection drug Zentel by GSK India, arthritis medication Hydroxychloroquine (HCQS) by Ipca Labs, anti-inflammatory medication Myoril by Sanofi Synthelabo, and Torrent Pharma’s hypertension drug Dilzem.
The 10 other companies that were alleged to be selling substandard drugs are Alkem Labs, Cadila Healthcare, Cipla, Emcure Pharma, Hetero Labs, Morepen Labs, Macleods Pharma, Sun Pharma, Wockhardt Pharma and Zydus Healthcare.
Why a faecal transplant could save your life
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43815369
The interaction between our human and microbial selves is being investigated in nearly every disease you can think of.
The microbiome has been linked to diseases including inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, Parkinson's, whether cancer drugs work and even depression and autism.
But this means there could be unintended consequences of a faecal transplant.
There was a report in 2015 of a woman gaining 36lb (16kg) and being classed as obese after a transplant from her daughter.
It is possible to make mice thinner or fatter by transplanting into them the microbiome from either a lean or obese human, although the jury is still out on whether the same rules apply in people.
The purpose is to introduce new beneficial microbes to the receiving patient's digestive system.
And it can be life-saving.
It shows just how important microbes, which colonise nearly every surface of our body, are to our health.
The gut is an exceptionally rich world with many different species of micro-organisms interacting with each other and our human tissue.
Down in the dark, oxygen-deprived depths of your bowels is an ecosystem as rich as a rainforest or coral reef.
But a bacterium called Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) can take over and dominate the bowels.
It is an opportunist and normally takes hold after patients have been treated with antibiotics.
Antibiotic drugs are one of the miracles of the modern age, but they kill good and bad bacteria alike.
They are like a forest fire burning through the gut's microbiome - the collected micro-organisms living down there - leaving behind a scorched microbial earth on which C. difficile flourishes.
Five things you might be surprised affect weight
Having a healthy and varied diet, rich in different sources of fibre, has been shown to create a more diverse range of gut microbes.....more variety of microbes...more thinner you are...
train your brain to eat healthy and eat slowly.....enjoy sight of food
During the night our bodies struggle to digest fats and sugars so eating the bulk of calories before about 19:00 can help you lose weight or prevent you from gaining it in the first place.
Athletes risking their health by 'under-fuelling'
Endurance athletes could risk their long-term health, stress fractures by under-fuelling and over-training, an expert has warned.
Distance runner has not had a period in more years and was diagnosed with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (Red-S) and osteoporosis in her late 20s.
Red-S can "affect anybody who is very physically active and takes their sport seriously".
Red-S can affect both male and female athletes and became a recognised condition in 2014.
There have been few studies into the prevalence of the condition, but it is understood to be most common in sports such as athletics, cycling and dancing, where being light could make a significant difference to performance.
The condition can cause a range of health problems, like drop in hormone levels, deterioration in bone density, excess drop in metabolic rate and mental health problems.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-47965467?intlink_from_url=&link_location=live-reporting-story
One cigarette a day 'increases heart disease and stroke risk'
Smokers need to quit cigarettes rather than cut back on them to significantly lower their risk of heart disease and stroke, a large BMJ study suggests.
People who smoked even one cigarette a day were still about 50% more likely to develop heart disease and 30% more likely to have a stroke than people who had never smoked, researchers said.
They said it showed there was no safe level of smoking for such diseases.
But an expert said people who cut down were more likely to stop.
"It's addiction to nicotine that keeps people smoking but it's the tar in cigarette smoke that does the serious damage.....but "Vaping is also harmful
The scan on the left shows my brain activity during cognitive tests after a normal night's sleep, compared with my sleep-deprived brain, on the right
How lack of sleep affects the brain
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-40036667
The comparison between the scans was stark: Prof Owen gave the scientific explanation: "There is much less activity in the frontal and parietal lobes - areas we know are crucial for decision making, problem solving and memory. "
We all know that it is dangerous to drive when tired, because our reaction times are impaired and we might fall asleep at the wheel.
Prof Owen told me: "It may be that lack of sleep is having very profound effects on decision making and perhaps we should avoid making important decisions like buying a house or deciding whether to get married when we are sleep deprived."
Why it matters
We spend nearly a third of our lives asleep, and it is as vital to our wellbeing as the food we eat and the air we breathe.
But our 24-hour culture means we are getting less sleep than ever.
Last month, a paper in Nature Reviews Neuroscience said there was "remarkably little understanding" of the consequences on the brain of chronic sleep loss.
It spoke of the "precipitous decline in sleep duration throughout industrialised nations", adding that more research was urgently needed.
Spending time outdoors helps eyesight
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-42238691
Kids spend endless hours in BOOKS or on smartphones, games consoles……
Their waistlines /obesity increase and so is the short-sightedness.....
"The main factor seems to be a lack of exposure to direct sunlight, less opportunity to run around outside and are less exposed to sunshine and because of that seem to be at more risk of developing short-sightedness."
"in Asian countries kids are being pushed with very intensive education, little time outdoors……indoor work - like playing with the iPad and iPhone - carries the potential that it could make them more short-sighted."
The best thing parents can do to prevent it is to encourage youngsters to spend more time outdoors in the sunlight.
"Healthy diet is very important - in terms of getting fruits, green vegetables, green leafy vegetables as much as possible.
Ultra-processed foods 'linked to cancer'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43064290
A link between highly processed foods and cancer has been suggested by French researchers.
They classified foods including cakes, chicken nuggets and mass-produced bread as "ultra-processed".
A study of 105,000 people hinted the more of such foods people ate, the greater their risk of cancer.
A lot of caution is being expressed about the study, but experts said a healthy diet is best.
What counts as ultra-processed
Mass-produced packaged breads and buns
Sweet or savoury packaged snacks including crisps
Chocolate bars and sweets
Sodas and sweetened drinks
Meatballs, poultry and fish nuggets
Instant noodles and soups
Frozen or shelf-life ready meals
Foods made mostly or entirely from sugar, oils and fats
Diet is already known to affect the risk of cancer........weight, smoking, processed meat increase the risk of cancer.
people who ate a lot of ultra-processed foods had other behaviours that have been linked to cancer.......smoke, less active, consumed more calories and taking the oral contraceptive.
the study was a "warning signal to us to have a healthy diet"
but people should not worry about eating a bit of processed food "here and there"
as long as they were getting plenty of fruit, vegetables and fibre.
Loneliness affects your health
Loneliness, or feeling that you have no one you can really talk to, even if surrounded by people....affects most people at some point and is associated with poorer physical and mental well-being.
www.bbc.com/news/av/health-43061624/is-loneliness-affecting-your-health
Largest-selling stent in India has been banned in Europe
The development comes in the wake of several studies showing that bioresorbable cardiac stents are not only not superior to existing drug eluting stents (DES), but might even have worse outcomes in some ways.
This was despite their much higher cost of 2 Lacs. Indian cardiologists took to this new stent so enthusiastically that India became one of the largest markets for Absorb in 2014......
India is known for malpractice in anything!!!!ayurvedic drugs, costly new medicines without clear efficiency....
Osteoporosis drugs may make bones weaker
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-39122541
Drugs used to treat weak bones in elderly patients suffering from osteoporosis may actually make them weaker.
They found evidence the drugs were linked to microscopic cracks, making bones more fragile and prone to break.
These showed microscopic cracks building up in the bones of patients treated with bisphosphonates.
"The drug is clearly working, but it also leads to the build-up of micro-cracks in the bone and that could increase the likelihood of a fracture."
These showed microscopic cracks building up in the bones of patients treated with bisphosphonates.
Osteoporosis: Are you at risk?
If you answered: "Yes," to more than one of these questions, then you may be more at risk of developing osteoporosis:
•Has anyone in your family ever been diagnosed with osteoporosis?
•Have you ever broken a bone after a minor bump or fall?
•Are you female and aged over 50?
•Do you drink more than three units of alcohol a day?
•Do you miss out on summer sunlight (through being housebound, avoiding the sun, always covering your skin or wearing sunscreen)?
•Do you miss out on doing at least 30 minutes of activity five times a week?
Source: National Osteoporosis Society
Doctors issue cocktail of herbs and alternative remedies detox health warning
Doctors have issued a warning about the potential harms of undertaking a a cocktail of herbs and alternative remedies detox
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38495088
The British Dietetic Association says the whole idea of detoxing is nonsense.
"There are no pills or specific drinks, patches or lotions that can do a magic job"
"The body has numerous organs, such as the skin, gut, liver and kidney, that continually 'detoxify' the body from head to toe.
"Being well-hydrated is a sensible strategy.
"It sounds predictable, but for the vast majority of people, a sensible diet and regular physical activity really are the only ways to properly maintain and maximise your health."
Poison in ayurvedic drugs
Leading gastroenterologist Dr Nilay Mehta said that lead poisoning due to ayurvedic medications with heavy metals, especially those used for treating diabetes is an alarming issue.
Many believe that “herbal” is synonymous with “safe,” but it turns out ayurvedic medicines, if not prepared as prescribed in rasa shastras can, in fact, turn deadly with metals like lead or mercury!
http://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/pharma/poison-in-ayurvedic-drugs/57864586
Reusing single-use devices: FDA warns Fortis hospitals
FDA found that these two hospitals were reusing angio-medical devices such as guiding catheters and balloon catheters used for angioplasty, a heart procedure.
They charged a whopping Rs 26,000 per piece, more than four times the MRP of Rs 6,000, he said, adding the devices were, after use, sent to the pharmacy for billing, and later the same devices were sent back to the hospital's central sterile supply department for sterilisation and reuse.
Fortis hospital in Mulund reused as many as 66 of these devices between January and March, the FDA commissioner said.
Raw Fruit and veg:
For a longer life eat 10-a-day…. 800 gm...nearly a kilogram
A portion counts as 80g (3oz) of fruit or veg - the equivalent of a small banana, a pear or three heaped tablespoons of spinach or peas.
"Fruit and vegetables have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and to boost the health of our blood vessels and immune system.
"This may be due to the complex network of nutrients they hold.
"For instance, they contain many antioxidants, which may reduce DNA damage and lead to a reduction in cancer risk."
CAG's data: No quality control on drugs
CAG report states while several drugs were not sent for quality check, some were sent to hospitals without quality-control test.
Even life-saving drugs and vital medicines were not tested. State health department officials claimed drugs and surgical items were distributed as they were essential to hospitals without waiting for quality test.
The auditor also said quality reports were submitted for 29% medicinal items in stipulated time and 66% came late. Another 5% reports are yet to be received by TSMIDC.
Many essential drugs were not available at government hospitals.
USFDA issues warning to Sal Pharma
The letter to Sal Pharma owner Solomon Amrutharajan said: "During our inspection, we found that two of your suppliers were not registered with the FDA as drug manufacturers at the time of inspection."
http://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/pharma/usfda-issues-warning-to-sal-pharma/58563190
US health regulator USFDA has issued a warning letter to drug firm Sal Pharma for its Hyderabad facility for misbranding and deviations from the good manufacturing norms.
The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspected the company's manufacturing facility at Hyderabad from June 27 to July 1, 2016, the regulator said.
"This warning letter summarises significant deviations from current good manufacturing practise (CGMP) for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)", it added.
Home blood pressure monitors are wrong 70% of time, says study
The findings could have serious implications for people who relying on such readings to make informed health decisions.
“Arm shape, arm size, the stiffness and age of blood vessels and the type of blood pressure cuff are not always taken into account when a blood pressure machine is designed and validated,” said Padwal.
“Individual differences, such as the size, age and medical background of the person using the blood pressure monitor are also contributing factors,” he said.
The researchers said it is difficult to determine precisely why the inaccuracies are occurring in home monitors because they do not have access to the various formulas the devices use to determine blood pressure.
The study was published in the American Journal of Hypertension.
Eating less salt does not necessarily lower your blood pressure
They also found that people in the study who had higher intakes of potassium, calcium and magnesium exhibited lower blood pressure over the long term.
People with higher combined intakes of sodium (3717 milligrammes per day on average) and potassium (3211 milligrammes per day on average on average) had the lowest blood pressure, according to the study.
“We saw no evidence that a diet lower in sodium had any long-term beneficial effects on blood pressure,” said Lynn L Moore, associate professor at Boston University.
“This study and others point to the importance of higher potassium intakes, present in fruits, in particular, on blood pressure and probably cardiovascular outcomes as well,” said Moore.
Obese kids are at four-fold greater risk of Type-2 diabetes
Children with obesity are four times more likely to get diabetes than normal kids.
A study found children with higher BMI were found to have far greater risk of developing Type-2 diabetes than those with normal weight,” said lead author of the study from King’s College London.
Smoking harms livers of unborn babies
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-40084844
The impact of cigarette damage to unborn babies has been revealed in a new stem cell study.
Scientists found that the cocktail of chemicals in cigarettes is particularly harmful to developing liver cells.
They developed a method of studying the effects of maternal smoking on liver tissue using embryonic stem cells.
Cigarette smoke is known to have damaging effects on the foetus, yet we lack appropriate tools to study this in a very detailed way.
"This new approach means that we now have sources of renewable tissue that will enable us to understand the cellular effect of cigarettes on the unborn foetus."
The liver is vital in clearing toxic substances and plays a major role in regulating metabolism.
Smoking cigarettes, which contain around 7,000 chemicals, can damage foetal organs and may do lasting harm.
Novartis, Teva generics suspended
The findings from FDA and WHO inspections called into question the quality management systems at Semler, and so the reliability of data for all bioequivalence studies there, the EMA said today.
Does glucosamine really help joint pain?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37429050
With such a massive global market, there's plenty of money being made by big companies - and that's problem number one.
Commercially funded trials of products are a well-known issue in medicine, and in the case of glucosamine studies it seems that those that are commercially funded turn out to be more likely to show a positive result than those done independently.
Even putting aside industry-funded studies, though, there have been a lot of decent trials done on various forms of glucosamine compared with pretty much anything you might consider an alternative - painkillers, exercise, other drugs... and placebo.
In the group that were given exercises to do, 80% reported the same reduction in pain. So, the exercises were much more effective than the supplement Glucosamine.
If you've got sore joints, then, you might as well save yourself some money - about half the time a sugar pill will make you feel better, but if you actually want the best chance of making a difference, then Phil's exercises are the way to go. Nothing beats them in studies - and they're free.
As Phil explains: "A lot of the pain is coming from the tendons and structures around the joint. If you have trouble getting out of a chair, or trouble undoing a jar, you're at risk of joint pain because your muscles are weak."
The exercises strengthen those muscles and take the strain off your joints. No need for glucosamine.
No SUPER FOOD or Magic Bullet to solve dietary needs
A big problem is our focus on individual nutrients or ingredients.
This takes the focus away from fresh produce and towards processed foods.
Our fixation with specific vitamins or mineral also creates an environment in which manufacturers can add nutrients to food and make health claims for those foods.
Nutritionist Stanton is yet to find an Australian deficient in the sort of nutrients that go into fortified cereals
“Then it achieves a health halo and it sells, and you see this with heavily sweetened breakfast cereals. Stanton points out that she is yet to find an Australian deficient in the sort of nutrients that go into fortified cereals.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161124-why-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-superfood
In general, same age-old dietary wisdom still holds: lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, small amounts of protein, particularly fish and seafood.
Want to age well - never retire
Richer people live longer, healthier lives and it found, among other things, that older adults in the US were less healthy than their British counterparts at all socioeconomic levels.
"There is no physiologic reason that many older people cannot participate in the formal workforce,"
If our working lives become a seven-decades long affair, then we cannot rely on a single period of education to prepare us for it. Instead, they argue, we will need to constantly retrain and reinvent ourselves to stay ahead of technology and the demand for changing skill sets.
It's a daunting proposal, and one that would pile the pressure on all of us to "age well" - to stay robust and healthy in order to remain a productive member of the workforce.
Diet debate: Are diet drinks a no-go?
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34924036
Meanwhile scientists have argued that low-calorie sweeteners may lead to weight gain and increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
So do they have a place in our shopping baskets?
"A lot of people assume they must be healthy choices because they are not sugared beverages, but the critical thing for people to understand is we don't have the evidence," said Prof Susan Swithers, from the US's Purdue University.
Studies looking at large groups of people have shown obese people tend to drink more fizzy diet drinks than those of a healthy weight.
"When the animals get real sugar they're not as good at processing it, their hormonal responses get blunted, their blood sugar levels go up and it leads to weight gain."
She also points out another problem - compensation.
When you know you are taking calories out of one part of your diet you tend to eat more somewhere else.
"I had a diet beverage therefore I can have a cookie," she said - it's the same effect that has been well documented after we hit the gym.
Meanwhile scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel showed that low-calorie sweeteners altered the balance of bacteria inside the guts of rats.
Our body's cells are outnumbered 10-to-one by bacteria, viruses and fungi growing on or in us and this "microbiome" has a huge impact on health.
The study, in the Journal Nature, showed that low-calorie sweeteners altered the animals' metabolism and led to higher blood sugar levels - an early sign of developing type 2 diabetes.
Although experts say that in an ideal world we'd all be drinking water, a study in Obesity journal even suggests "pre-loading" with water half an hour before eating actually helps people lose weight.
But even staunch critic of low-calorie sweeteners, Prof Swithers, argues they may have a role as a halfway house.
"A diet beverage would be useful to have in your diet as a transition, so if you're drinking regular soda every day and find it too difficult to stop"
Kids devouring too much 'breakfast sugar' warning
Rotting teeth, ballooning waistlines and long-term health problems like type 2 diabetes are caused by unhealthy diets.
Around a quarter of five-year-olds have tooth decay and nearly a fifth of children are already obese by the time they leave primary school.
"It's crucial for children to have a healthy breakfast, even with busy morning schedule."
How The Prescription of drugs is manipulated....
That is, drug companies produce incredible drugs that can greatly relieve suffering.
But one way they profit from those drugs is to extend their use to as many people as possible, which frequently means that medications are used in populations with milder and milder versions of a disease, so that the risks of medicating can come to outweigh the benefits.
This has been a story about osteoporosis and osteopenia.
"There's a powerful economic incentive for pharmaceutical firms to expand the boundaries of the use of different therapies. So whether you consider treatments for osteoporosis or treatments for depression or treatments for high cholesterol — in all of these settings — pharmaceutical firms stand to benefit if the therapies for these diseases are broadly used" .
Fake Medical Colleges of India
http://education.medicaldialogues.in/telangana-mci-govt-lock-horns-over-4-medical-colleges/
None of these colleges seem to have the basic facilities. It is reported that these three colleges do not have any attached hospitals.
One of the colleges is declaring a vacant building as hospital whereas there are no beds available in the wards of that building.
The other educational institution which declared a building as hospital is still under construction. In the third educational institution, there is only one doctor and there is not a single patient.
What is half fry vegetable?
Good half fried food Bad deep fried food
https://authoritynutrition.com/11-proven-benefits-of-bananas/
Bananas are rich in a fiber called pectin, which gives the flesh its structural form (4).
Unripe bananas contain resistant starch, which acts like soluble fiber and escapes digestion.
Both pectin and resistant starch may moderate blood sugar levels after meals, and reduce appetite by slowing stomach emptying (5, 6, 7).
Furthermore, bananas also rank low to medium on the glycemic index, which is a measure (from 0–100) of how quickly foods increase blood sugar levels.
The glycemic value of unripe bananas is about 30, while ripe bananas rank at about 60. The average value of all bananas is 51 (8, 9).
This means that bananas should not cause major spikes in blood sugar levels in healthy individuals.
Weight Loss
Finding foods to fit into your weight-loss diet can be challenging, but bananas make a perfect fit.
Bananas are naturally sweet and can help curb your sweet tooth if you get that afternoon sugar craving.
A 6-inch banana has a minimal 90 calories, about one-fourth of the calories you would get from a chocolate candy bar.
Additionally, about half of the fiber content in bananas is soluble.
When soluble fiber reaches your digestive tract, it absorbs water and slows digestion.
Food is forced to sit in your stomach for a while, making you feel full.
If you have a banana before lunch, you'll be less likely to overeat when your food comes to the table.
Regularity
Enjoying a banana each day aids in keeping you regular. One 6-inch banana has more than 2.5 grams of total fiber, about half of which are insoluble. As insoluble fiber travels through your digestive tract, it sweeps up waste and helps push it out.
http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/25-powerful-reasons-to-eat-bananas
Bananas reduce swelling, protect against type II diabetes, aid weight loss, strengthen the nervous system, and help with the production of white blood cells, all due to high levels of vitamin B-6.
Strengthen your blood and relieve anemia with the added iron from bananas.
High in potassium and low in salt, bananas are officially recognized by the FDA as being able to lower blood pressure and protect against heart attack and stroke.
Eating Bananas Aids Digestion - Rich in pectin, bananas aid digestion and gently chelate toxins and heavy metals from the body.
Bananas act as a prebiotic, stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria in the bowel. They also produce digestive enzymes to assist in absorbing nutrients.
Constipated? High fiber in bananas can help normalize bowel motility.
Got the runs? Bananas are soothing to the digestive tract and help restore lost electrolytes after diarrhea.
Bananas are a natural antacid, providing relief from acid reflux, heartburn, and GERD.
Bananas are the only raw fruit that can be consumed without distress to relieve stomach ulcers by coating the lining of the stomach against corrosive acids.
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-one-banana-day-3316.html
10 benefits of consuming the humble lemon
Improves Immunity Lemon is a rich source of Vitamin C which is an essential nutrient for strengthening the immune system.
A great source citric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, lemons are a great addition to our daily diet.
Lemon Juice helps to treat cold and flu. It brings down fever by inducing perspiration. Lemon has antibacterial properties and is very effective in fighting throat infections.
Digestive Aid: Lemon contains pectin fiber and its inclusion in your daily diet relieves abdominal pain and helps in digestion.
Due to this reason it is an ingredient in many Ayurvedic medicines for indigestion.
Weight Loss Aid
Hot Lemon Water therapy decreases fat deposition and helps in weight loss. Consume it early morning for a fabulous start to your day.
Belly fat: What's the best way to get rid of it?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36763102
The clear winner was the diet-control group.
This group lost a collective 35kg between them which was an average of 3.7kg each over just six weeks. Their average waistline reduced by 5cm.
The DEXA scan readings were the most interesting with 5% less body fat and an impressive 14% reduction of the dangerous visceral fat inside the abdomen. This group lost overall body fat as well as abdominal fat. They also saw improvements in the health parameters.
But they did lose some muscle tone from their legs, which is not a good thing.
Thus, the conclusion is that if you want to bust the belly fat in a healthy and effective way, it's the age-old advice of a combination of diet and exercise.
The fast way to losing weight?
http://patient.info/wellbeing/health/the-fast-way-to-losing-weight
Intermittent fasting, often referred to as IF, is an increasingly popular eating plan that involves significantly restricting your food intake on certain days, while eating normally on others
Huge claims have been made for IF around enhanced weight loss, including improved mental functioning, a reduced risk of disease and even a longer life.
So how does it work?
There are a number of ways to approach IF depending on how often you decide to fast each week and how much you eat on fasting days.
One of the most popular IF regimes is the 5:2 plan, where each week is made up of five days eating normally (preferably healthily) and two days fasting. The latter are not technically fasting days, as you're allowed to consume 600 calories on each day if you're a male and 500 calories if you're a female. The final rule is that the two fasting days should not be consecutive.
Some practical tips and considerations
You're obviously going to feel some degree of hunger and even some lack of energy on the fasting days, so you should carefully consider how this will affect your life.
Fasting on days when you're busy can be a good idea so that you don't have too much time to think about eating. Exercising on a fasting day however is not advisable, as your energy levels will be lower and you're likely to feel even hungrier for the rest of the day.
Stay hydrated on fasting days with plenty of water and fruit or herbal teas - this will prevent dehydration and help you to feel more full, as well as have a mild detoxifying effect.
And finally, if you have any medical conditions whatsoever that may be affected by changes to your diet, then you should talk to your doctor GP first before starting.
Pregnancy multivitamins 'are a waste of money'
The researchers said pregnant women might feel coerced into buying expensive multivitamins in order to give their baby the best start in life.
But they would do well to resist the marketing claims, which did not seem to translate into better outcomes for mother or baby, they said.
"The only supplements recommended for all women during pregnancy are folic acid and vitamin D, which are available at relatively low cost," they said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36765161
Janet Fyle, from the Royal College of Midwives, said: "We would encourage women who are pregnant or are thinking of becoming pregnant to have a healthy, varied diet including fresh fruit and vegetables, alongside taking folic acid supplements.
"We would also stress that there is no need for pregnant women to 'eat for two'. "This is a myth, and all that is required is a normal balanced amount of food."
What to do if you have a cold or flu
Honey and lemon or a hot toddy?
Neither is proven to help, but honey and lemon might be a better option than the whisky, particularly if you plan to have more than one drink.
Doctors recommend plenty of fluids - by which they mean water - plus the odd cup of tea or coffee.
The advice is that you should try to eat some healthy food to keep your strength up, but don't feel that you have to force it down if you're not hungry.
Soldier on or go to bed?......Listen to your body. Don't push yourself too hard and get some rest.Paracetamol or ibuprofen? Both work.
You can even take paracetamol and ibuprofen together to ease your symptoms - it is safe to take both doses at the same time or spaced apart.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38287013
Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper
Can changing your mealtimes make you healthier?
There's an old adage: "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper," and it appears to be true.
If you must have that fry-up, have it for breakfast.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35290671?post_id=10206223851050095_10206667924071643#_=_
What we found is that the group who had eaten breakfast later and dinner earlier had, on average, lost more body fat and seen bigger falls in blood sugar levels and cholesterol than the control group.
So it was very positive result and the first randomised trial of this sort carried out in humans.
Sticking rigidly to a reduced eating window may, for many people, not be entirely practical. But there does seem to be benefit from doing it when you can - and it is certainly a good idea to avoid the midnight cheeseburger.
The blood tests showed that after my morning meal my blood sugar level returned to normal pretty quickly, while the levels of fat in my blood began to drop after about three hours.
In the evening, however, after exactly the same meal, my blood sugar levels stayed high for much longer and the fat levels in my blood were still rising four hours after I finished eating.
So Johnston is right - our bodies really don't like having to have to deal with lots of food late at night. A midnight snack will have a worse impact on your body than the same food eaten earlier in the day.
Why an iron fish can make you stronger
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32749629
Anaemia is the most common nutritional problem in the world, mainly affecting women of child-bearing age, teenagers and young children.
The tablets are neither affordable nor widely available, and because of the side-effects people don't like taking them.
Dr Charles had a novel idea. Inspired by previous research which showed that cooking in cast iron pots increased the iron content of food, he decided to put a lump of iron into the cooking pot, made from melted-down metal.
Iron cooking vessel good to cure anaemia of Iron deficiency
---------------------------------------------
Tasty and Healthy below
https://in.style.yahoo.com/water-elixir-of-life-072550505.html
Water - Elixir of Life.
Drinking water first thing in the morning helps regulate stomach acid.
Water helps to boost energy and also prevents the onset of many diseases. It flushes out toxins and improves blood circulation.
Water is extremely important for a healthy heart. Dehydration can lead to elevated cholesterol and blood pressure as the blood becomes thicker and the flow is affected when the body is dehydrated. Enough amount of water will help your heart pump your blood more effectively.
If you are trying to lose weight, drinking water before a meal helps one feel fuller.
Dehydration can also cause lethargy and tiredness. Water helps the blood to transport oxygen and essential nutrients to the cells.
If we do not drink enough water, it affects cell activity and can cause dehydration, muscle cramps, irritability, fatigue etc.
Wanna look younger? Drink plenty of water. Lack of enough water causes the body to sag and wrinkles and fine lines show up more when dehydrated.
Drinking water hydrates skin cells and makes one look younger. It also flushes out impurities and improves circulation and blood flow and makes the skin glow.
Water is important for healthy digestion. It helps dissolve waste particles and passes them gently through the digestive tract. Dehydration causes the body to absorb all the water, and makes the colon dry which makes it more difficult to pass waste. Water along with fibre helps prevent constipation.
The reason behind formation of kidney stones is, more often than not, due to not drinking enough water. The risk of kidney stones goes down if you drink enough water as stones cannot form in diluted urine. Water dilutes the salts and minerals in your urine that form the solid crystals - kidney stones. Urinary tract infections’ risk is higher when a person drinks less water.
Water helps regulate body temperature.
Ways Water Helps Your Body
Digestion
Protects Brain And Spinal Cord
Regulates Body Temperature
Lubricates Joints
Growth And Repair
Waste Removal
https://in.style.yahoo.com/6-ways-water-helps-body-094450459.html
Sitting around will still make you sick.
Not only does exercise help you fit into your favorite jeans and maintain your physical fitness, it also improves your mood, decreases stress, and makes you smarter andmore creative.
In short, breaking a sweat is essentially a wonder drug for your mental and physical health.
But you probably knew that already.
What baffles a lot of people isn't the question of why you should hit the gym, but the puzzle of why, knowing everything you do about the importance of staying active, exercising is still so hard.
Despite our good intentions and a flood of public health warnings, a great many of us still struggle to get off our butts regularly.
Laziness is a feature, not a bug.
The bottom line: you can't be entirely blamed for finding it incredibly difficult to get off the couch --
you're programmed by evolution to run only when a lion is chasing you and we live in a lion-less world--
but you really, really need to find a way to make yourself do it anyway.
Coffee v smoothies: Which is better for you?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24621394
In fact, data from this study suggests that moderate coffee consumption is mildly protective, leading to slightly lower all-cause mortality in coffee drinkers than non-coffee drinkers.
Based on this and other studies the most effective "dose" is two to five cups a day.
More than that and any benefits drop off.
Smoothies & fruit juices
They may consist of pure fruit but by the time you've got rid of the peel and mashed the fibre then you have already lost many of the potential health benefits.
Fruit smoothies are acidic and the bits cling to your teeth, so dentists are not enthusiastic. An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but not when it's been peeled, blended, mashed and packaged.
They found that eating some types of fruit and vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and apples) cuts your risk of colorectal cancer, while drinking fruit juice was associated with an increased risk of rectal cancer.
Sugary drinks lead to increased risk of some cancers.
The researchers point out that many things that protect against bowel cancer, such as antioxidants and fibre, are lost or diminished during the juicing process.
'Super active aged' offer clue to keeping a sharp memory
Memory loss is not an inevitable part of ageing, say US scientists...............a unique group of adults in their 60s and 70s with minds as sharp as people in their 20s.
"We hope that people can do themselves, such as physical fitness and diet."
He said experts already know that certain factors, such as smoking and high cholesterol, age the brain faster.
One of the most effective ways to tackle type 2 diabetes is to lose weight, and it seems that dramatic weight loss may be particularly beneficial for blood-sugar levels.
This surprising effect was first seen in patients who had undergone weight-loss (bariatric) surgery. As well as losing weight, many also reversed their diabetes.
We will look at surgery later..... but there may be ways to replicate these benefits without major surgery —
the answer may be as simple as a drastic, short-term diet.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3049735/Starvation-diet-reverse-type-2-diabetes-dramatic-weight-loss-lower-blood-sugar-levels.html#ixzz4Lu8qKXHZ
Millions of people suffering from Type 2 diabetes could be cured of the disease if they just lost weight, a new study suggests.
Keys to control - healthy lifestyle is enough to control their blood sugar levels.
That means losing weight if you are overweight, eating healthy foods, and being more active.
http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/tc/type-2-diabetes-can-you-cure-it-topic-overview
Remission is most likely in the early stage of diabetes or after a big weight loss. It can also happen after bariatric surgery for weight loss, which can trigger healthy changes in the body's insulin system.
Remission is less likely in the later stages of diabetes, because the body may slowly lose its ability to make insulin over time.
Whether your diabetes is under control or in remission, the keys to keeping high blood sugar down are weight control, exercise, and a diabetes-healthy diet.
Weight loss surgery 'cures half of type-2 diabetes cases'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34130619
The operations reduced the size of the stomach and left less of the intestines exposed to food.
Prof Francesco Rubino, who operated on the patients, told the BBC News website:
"Surgery is able to produce prolonged remission in 50% of cases, patients get to levels of blood sugar that is non-diabetes for five years.
"However, 80% who had surgery were able to maintain 'optimal control' [of blood sugar] despite only taking one drug or nothing at all."
While some of those patients still had type-2 diabetes, they were easily keeping their sugar levels to recommended levels.
Energy drink 'fuel hepatitis risk'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37834002
"Vitamins and nutrients, such as niacin, are present in quantities that greatly exceed the recommended daily intake, lending to their high risk for harmful accumulation and toxicity."
'Your body's factory'
"We are not sure how many of the ingredients are filtered through the liver, and what levels may lead to toxicity and liver injury."
"The liver is your body's factory - it carries out hundreds of functions that are vital to life.
"These functions include destroying and dealing with drugs or toxins, processing food and drink once it has been digested and storing energy so that it can be used effectively.
"Energy drinks offer no nutritional benefit and drinking too many of them can stop the liver from doing its job properly and lead to serious problems."
He added having a pre-existing liver condition was "likely to exacerbate the problem and create a 'double whammy' effect".
Mr Langford said a balanced diet - including plenty of water, exercising regularly and limiting alcohol consumption - would help maintain a healthy liver.
Air pollution: 'Heart disease link found'
Extremely small particles of pollution have the potential to evade the lungs' protective filter system and end up deep in the body, scientists suggest.
Researchers speculate the particles could then build up in blood vessels and raise the risk of heart disease.
Smoking 'causes hundreds of DNA changes'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37849000
The changes are permanent, and persist even if someone gives up smoking.
Researchers say analysing tumour DNA may help explain the underlying causes of other cancers.
The analysis shows a direct link between the number of cigarettes smoked in a lifetime and the number of mutations in tumour DNA.
The authors found that, on average, smoking a packet of cigarettes a day led to:
150 mutations in each lung cell every year
97 in the larynx or voice box
23 in the mouth
18 in the bladder
six in the liver
The more mutations there are, the higher the chance that these will occur in the key genes that we call cancer genes, which convert a normal cell into a cancer cell."
Bright light / Sunlight increases sexual satisfaction in men
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37383689
Exposure to bright light can lead to greater sexual satisfaction in men who have low sexual desire.
Scientists found that using a light box, similar to those used to treat some forms of depression, increased testosterone levels.
And this led to greater reported levels of sexual satisfaction, who had been diagnosed with disorders which cause a lack of interest in sex.
The many myths of back pain
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37305032
There may be physical reasons but there may also psychological or even social factors at play, and it's important to identify and address those.
The key again, as with all of these myths, is to overcome the fear factor to avoid a person's condition worsening.
But if we can begin to knock down these myths, we can start to make inroads on a condition that affects millions of us every day.
The fear of activity is understandable - it can be very painful - but it is essential to stay on the go………….keep active and moving always.
Gradually increase the amount of activity you do, and try to avoid long periods of inactivity.
Daylight robbery: Private hospitals prescribing medicines worth Rs 15,200 despite a Rs 800 alternative being available
One of the main reasons behind this fleecing is that the more expensive the drug, the more profit the hospital makes on retail margins
Why hospital MRPs are so much higher than actual selling prices?
Doctors point out that the huge MRP enables companies to attract hospitals with the prospect of high margins.
"Pharmaceuticals or devices and diagnostics are two major revenue earners for any private hospital. Besides, as a private venture, we also have to ensure healthy profits for the investors or owners," points out a hospital administrator.
Public hospitals, in contrast, can not only get drugs and devices at even steeper discounts — the government buys in bulk — they have no compulsion either to earn ever higher profit margins.
Yet, the failure of governments to boost public health infrastructure in keeping with rising demand has pushed patients to the private sector. And for many, this means impoverishment.
https://in.style.yahoo.com/news/7-amazing-uses-honey-121552127/photo-null.html
Honey for weight loss
Start your day with a glass of warm water with honey and lime. It is believed that having this concoction on an empty stomach will boost metabolism and thus speed up weight loss. It also helps improve digestion.
HEALTH
WHO carcinogenic warning: Will processed meat kill me?
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34638221
Processed meats - such as bacon, sausages and ham - do cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
and are on danger list as radioactive / nuclear weapon materials......
Advice to eat more fat 'irresponsible'
Advice to eat more fat is irresponsible and potentially deadly
"The change in dietary advice to promote low fat foods is perhaps the biggest mistake in modern medical history.
"We must urgently change the message to the public to reverse obesity and type 2 diabetes
The company that pays its staff to sleep
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36641119
"Sleep is critical for coming up with creative solutions, seeing insight into processes, and putting things together intelligently," she says.
Ms van der Helm adds that without enough sleep people "lose their ability to judge their own performance".
Sleep 'prioritises memories we care about'
During sleep, the experiences you care about are more likely to enter your long-term memory.
This suggests that memories perceived as important undergo preferential treatment by the brain during sleep.
Sleep helps the consolidation of memories, and how much you care about particular memory.
How mutton flaps are killing Tonga
The Pacific island of Tonga is the most obese country in the world.
Up to 40% of the population is thought to have diabetes and life expectancy is falling. One of the main causes is a cheap, fatty kind of meat - mutton flaps - imported from New Zealand.
"The bigger you are, that's beauty," says Drew Havea, chair of the civil Society Forum of Tonga.
Size and status in Tonga have often gone together. The Tongan King Tupou IV, who died in 2006, holds the Guinness record for being the heaviest-ever monarch - 200kg (33 stone, or 440lbs). Being thin would traditionally have indicated a position lower in the social pecking order.
"We need to learn that if you are skinny you are not hungry," says Havea.
In his later years, the king lost some weight, and was photographed exercising, in an attempt to show Tongans how to improve their health.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36411403
Not walking at work could be 'as dangerous as smoking'
New data suggests more than half of us only go for a walk at work when we need the toilet.
Some experts warn that staying still on the job could be as dangerous as smoking.
How A Bone Disease Grew To Fit The Prescription
http://www.npr.org/2009/12/21/121609815/how-a-bone-disease-grew-to-fit-the-prescription
That is, drug companies produce incredible drugs that can greatly relieve suffering. But one way they profit from those drugs is to extend their use to as many people as possible, which frequently means that medications are used in populations with milder and milder versions of a disease, so that the risks of medicating can come to outweigh the benefits.
This has been a story about osteoporosis and osteopenia. But there are versions of this story about a lot of diseases. Caleb Alexander, a pharmaco-epidemiologist at the University of Chicago, says the dynamic is well understood:
"There's a powerful economic incentive for pharmaceutical firms to expand the boundaries of the use of different therapies. So whether you consider treatments for osteoporosis or treatments for depression or treatments for high cholesterol — in all of these settings — pharmaceutical firms stand to benefit if the therapies for these diseases are broadly used," Alexander says. "Even if they're used among people who have very mild forms of these diseases."
Superbug risk from undercooked meat
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35037558?post_id=10206223851050095_10206439985453320#_=_
Superbugs may be passed on to people by eating undercooked meat, a government report has warned.
Antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria can lurk in the meat we eat because of excessive use of antibiotics for farming, according to the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
If we eat it raw or undercooked, there is a risk - albeit small - that we might catch these hard-to-treat infections and become ill.
'Cold turkey' best way to quit smoking
People who want to quit smoking are more likely to succeed if they go "cold turkey" by stopping abruptly.
Air pollution: Benefits of cycling and walking outweigh harms
The health benefits of cycling and walking outweigh the harmful effects of air pollution, a study has suggested.
Air pollution contributes to 40,000 early deaths each year in the UK and we gulp in more of it when we exercise.
On the other hand, regular exercise reduces the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and several cancers.
The University of Cambridge study showed that even in cities with high pollution levels, the benefits outweigh the risks.
Is fermented food a recipe for good gut health?
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35780468?post_id=10206223851050095_10207054423253881#_=_
"Diversity is the key."
Asian diets, which have a tradition of fermented foods, appear to lead to better gut health in countries such as China, Japan and Korea, where bowel diseases are less common.
So it would be no surprise if Western diets, which are dominated by sugar and processed food, are in need of more probiotics to top up the gut's bacterial swamp.
In the meantime, Prof Spector suggests eating a variety of things you like.
"A bit of fruit and natural yoghurt for breakfast perhaps, try kefir, sauerkraut, miso soup, kimchi..." he says.
Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made from fermented cabbage and other vegetables
Obesity linked to 'worse memory'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35658652?post_id=10206223851050095_10206936235019249#_=_
People who are obese have a worse memory than their thinner friends.
Are we fighting cancer the right way?
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35423400?post_id=10206223851050095_10206781718956444#_=_
"At the moment, perhaps 40 to 50% of cancers could be prevented - if we were able to translate the knowledge we have about what causes cancer into effective interventions and reduce exposure to those risk factors.
"It's worth adding as well that the pattern of cancer and risk factors is quite different in different parts of the world.
"Typically in the low-income countries we see quite a lot of cancers associated with chronic infections, so cervical cancer, associated with the Human papillomavirus, liver cancer associated with Hepatitis B virus and stomach cancer, which is linked to a bacterium in the gut."
Changing behaviour is not easy. There is inertia.
Lifestyles are related to habits, local culture, local environment and there are a whole range of commercial and financial interests.
"There is no magic bullet, [but] you can change your lifestyle, your diet, you can stop smoking. Information was the first part.
"There were anti-smoking and cholesterol-lowering competitions between villages.
""Because smoking among men was such a tremendous problem, the annual mortality of lung cancer, tobacco-related cancers have now declined by close to 50 per cent.
"All this led to something like a 10-year increase in life expectancy."
I'm slim so why am I at risk of diabetes?
Fat makes tissue resistant to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar, so the glucose builds up, and can eventually trigger type 2 diabetes.
According to some researchers, Asians, and especially South Asians, are more likely to have not only more abdominal fat, but also less muscle, which further increases insulin resistance.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35280028
That's because Asian genes dictate that fat is laid down in the abdominal area.
It's this "visceral" or belly fat, as well as fat inside the liver, that puts us at risk.
"Imaging technology that measures fat in humans has shown that Asians of a healthy BMI have more fat around organs and in the belly area than Europeans with the same BMI, thereby increasing risk," according to a 2009 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Fat makes tissue resistant to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar, so the glucose builds up, and can eventually trigger type 2 diabetes.
According to some researchers, Asians, and especially South Asians, are more likely to have not only more abdominal fat, but also less muscle, which further increases insulin resistance.
Type-2 diabetes is caused by fat accumulating in the pancreas and that losing fat through weight loss reverses the condition
Why that ‘one diet trick’ won’t work
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160120-why-that-one-diet-trick-wont-work
A huge number of people are looking for that magic bullet which will make them healthier, fitter and thinner. And of course we’d like it to be easy and not to involve too much self-denial.
We are ever optimistic. We think that we will be better people in the future. Just as we fall prey to the planning fallacy, believing that we can build ourselves a new kitchen in a weekend or complete a project for work in an afternoon, we think in the future we will be better-organised and more self-disciplined.
People set themselves unrealistic targets which they inevitably failed to reach, leaving them feeling worse about themselves. Some of the students she studied had tried and failed for 10 years in row to make the same changes in their lives, but each year they were convinced that this time it would work.
Sometimes the targets we set ourselves are just too high. One reason why dieting is difficult is that foods high in fat and sugar taste good. For thousands of years we have been attracted to those foods, not knowing if they will be scarce in the future. Now of course, in many parts of the world they are ever-available to us. The message from nutritionists to eat less and exercise more hasn’t changed in decades, but that still doesn’t make it easy, which is why we are so keen to try anything new that might help us to do it.
The researchers didn’t measure the long-term use of a step counter, but the fear is that if you start to see walking as work, rather than pleasure, then over time you’ll start doing less of it. It has been robbed of its intrinsic motivation
So far there is no silver bullet, but constantly trying new strategies could have one advantage, provided we don’t get too disappointed if we fail. We might manage to break a habit.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35350450
Most cases of Alzheimer's Dementia are caused by a mix of age, genetic and lifestyle factors.
The risk can be cut by:
not smoking
keeping blood pressure in check
getting enough exercise
eating a healthy and balanced diet
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34280155
Healthier lifestyles 'could cut cancer cases by a third'
About a third of cancer cases in the UK could be prevented if people ate healthily, exercised more and cut down on alcohol, figures indicate.
Data from the World Cancer Research Fund suggests that 20,000 cases of breast cancer and about 19,000 cases of bowel cancer could be stopped each year with small changes in lifestyle.
In 2013, there were more than 351,000 new cases of cancer in the UK.
The WCRF said 84,000 could have been prevented.
Head of research Dr Rachel Thompson said simple changes to diet and lifestyle could make "a huge difference" in the battle against cancer.
"Even minor adjustments, like 10 to 15 extra minutes of physical activity each day, cutting down on alcohol, or limiting your intake of high calorie foods and sugary drinks, will help decrease your cancer risk," she said.
She said that after cutting out smoking, being a healthy body weight was the most important thing people could do to cut their risk of getting cancer.
"There is strong evidence that being overweight or obese increases the risk of 10 cancers," she said.
Brisk walking for 1 hour daily Use Stairs whenever possible
How much exercise offsets a burger?
And how much dancing can burn off a glass of wine?
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151016-how-far-do-you-have-to-run-to-burn-off-a-burger
How much sex is equivalent to a slice of cheese? And how hard is it to make up for a donut?
The gym bunny’s equation is simple enough: calories in versus calories out. After you’ve worked up a sweat in the gym, you should have gained the licence to treat yourself to a snack afterwards.
In practice, the maths is difficult to get right: it’s all too easy to overestimate how much we’ve burnt in a session, and underestimate the calories in a snack. The depressing result is that many people (up to 68%, in one study) hoping to shed pounds actually put on weight during their exercise regime.
Air pollution 'linked to early deaths'.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35629034
They say diesel emissions have been poorly controlled.
And indoor air pollution has been overlooked.
Tobacco still poses the biggest indoor threat, but wood-burning stoves, cleaning products and air fresheners can contribute.
Mould and mildew in poorly ventilated rooms can also cause illness.
"Being indoors can offer some protection against outdoor air pollution, but it can also expose us to other air pollution sources," the report says.
"There is now good awareness of the risks from badly maintained gas appliances, radioactive radon gas and second-hand tobacco smoke, but indoors we can also be exposed to NO2 [nitrogen dioxide] from gas cooking and solvents that slowly seep from plastics, paints and furnishings.
"The lemon-and-pine scents that we use to make our homes smell fresh can react chemically to generate air pollutants, and ozone-based air fresheners can also cause indoor air pollution."
Prof Grigg said the public could also help by:
walking, cycling or taking the bus or train instead of driving, when possible
keeping gas appliances and solid fuel burners in good repair
making homes more energy efficient
Is there a danger from scented products?
Limonene is not a chemical that poses a big hazard to health - in fact it is also used as a flavouring in foods. However, once sprayed into our houses, it doesn't stay as limonene for long.
Back in the laboratory, Prof Lewis analysed its reactivity, and discovered that on exposure to ozone - which is present in the air all around us - every two molecules of limonene could produce one molecule of another chemical, formaldehyde.
Having lots of formaldehyde in our houses is quite a different prospect. Since the 1980s, links have been established between formaldehyde and cancer, and since 2011 it's been listed as a known human carcinogen.
It's present in some furniture, and is created by burning cigarettes or by gas stoves. But given the very high levels of limonene discovered in some of our houses, we wanted to measure formaldehyde in them too.
We discovered that it correlated with the levels of limonene, in line with Prof Lewis's findings that it was created from limonene. It seems that while enjoying the aroma of fragranced candles, plug-ins, air fresheners and cleaning products we are increasing our exposure to a serious nasty thing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/58KFJzpJb2kyLtDPhhHqnbQ/are-perfumed-products-bad-for-me
US health regulator likely to increase inspectors in India
While the US lawmakers are pushing the American health watchdog to increase presence in China and India following the rising cases of counterfeit and substandard drugs, the Food and Drug Administration is likely to add five more inspectors in India.
Exercise 'not key to obesity fight' - it is Unhealthy Food
Physical activity has little role in tackling obesity - and instead public health messages should squarely
focus on unhealthy eating & drinking, doctors say.
Dr Malhotra said: "An obese person does not need to do one iota of exercise to lose weight, they just need to eat less. My biggest concern is that the messaging that is coming to the public suggests you can eat what you like as long as you exercise.
"That is unscientific and wrong. You cannot outrun a bad diet."
In an editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, three international experts said it was time to "bust the myth" about exercise.
They said while activity was a key part of staving off diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and dementia, its impact on obesity was minimal.
Instead excess sugar and carbohydrates were key.
They even likened their tactics as "chillingly similar" to those of Big Tobacco on smoking and said celebrity endorsements of sugary drinks and the association of junk food and sport must end.
An obese person does not need to do one iota of exercise to lose weight, they just need to eat less, Dr Aseem Malhotra, Cardiologist.
A healthy lifestyle will include both a balanced diet and simple yoga type stretching exercises, speed walking, stair climbing and cycling."
Obesity 'linked to cancer rise'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35243170
Why is obesity linked to cancer?
There are a number of theories behind the link, including:
Fat tissue can produce an excess amount of certain hormones that may disrupt normal growth of cells
Obesity may lead to tissues becoming inflamed, which in turn may increase the risk of them becoming cancerous
FAT may disrupt the actions of proteins designed to keep a check on cell growth
Source: NHS Choices
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35255577
The truth about alcohol
"There's 60 different ways at least that alcohol can make you unwell or kill you," he told me over a glass of water. "It's not just the obvious things like liver disease. A man drinking three to four units a day increases his risk of developing prostate cancer by 23%. Alcohol, at whatever level, raises a woman's risk of breast cancer. There'd be 10% fewer deaths from breast cancer worldwide if there was no drinking."
He thinks that the studies which suggest that moderate drinking is protective are flawed.
He says the problem is that people who don't drink at all tend to include former alcoholics and people who are in poor health, and that skews the apparent benefits of moderate drinking.
He concedes that having a couple of drinks twice a week is unlikely to do much harm, but recommends "abstinent days, abstinent months, and if you actually don't miss the stuff, abstinent years."
"There have been a couple of smallish studies," he added, "which showed that if people were randomised to either eating a Mediterranean diet, or eating a Mediterranean diet and drinking a small glass of red wine, those who drank the wine had better cardiac function over time."
Part of the problem with alcohol guidelines is that most of us have no real idea what an alcohol unit is!!
He thinks it may be because alcohol promotes the production of nitric oxide, a compound that makes the arteries in the body dilate. This would reduce stress on the heart and improves its oxygen supply.
But today's government report downplays the potential benefits of alcohol, stating that "the net protective effect that may be attributable to drinking regularly at low levels appears to be significant only for women aged 55+ (with men aged over 55+ showing a protective effect of negligible size)".
Gardening 'boosts mental well-being'.
Gardening in an allotment can improve mood and self-esteem, according to research by two universities.
The study, by Westminster and Essex universities, questioned 269 people - around half of whom did some gardening.
The results revealed that those who spent as little as 30 minutes a week in their allotments saw significant gains in mental well-being, according to the Journal of Public Health.
The research also showed the allotment gardeners had fewer weight problems.
The participants were questioned about their mood, self-esteem and general health.
Those who had worked in their allotments at least once a week had lower levels of fatigue, depression, tension and anger - and had higher self-esteem and better general health - than those who had done no gardening at all.
Not just diabetes, fibre-rich diet can reduce lung disease risk too
Can't fit into your pants anymore? Lose weight with fibre-rich diet
Couch potato? Your brain could be ageing faster than you think
If you love to spend more time watching TV or movies and hate to exercise, you could end paying a heavy price in your middle age:
Your lifestyle may accelerate brain ageing in just two decades, warn researchers.
What can save you? Go hit the ground running!
Is it better to run outside or on a treadmill?
When people ran on a treadmill they went significantly slower, even though they thought they were going just as fast, probably because when you are running indoors you don't get the same visual cues.
Exercising in natural environments, particularly in green spaces, "was associated with greater feelings of revitalisation and positive engagement, decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression, and increased energy".
They also found that people who exercised outdoors claimed to enjoy it more, find it more satisfying and said they were more likely to do it again.
One other advantage of exercising outdoors is that you've got a greater chance of being exposed to sunshine and therefore topping up your vitamin D
Is it better to run outside or on a treadmill?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35399598
Conclusion - Outdoor running has clear advantages.
HEALTH
The extraordinary impact that your mother's diet at the time of your conception has on the rest of your life
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34222452
That if, during very early development, a mother eats a diet rich in leafy green vegetables, then this will change forever just how active some of her child's genes are.
On the positive side, what this suggests is that improving the diet of pregnant women would not only improve the lives of their children but of their grandchildren.
Or as the authors of the study cautiously put it: "This may imply that improved maternal nutrition during gestation may benefit the health of many generations to come."
As Matt Silver, part of the MRC team, says: "Variation in methylation state in this gene could affect your ability to fight viral infections and it may also affect your chances of survival from cancers such as leukaemia and lung cancer."
If you are thinking of having a baby, then eating lots of leafy green vegetables, which are rich in B vitamins and folates, is certainly a good thing to do. Folic acid supplements are also recommended to reduce the risk of neural tube defects.
Bananas to strawberries: Natural ways for sparkling white teeth
Banana peel
Claim: High levels of potassium, magnesium and manganese in bananas can help remove stains from teeth.
Simply peel a ripe banana, and rub your teeth with the insides of the peel for about two minutes. After three weeks, your teeth will have whitened.
Verdict: True. If you rub the skin it can act as a gentle exfoliator and will remove some surface stains, but the banana will not reach inside the pores on the surface of your enamel - so no true ‘deep’ clean will take place
Eat the Peels: How Banana Peels Could Help You Lose Some Weight
Banana is one of the oldest fruits to have been cultivated by humans.
It is known to contain essential vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin B-6, B-12, potassium and magnesium. It is also commonly known to aid in digestion and be a good source of fibre.
While this fruit regularly makes it to the cereal bowl and is used as an ingredient in muffins and tea cakes, the nutrient packed peels go straight into the bin. As strange as the concept of eating peels may seem, on the contrary, many Asian countries have been doing so for years.
Banana peels are said to contain vitamin A, which helps in building immunity and fight against infections. They also contain a substance called lutein, which keeps the eyes healthy and prevents cataract.
Banana peels have a lot of antioxidants and most of the B vitamins but majorly vitamin B6. They have soluble and insoluble fibers which slow down the process of digestion and lower cholesterol in the body. It is highly recommended to eat these peels because it has potassium and magnesium, which keeps a check on the blood pressure levels.
How to Eat Them?
There are many ways to include banana peels in your diet.
People in the Asian countries and the Caribbean region make fritters of the entire fruit (peels and flesh). One can prepare a banana peel tea or a thick smoothie with vanilla ice cream. Some people like to eat it raw and some like to steam the peels for 10 minutes.
The green variety is usually treated like a vegetable and needs to be cooked with spices and other ingredients to make a delightful dish. The yellow peels can be eaten directly and they have a prominent banana flavour as compared to the green peels.
You can even prepare a banana peel shot by just blending the peels for a quick dose of nutrients.
Your favourite fitness supplement could be fake, counterfeit
About 60 to 70% of them sold across India are fake, counterfeit, unregistered and unapproved, says a joint study conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and business consulting firm RNCOS.
It is also extremely difficult to identify them, noted the study.
Journal says role of vitamin D, calcium in curing osteoporosis a fallacy
An article in the British Medical Journal has accused academics and researchers in international osteoporosis foundations heavily funded by supplement manufacturers of wrongly promoting the use of calcium and vitamin D supplements for treating osteoporosis despite evidence piling up since 2002 that they have no positive effects on osteoporosis in the elderly, and could even be harmful.
The article authored by two endocrinologists -- Andrew Grey and Mark Bolland from New Zealand's University of Auckland - appeared in the latest issue of the journal.
Calcium and vitamin D supplements are big business with global annual sales of calcium supplements in 2013 amounting to $6 billion and sales of vitamin D in the US touching $748 million in 2012. Annual costs of vitamin D testing in Australia increased from about $800,000 in 2001 to over $71 million in 2010.
The main aim of managing osteoporosis is to prevent fracture. From 2002, evidence from randomised trials began to challenge the notion that calcium or vitamin D supplements alone or in combination safely reduce fracture risk. By 2010 end, of 14 large studies with over 1,000 participants each, nine found no benefit, two found increased fracture risk and three found reduced risk. Among 24 smaller randomised trials, 21 found no effect.
The authors of the BMJ article recommend that the emerging requirements that drug companies declare payments to health practitioners "should be broadened to include supplements and food manufacturers." Advocacy organisations and specialist societies "should eschew corporate sponsorship," they add, "and academics should not engage with advocacy organisations until it is clear that such commercial ties have been severed."
In the interaction between commercial entities, advocacy organisations and academics, all parties seem to benefit--
industry gains scientific credibility, which protects or enhances sales of its products, and indirect marketing through advocacy groups, advocacy organisations and specialist societies get funding and academics get access to research funds and career enhancing publications and presentations.
The party that may lose or be harmed due to overtreatment or even suffer potential harm is the public, warned the authors.
Antibiotic combination marketed by Abbott in India on list of banned drugs
Antibiotic combination marketed in India by Abbott Laboratories is among 344 drug combinations that have been banned by the Indian health authorities.
Besides antibiotic combinations, the list of banned drugs also included analgesic combinations containing nimesulide, and codeine-based drugs.
US Secretary of State John Kerry 71,years is a keen cyclist and often takes his bike with him on diplomatic missions
Processed meats do cause cancer - WHO
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34615621
Processed meats - such as bacon, sausages and ham - do cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Its report said 50g of processed meat a day - less than two slices of bacon - increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%.
Meanwhile, it said red meats were "probably carcinogenic" but there was limited evidence.
Processed meat is meat that has been modified to increase its shelf-life or alter its taste - such as by smoking, curing or adding salt or preservatives.
It is these additions which could be increasing the risk of cancer. High temperature cooking, such as on a barbeque, can also create carcinogenic chemicals.
How bad?
The WHO has come to the conclusion on the advice of its International Agency for Research on Cancer, which assesses the best available scientific evidence.
It has now placed processed meat in the same category as plutonium, but also alcohol as they definitely do cause cancer.
However, this does not mean they are equally dangerous. A bacon sandwich is not as bad as smoking.
"For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed," Dr Kurt Straif from the WHO said.
Prof Tim Key, from the Cancer Research UK and the University of Oxford, said: "This decision doesn't mean you need to stop eating any red and processed meat, but if you eat lots of it you may want to think about cutting down.
"Eating a bacon bap every once in a while isn't going to do much harm - having a healthy diet is all about moderation." and the focus should be alcohol, smoking and body weight.
HEALTH
EU bans 700 generic drugs for manipulation of trials by GVK Biosciences
Medicines affected by the sales ban will lose their validity for use in the EU and they should no longer be sold by pharmaceutical companies.
EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) had examined the marketing authorisation given to over 1,000 generic drugs from EU member nations on the basis of bio-equivalence studies conducted by GVK Bio during the period between 2004 and 2014 after an inspection of the company's facility in Hyderabad by the French Medicines Agency (ANSM) in May, last year showed "systematic manipulation of clinical trial data."
The inspection revealed "data manipulation of electrocardiograms (ECGs) during the conduct of some studies of generic medicines, which appeared to have taken place over a period of at least five years," London-based EMA said in a statement earlier.
"Their systematic nature, the extended period of time during which they took place and the number of member of staff involved cast doubt on the integrity of the conduct of the trials at the site generally and on the reliability of data generated," the agency said
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150728/business-latest/article/india-pays-gvk-bio%E2%80%99s-fault
Hyderabad: A ban imposed by the European Union on the sale of 700 generic drugs in 28 member countries due to alleged manipulation of clinical trials data conducted by GVK Biosciences will cost upto $1.2 billion for the Indian pharma industry.
The companies, which will affected by the ban, would include Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Ranbaxy, Cipla, Wockhardt, etc from India.
US FDA warns Dr Reddy's Laboratories of ban if flaws are not fixed
The FDA said its inspection teams had "identified significant deviations from current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) for the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients" at Dr Reddy's plants located at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh and Nalgonda in Telangana.
The FDA teams "found significant violations of CGMP regulations for finished pharmaceuticals" at the company's facility at Duvvada in Andhra Pradesh.
Homeopathy is bogus, harmful: Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishna
Calling homeopathy and astrology useless and harmful practices, Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan came down heavily on the two, saying real science is far more interesting than “bogus” fields.
Pointing out that India is the only country where a constitution asks for promoting scientific temper, the chemistry scientist said India needs a more rational outlook on such practices.
Explaining that astrology evolved from the human tendency to look for “patterns, generalise and believe”, Ramakrishnan said,
“There is no scientific basis for how movement of planets and stars can influence our fate. There is no reason for time of birth to influence events years later. The predictions made are either obvious or shown to be random.”
“Once beliefs take root, they are hard to eradicate,” he commented, adding, “A culture based on superstitions will do worse than one based on scientific knowledge and rational thoughts.”
Contrary to the general notion that homeopathy originated in India, the scientist also clarified that it was a practice started by a German.
“They (homoeopaths) take arsenic compounds and dilute it to such an extent that just a molecule is left. It will not make any effect on you. Your tap water has more arsenic. No one in chemistry believes in homoeopathy. It works because of placebo effect.”
Ramakrishna was however appreciative of modern day astrology considering the more specific scientific advancements made.
“Alchemy is based on beliefs but accumulated huge amount of data about properties of substances and led to modern chemistry. Astrology was struck in past but modern astronomy has made huge exciting discoveries like the black hole, pulsars etc.”
The onus ultimately lies on humans, for science to be accurate. “Scientists are humans. We have egos, superstitions etc. What is required is to test our ideas by experiments which protect us from false beliefs.”
So did planes really exist in ancient India, as claimed at the Indian Science Congress in Mumbai last year?
“It was surprising for me that Indian science academies did not condemn it. Science has to be based on data. You have to show that you did it and others should be able to verify it. It is impossible that India had plane technology 2000 years ago.”
Science in India has nevertheless become more exact over time. “In the last century alone, life expectancy has doubled. It is because medicine has become scientific and evidence based. There is better understanding of physiology and biochemistry and many diseases have been eradicated.”
Ramakrishnan, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2009, was speaking at the Panjab University at Chandigarh to deliver the Har Gobind Khorana lecture on ‘On Nobody’s Word: Evidence and Modern Science’.
Why I take the stairs at the BBC
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27904822
Even a small amount of activity can make major health gains, and this is what the population really needs to be taught.
Every action, even a single step on a stair or standing up for a few seconds, can put you on a positive path to better health.
Stair climbing is officially classed as "vigorous exercise", burns more calories per minute than jogging and improves cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength.
Apparently you burn one and a half calories for every 10 upward steps and one calorie for every 20 steps down.
Diet debate: Low-fat or high-fat - does it matter?
But clearly there is never going to be health advice to just pour cream down our throats and polish off all the pies and biscuits we can.
Even drowning a salad in olive oil could lead to weight gain.
Going overboard on fat, just as having too much sugar or refined carbohydrate, is a bad thing. Sugar is just stealing the headlines at the moment.
"The reality is that nutrition comes and goes in waves, we've had a fat wave and we're for sure in a sugar frenzy," says Prof Jebb.
She says she worries "enormously" when people reduce all the nation's health problems to being "all about fat or all about sugar".
We need to think about both. Both are bad and both to be cut down. Balanced food with salads and uncooked vegetables important.
Obesity 'biggest threat to women's health'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35061167
A pregnant woman's health affects the conditions inside the womb which in turn can have life-long consequences for the health of the child including the risk of obesity or type 2 diabetes.
Dame Sally said she wanted to "bust the myth" that women should eat for two when pregnant, adding a healthy diet with fruit and vegetables and avoiding alcohol was important.
Obesity increases the risk of many diseases including breast cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28982126
Brain 'can be trained to prefer healthy food'
One study has even found that if you have more plants and flowers around your house you are not only more likely to have a diverse array of bacteria on your skin, you are also less likely to be allergic
Cancer is not just 'bad luck' but down to environment, study suggests
"While healthy habits like not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet and cutting back on alcohol are not a guarantee against cancer, they do dramatically reduce the risk of developing the disease."
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35111449
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28934415
Can you lower your cholesterol just by changing your diet?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33601171
Statins are used to lower cholesterol but how much can be achieved with changes to diet alone, asks Michael Mosley.
Rather than doing any one diet I wanted to see if combining elements of all three diets would have a bigger effect. So I cut back a bit on bacon and sausages and added into my diet the almonds and the oats.
What should I eat to cut my cholesterol?
Why did I do so well? Hard to say. It could be that my combination approach (Portfolio-lite) worked better than doing things in isolation or it could be that my body responds more dramatically to a combination of oats, almonds and bacon-skipping than most people.
So the answer is yes, you can drop your cholesterol significantly through modest changes to diet, but to get as big an effect as you would through taking statins you would probably need to combine a number of different approaches.
The best advice would be to get your bloods taken before and after any dietary change to understand what works best for you.
The hangover that led to the discovery of ibuprofen
It has since become one of the world's most popular painkillers. No medicine cupboard in the modern home is complete without some ibuprofen.
Got a fever? Headache? Back pain? Toothache? Then ibuprofen is most likely to be the drug of choice because it's fast-acting and available over the counter.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34798438
Phones need 'bed mode' to protect sleep
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34744859?post_id=10206223851050095_10206312801753807#_=_
Smartphones, tablets and e-readers should have an automatic "bedtime mode" that stops them disrupting people's sleep, says a leading doctor.
Prof Paul Gringras argued the setting should filter out the blue light that delays the body clock and keeps people awake later into the evening.
The doctor, from Evelina Children's Hospital in London, said every new model was "bluer and brighter".
He said manufacturers needed to show more "responsibility".
As it gets darker in the evening, the body starts to produce the sleep hormone melatonin - which helps people nod off.
Certain wavelengths of light, those at the blue-green end of the spectrum, can disrupt the system.
Parents’ affection, support vital for development….
The children who experienced more of these parenting approaches showed better mental health, greater empathy, more self-control, and a higher level of intelligence.
My comments………..Hostel life in school is not good, if you live in big city with good schools, extracurricular activities; but parents have to caring, loving intelligent Chanakya to show the way and not be one-sided…..not spoiling children with modern toys and luxury.
What is a healthy diet?
One thing experts agree on is that balance is key to a good diet.
Modern nutritional advice makes clear that no one nutrient or food type is the outright villain -
simply avoiding fat or excluding sugar or cutting out carbohydrates is not the answer to keeping well or shedding pounds healthily.
And most dieticians agree there is no such thing as a super food. No single food - however exotic - can provide all the nutrients we need.
So what should we make sure is on our plates?
Plenty of fruit and vegetables
These types of foods are important sources of vitamins and minerals - key to both growth and repair.
UK guidelines suggest eating around five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
To help achieve this, nutritionists advise swapping a mid-morning snack for fruit, or add a banana to breakfast cereal.
But a debate is now emerging over fruit juices. They do not always contain the fibre found in whole fruit and veg.
And there are increasing concerns that they often come packaged with added sugar, piling on unnecessary calories and leading to tooth decay.
Current recommendations suggest drinking no more than one glass of juice every day.
Some bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods
Experts say starchy food should make up around a third of the food we eat.
And they recommend swapping to wholegrain varieties when possible to increase the amount of fibre in our diets with lentils.
Though some people think starchy food is fattening, gram for gram the carbohydrate they contain provides fewer than half the calories of fat, says NHS Choices.
Can eating less meat help reduce climate change?
Who is eating all this meat?
The US has one of the highest levels of meat consumption in the world at about 250g per person per day, almost four times the amount deemed healthy by experts. Europe and the major livestock-producing nations of South America are not far behind, while, at the other end of the scale, Indians average less than 10g of meat per day.
While consumption levels have plateaued in industrialised countries, there is a general correlation between wealth and diet. As incomes rise in the emerging economies, meat consumption is booming. Left unchecked, shifting diets, coupled with a growing population, would see global consumption increase by more than 75% by 2050.
What should be done?
The first priority is to increase public awareness - both to allow people to make informed choices about what they eat and to build support for further action. But it is clear that information campaigns alone will not suffice.
Governments should use the full range of policy levers available to them. Changing the food served in public organisations - to offer a greater share of vegetarian and vegan options - would provide a boost to sustainable suppliers and issue a powerful signal to the millions of people who eat in public offices, schools, the armed forces, hospitals and prisons.
Price reform will also be needed to reflect environmental costs and incentivise behaviour change at the scale needed.
What's more, the public appears to expect that governments will take action in the public good. With a strong enough signal from governments and the media about why we need to change our eating habits, the public is likely to come to accept initially unpopular policies.
History also provides grounds for optimism in this regard. Awareness-raising and price reforms have been successful in shifting our behaviour in terms of smoking and drinking.
Weight loss surgery 'cures half of type-2 diabetes cases'
so, eat less and avoid surgery too........
Weight loss surgery cures half of patients with type-2 diabetes, for at least five years, a study suggests.
The trial, on 60 people, published in the Lancet, found none of those with type 2 had been cured by medication and diet alone.
The surgery improves symptoms both through weight loss and by changing the way the gut functions.
Experts said the results were "remarkable" and that too few people were getting access to the surgery.
The team, at King's College London and the Universita Cattolica in Rome, compared standard drug therapy with surgery to rewire the digestive tract.
The operations reduced the size of the stomach and left less of the intestines exposed to food.
Prof Francesco Rubino, who operated on the patients, told the BBC News website: "Surgery is able to produce prolonged remission in 50% of cases, patients get to levels of blood sugar that is non-diabetes for five years.
"However, 80% who had surgery were able to maintain 'optimal control' [of blood sugar] despite only taking one drug or nothing at all."
While some of those patients still had type-2 diabetes, they were easily keeping their sugar levels to recommended levels.
Skinny jeans and other hidden health risks in your wardrobe
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33223045
Skinny jeans can seriously damage muscles and nerves, doctors have said.
A 35-year-old woman had to be cut out of a pair after her calves ballooned in size, the medics said in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
She had spent hours squatting to empty cupboards for a house move in Australia. By evening, her feet were numb and she found it hard to walk.
Doctors believe the woman developed a condition called compartment syndrome, made worse by her skinny jeans.
HEALTH
Addicted to videogames?
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-33790136
A major UK rehabilitation centre has said more research is needed into the long-term effects of video gaming.
The Broadway Lodge, which traditionally deals with drug and drink related issues, said it had seen a rise in people seeking advice about "gaming addiction" in the past two years.
Exercise makes people 'younger' in later life
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34215673
Taking up exercise later in life can be rejuvenating - making your body behave like it's much younger.
Athletes taking part in the recent National Senior Games in the United States were found to have a "fitness age" up to 25 years younger than their "actual" age.
Amir Payam reports from Minnesota on some inspirational athletes.
Nuts 'protect against early death'
Eating half a handful of nuts every day could substantially lower the risk of early death, a Dutch study suggests.
Previous studies had already indicated a link with cardiovascular health, but this is the first to look at specific nuts and diseases.
Maastricht University researchers found a 23% lower chance of death during the 10-year study in people eating at least 10g (0.3oz) of nuts or peanuts a day.
There was no benefit for peanut butter, which is high in salt and trans fats.
What's in a nut? - It contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, various vitamins, fibre, antioxidants and other bioactive compounds.
7 Amazing Super-Healthy Seeds That Help You Lose Weight
https://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com/7-amazing-super-healthy-seeds-help-lose-weight-122522005.html
Not only do you need to work out rigorously, but you also have to watch your diet in order to lose those extra pounds. Moreover, you need to have a strong will power and commitment towards you goal.
Well, we are talking about some amazing seeds extracted out of flowers, fruits and veggies, which are as good as or even better than nuts, and are extremely helpful for losing weight.
A great snacking option to be picked up and eaten anytime, sunflower seeds are full of amazing benefits for your body.
They contain vitamin B, which helps a lot in burning calories. Rich in vitamin E, they are natural antioxidants that fight toxins in your body and prevent inflammation.
Sunflower seeds are also an excellent source of magnesium that keeps your anxiety levels intact, thereby preventing the excess release of the weight gain promoting hormone, cortisol, in your body.
But remember, you will get these benefits only when you eat them raw, and not roasted.
There is no one-size-fits-all recipe for a good diet.
And your nutritional needs depend partly on your age and how much activity you do.
But what is clear as obesity levels rise is no single food type can shoulder all the blame.
Strokes rising among people of working age
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32690040
There has been an "alarming" rise in the number of working-age men and women having strokes
Experts said growing obesity levels, sedentary lives and unhealthy diets - which raise the risks of dangerous blood clots - all played a part.
And they argued strokes among this age group had long-lasting personal and financial impacts on individuals and their families, as well as on the economy.
Recovering patients can find it difficult to return to work and should have more support from employers, the report suggests.
Exercise 'not key to obesity fight' - it is Unhealthy Food
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32417699
Physical activity has little role in tackling obesity - and instead public health messages should squarely focus on unhealthy eating,doctors say.
Dr Malhotra said: "An obese person does not need to do one iota of exercise to lose weight, they just need to eat less. My biggest concern is that the messaging that is coming to the public suggests you can eat what you like as long as you exercise.
"That is unscientific and wrong. You cannot outrun a bad diet."
In an editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, three international experts said it was time to "bust the myth" about exercise.
They said while activity was a key part of staving off diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and dementia, its impact on obesity was minimal.
Instead excess sugar and carbohydrates were key.
They even likened their tactics as "chillingly similar" to those of Big Tobacco on smoking and said celebrity endorsements of sugary drinks and the association of junk food and sport must end.
An obese person does not need to do one iota of exercise to lose weight, they just need to eat less, Dr Aseem Malhotra, Cardiologist.
A healthy lifestyle will include both a balanced diet and exercise."
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32735723
Elderly people who exercise 'live five years longer'
Regular exercise in old age has as powerful an effect on life expectancy as giving up smoking, researchers say.
The analysis of 5,700 elderly men in Norway showed those doing three hours of exercise a week lived around five years longer than the sedentary.
The authors, writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, called for campaigns to encourage fitness in older people.
The study comes as a charity warns about low levels of exercise.
Health
Being overweight in adolescence is linked to a greater risk of bowel cancer later in life, a study suggests.
Obesity in adolescence linked to bowel cancer risk
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32849977
Researchers followed nearly 240,000 Swedish men for 35 years.
The analysis, published in the journal Gut, showed overweight teenagers went on to have twice the risk of bowel cancer. The figures were even higher in obese teens.
The World Cancer Research Fund said the link between obesity and cancer was "strong".
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the world, with nearly 1.4 million new cases each year.
Processed red meat and abdominal fat have been linked to the disease.
"In fact, the strong association observed between adolescent obesity and early-to-mid-life colorectal cancer, coupled with the increasing prevalence of adolescent obesity, may shed light on the increase in colorectal cancer incidence among young adults," he added.
'Strong evidence'
Rachel Thompson, from the World Cancer Research Fund, said the evidence suggested that obesity was a risk factor for bowel cancer.
"This finding is interesting because it gives an indication that bowel cancer risk might be affected by our lifestyle habits throughout the life course," she said.
He said the industry was encouraging a balanced diet by voluntarily providing clear on-pack nutrition information and offering products with extra nutrients and less salt, sugar and fat.
Life choices 'behind more than four in 10 cancers'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30589712
More than four in 10 cancers - 600,000 in the UK alone - could be prevented if people led healthier lives, say experts.
Latest figures from Cancer Research UK show smoking is the biggest avoidable risk factor, followed by unhealthy diets.
Limiting alcohol intake and doing regular exercise is important advice.
"Leading a healthy lifestyle can't guarantee someone won't get cancer but we can stack the odds in our favour by taking positive steps now that will help decrease our cancer risk in future."
Public Health England says a healthy lifestyle can play a vital role in reducing cancer risk.
It says campaigns such as Smokefree, Dry January and Change4Life Sugar Swaps all aim to raise public awareness.
HEALTH
Fit middle-aged men 'at lower risk for some cancers'
Very fit men in their late 40s are less likely to get lung cancer and colorectal cancer than unfit men, a study in JAMA Oncology suggests.
Their high fitness levels also appear to increase their chances of surviving cancer if they are diagnosed later on.
Being physically active and eating a healthy, balanced diet are already known to be important factors in reducing people's risk of developing cancer and other diseases
Tom Stansfeld, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "Investigating links between men's fitness levels and cancer risk, rather than just the amount of physical activity they do, is a new approach.
"The results reconfirm the benefit of physical activity in decreasing men's risk of bowel cancer.
"Interestingly, the study also found a positive effect of fitness on reducing lung cancer risk, but more research is needed to understand this potential link better."
He said other research in women had shown that increased levels of exercise could reduce the risk of breast and womb cancers.
He added: "Being regularly physically active is great for your overall health and, as this study demonstrates, has benefits far beyond the health of your heart."
.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32069699
Parents rarely spot child obesity
The researchers, writing in the British Journal of General Practice, said obesity had become the new normal in society.
Experts said the study showed the "enormity" of the obesity epidemic.
The results showed that nearly a third, 31%, of parents underestimated the weight of their child.
The main explanation for parents not identifying their child's weight problem is that society as a whole has become so fat we have collectively lost our sense of a healthy weight.
"To the obesity specialist it is incomprehensible that parents cannot tell if their children are overweight.
"You sometimes have to wonder if they are in total denial, but when you realise that even health professionals may often have difficulty in recognising obesity in their patients, the enormity of our obesity epidemic sinks in.
"The knock-on risk of extreme overweight to the individual's and country's health cannot be emphasised enough."
"School education from a young age should focus on the importance of active lifestyles and healthy diets to ensure our society is one that understands the relationship between diet and good health.
Air pollution: invisible health threat
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34455338
How safe is the air that we breathe? The VW diesel emissions scandal has highlighted the issue of air pollution.
The two pollutants which give most cause for concern are the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5), particles so small they can be ingested deep into the lungs.
"Air pollution is second only to active smoking as a public health threat, and in the past decade we have greatly increased our understanding of its dangers."
There is no safety limit for either pollutant - rather the lower your exposure, the lower the risk of harm.
"This is the big challenge because when we tell people about the tens of thousands who die prematurely as a result of air pollution, they can't tangibly appreciate it - it's not like people are dropping dead at the bus stop when a bus goes past. Rather these are the cumulative effects of air pollution over time."
What struck me from my few hours with the air monitors, was how dramatically pollution levels dropped off once I went away from a busy road.
So if you can, it is worth seeking out quieter roads while walking or cycling - the exercise is good for you, and the air will be less polluted too.
The silent killer: All you need to know about Obesity
Why childhood obesity is dangerous
Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death and disability in adulthood. In addition to these future hazards, obese children experience breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and psychological effects.
What are the causes of obesity and overweight
A person becomes obese or overweight when there is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. Globally there has been a rise in obesity because there is an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat. Also people are less active physically due to sedantary jobs, changing modes of transporation and increasing urbanization.
How can one prevent obesity or overweight?
Watch what you are eating and reduce fats and sugar from your diet. Adding fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fibres to your diet may help your cause. According to WHO, physical activity of 60 minutes everyday for kids and 150 minutes per week for adults is important to stay fit.
Diet swap experiment reveals junk food's harm to gut
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32494846
A two-week diet swap experiment hints at just how damaging a Western diet might be to our guts.
Researchers asked people to switch diets for two weeks - 20 US volunteers moved to a low-fat, high-fibre diet while 20 volunteers from rural Africa were asked to eat more "junk" food.
Although the swap was brief, its impact was visible, Nature Communication says.
The Americans benefited from less bowel inflammation, while the African volunteers' bowel health deteriorated.
Exercise advice unrealistic, say experts
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30915437
Researchers say current exercise guidelines are unrealistic and argue that doctors should sometimes advise small increases in activity instead.
They warn the 150-minute weekly target is beyond the reach of some people - particularly older individuals.
And striving to reach these goals could mean the benefits of lighter exercise are overlooked.
Prof Philipe de Souto Barreto at the University Hospital of Toulouse, advises people who are sedentary to make small incremental increases in their activity levels - rather than pushing to achieve current goals.
He points to previous studies which show even short periods of walking or just 20 minutes of vigorous activity a few times a month, can reduce the risk of death, compared to people who do no exercise.
He suggests using GP visits for people over 60 to discuss "realistic options" to increase activity - such as getting people to stand up and move during TV commercial breaks.
Prof Kevin Fenton at Public Health England, says: "Everyone needs to be active every day - bouts of 10 or more minutes of physical activity have proven health benefits.
Getting 150 minutes or more of moderate activity every week is the amount we need to positively impact on a wide range of health conditions.
"This includes reducing the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes."
How dangerous are treadmills?
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32594556
Advice on exercising can appear confusing - one recent report suggested that intensive training may be as bad as not jogging at all.
But World Health Organization advice remains that adults should do at least 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week.
Children, however, are at particular risk.
The daughter of US boxer Mike Tyson died after becoming entangled in the cable of a treadmill, and there are numerous cases of children suffering severe friction burns after trapping fingers and hands in the revolving belt.
Australia has even launched a public campaign on the dangers of treadmills to young children.
HEALTH
Too much jogging 'as bad as no exercise at all'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31095384
Too much jogging may be as bad for you as not putting on your running shoes at all, a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says.
Scientists studied more than 1,000 healthy joggers and non-joggers over a 12-year period.
Those who jogged at a steady pace for less than two and a half hours a week were least likely to die in this time.
But those who ran more than four hours a week or did no exercise had the highest death rates.
'Brisk walking'
In their report, they suggest: "Long-term strenuous endurance exercise may induce pathological structural remodelling of the heart and arteries."
Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study shows that you don't have to run marathons to keep your heart healthy.
"Light and moderate jogging was found to be more beneficial than being inactive or undertaking strenuous jogging, possibly adding years to your life.
"National guidelines recommend we do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week.
"Brisk walking is good exercise. And if you're bit of a couch potato, this is a good place to start."
Why sleep at all?
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150220-how-long-can-we-stay-awake
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32606341
How long can we stay awake?
Any healthy individual planning to find out through personal experimentation will find it tough going.
"The drive to sleep is so strong it will supersede the drive to eat," says Erin Hanlon, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago's Sleep, Metabolism and Health Centre.
"Your brain will just go to sleep, despite all of your conscious efforts to keep it at bay."
Why sleep at all?
Exactly why the urge to sleep is so strong remains a mystery. "The exact function of sleep is still to be elucidated," says Hanlon. She adds, however, that there is something about sleep that seems to “reset” systems in our bodies.
What’s more, studies have shown that routine, adequate sleep promotes healing, immune function, proper metabolism, and much more – which is maybe why it feels good to arise refreshed after a serious snooze.
On the flip side, insufficient slumber has been linked to greater risks of diabetes, heart issues, obesity, depression and other maladies.
To avoid those latter outcomes, we are wracked with uncomfortable sensations when we burn the midnight oil: we lack energy, feel groggy, and find that our heavy eyelids press on aching eyes. As we continue to fight off sleep, our ability to concentrate and form short-term memories slackens.
If we ignore all these side effects and stay up for days on end, our minds become unhinged. We get moody, paranoid, and see things that aren’t really there. "People start to hallucinate and go a bit crazy," says Atul Malhotra, the Director of Sleep Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Sleep enables the brain's intricate wiring system to form and to clear out waste products
One in eight of us keep our mobile phones switched on in our bedroom at night, increasing the risk our sleep will be disturbed.
Foods such as bacon, cheese, nuts and red wine, can also keep us awake at night.
Music 'reduces pain and anxiety' for surgery patients
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-33865448
Listening to music before, during and after an operation can help reduce pain, according to a review.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London said the patients who had listened to music had been less anxious after their surgery and had needed less pain relief.
Writing in the Lancet, they said music had been effective even while patients had been under general anaesthetic.
The Department of Health said doctors should consider the findings.
The scientists want hospitals to suggest in NHS information leaflets that patients bring music devices and playlists into hospital with them.
Hazim Sadideen, a plastic surgeon from University Hospitals Birmingham who has also researched the role of music, said the study was comprehensive.
He added: "Undertaking both minor and major surgery can induce stress.
"Music can be used as an additional modality or adjunct to improve the patient journey, of course it is important to ensure the patient and theatre team would like music to be played."
Obese lose up to eight years of life
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30327777
Being severely obese can knock up to eight years off your life and cause decades of ill health, a report says.
The analysis showed being obese at a young age was more damaging to health and life expectancy.
The team, at the University of Montreal in Canada, said heart problems, joint pains and diabetes were major sources of disability and death.
Experts said people were frequently "ignorant" of the consequences of obesity.
How many more wake-up calls do we need?
"This research study yet again supports the clear message that by becoming obese you not only take years off your life,
but also life off your years in terms of experiencing more years in poor health
rather than enjoying a happy, active and productive life."
Focus on fitness not fatness
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31118639
Shockingly, the BHF's own direct assessment of activity, using accelerometers, showed that none of the 11- to 15-year-old girls and only 7% of boys they measured actually did enough exercise.
All children and young people should engage in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes a day.
Changes in activity levels often fail to have a big impact on body mass index (BMI).
But it is very rare that anyone who becomes more active, for example by walking to school or work, or training for a fun-run, does not become and feel much physically fitter.
BMI is a symptom of inactivity, but it should not be used as the last word in measuring success of interventions to increase physical activity.
Anybody of any size can benefit from being more active whether they see a change in their weight or not.
HEALTH
Coffee v smoothies: Which is better for you?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24621394
The problem with this approach is that coffee drinkers are more likely than non-coffee drinkers to have other "bad" habits, like drinking alcohol or smoking, so it is hard to tease apart what is really doing the harm.
"Regular coffee consumption was not associated with an increased mortality rate in either men or women".
In fact, data from this study suggests that moderate coffee consumption is mildly protective, leading to slightly lower all-cause mortality in coffee drinkers than non-coffee drinkers.
Based on this and other studies the most effective "dose" is two to five cups a day.
More than that and any benefits drop off.
There are hundreds of different substances in coffee, including many different flavonoids (compounds widely found in plants that have antioxidant effects). Which of these ingredients is beneficial, we simply don't know.
One reason why caffeine may be a mild anti-depressant is that as well as making you more alert, it increases levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, like dopamine and serotonin, that are known to improve mood.
Smoothies & fruit juices They may consist of pure fruit but by the time you've got rid of the peel and mashed the fibre then you have already lost many of the potential health benefits.
What you are mainly left with is a sugary drink. In a survey published in early 2013, researchers found that out of 52 commercial smoothies, 41 had more sugar than Coca-Cola (a 12oz can contains the equivalent of about nine teaspoons), and all had more calories.
Fruit smoothies are acidic and the bits cling to your teeth, so dentists are not enthusiastic. An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but not when it's been peeled, blended, mashed and packaged.
More bad news for fruit juice drinkers comes from a case-controlled study done in Western Australia that examined the daily diets of more than 2,000 people.
They found that eating some types of fruit and vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and apples) cuts your risk of colorectal cancer, while drinking fruit juice was associated with an increased risk of rectal cancer.
Sugary drinks lead to raised levels of the hormone insulin and persistently high levels of insulin are associated with increased risk of some cancers.
The researchers point out that many things that protect against bowel cancer, such as antioxidants and fibre, are lost or diminished during the juicing process.
And I very much doubt that the occasional fruit juice or fruit smoothie is going to do any harm.
Nonetheless, I've personally given up buying them and we rarely have them in the house.
I eat whole fruit and when it comes to soft drinks I'm sticking to water, tea and, of course, coffee.
Inactivity 'kills more than obesity'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30812439
A lack of exercise could be killing twice as many people as obesity in Europe, a 12-year study of more than 300,000 people suggests.
University of Cambridge researchers said about 676,000 deaths each year were down to inactivity, compared with 337,000 from carrying too much weight.
They concluded that getting everyone to do at least 20 minutes of brisk walking a day would have substantial benefits.
Experts said exercise was beneficial for people of any weight.
Obesity and inactivity often go hand in hand.
"This study once again reinforces the importance of being physically active, even when carrying excess weight.
"Changing your lifestyle is all good news for heart health, but physical activity is always easier to achieve and maintain without carrying the extra 'body baggage' of too much weight."
In search of a personalised diet
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30709297
The study also confirmed other behaviour that could help people in all groups to lose weight.
• Eat slowly. This can increase the level of the gut hormones that tell the brain to stop eating
• Always eat breakfast. It decreases cravings for bad food. Three quarters of successful dieters have breakfast, says Yeo
• Soup makes you feel fuller. Thick soup stretches the stomach and crucially stays there longer. Scientists say it fills you up more than solid vegetables
• Tiredness messes with decision making and can increase a desire for unhealthy foods.
Recognise this and make shopping lists when you are not hungry
The study also put to the test popular beliefs about the effect of exercise and people's metabolic rate when it comes to dieting, busting one dieting myth.
It found exercise can help people lose weight, but there is a catch.
Often they are less active afterwards, negating much of the hard work they have done.
The most effective way to lose weight is nearly always to change your diet, say the scientists.
HEALTH
High milk diet 'may not cut risk of bone fractures'
Drinking lots of milk may not lower the risk of fracturing bones
But............Opposite pattern -
When fermented milk products such as yoghurt were considered, the opposite pattern was observed - people who consumed more had a lower risk of fractures
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29805374
"We know that low calcium intake (less than 400mg a day) is a risk factor for osteoporosis.
"Individuals should still be encouraged to consume a balanced diet from the five key food groups of which milk and dairy are key."
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30395975
It highlights the health benefits of getting five 80g (3oz) portions of fruit and vegetables every day
Your five portions should include a variety of fruit and vegetables
BMD/DEXA scan reports
Mediterranean raw/partially cooked vegetarian diet keeps people 'genetically young'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30296425
Its mix of vegetables, olive oil, curd/yoghurt, fruits may stop our DNA code from scrambling as we age, according to a study in the British Medical Journal.
Foods rich in vitamins appear to provide a buffer against stress and damage of tissues and cells. And it appears from this latest study that a Mediterranean diet helps protect our DNA
Why an iron fish can make you stronger
Anaemia is the most common nutritional problem in the world, mainly affecting women of child-bearing age, teenagers and young children.
In developing countries, such as Cambodia, the condition is particularly widespread with almost 50% of women and children suffering from the condition, which is mainly caused by iron deficiency.
The standard solution - iron supplements or tablets to increase iron intake - isn't working.
The tablets are neither affordable nor widely available, and because of the side-effects people don't like taking them.
Lump of iron
Dr Charles had a novel idea. Inspired by previous research which showed that cooking in cast iron pots increased the iron content of food, he decided to put a lump of iron into the cooking pot, made from melted-down metal.
'Better than tablets'
Prof Imelda Bates, head of the international public health department at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, says the iron fish is a welcome development.
"These sort of approaches are so much better than iron tablets, which are really horrible.
"If it's something that is culturally acceptable and not too costly, then any improvement to anaemia levels would be of great benefit."
Around 2,500 families in Cambodia are now using the iron fish and the Lucky Iron Fish company has distributed nearly 9,000 fish to hospitals and non-governmental organisations in the country.
What pleases Dr Charles most is the fact that villagers appear to have accepted the smiling iron fish, which is 3in (7.6 cm) long and weighs about 200g (7.1 oz).
HEALTH
Sunshine can slow weight gain and diabetes symptoms'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29743011
Lead author, Dr Shelley Gorman, from the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Western Australia, said the findings showed that sunshine was an important element of a healthy lifestyle.
"They suggest that casual skin exposure to sunlight, together with plenty of exercise and a healthy diet, may help prevent the development of obesity in children."
"It raises critical questions for us humans - are the effects the same in our children and ourselves, and, if so, can they be applied to prevent obesity, treat metabolic syndrome and save vast amounts of pharmacological treatment?
Perhaps it is just a little sunshine that we require."
Poor sleep 'early warning sign' for drink and drug issues
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30846703
Poor sleep in teenage years could be an early warning sign for alcohol problems, illicit drug use and "regretful" sexual behaviour, research suggests.
US scientists found adolescents with bad sleep habits were more likely to engage in risky behaviour in the years to come than those who slept soundly.
They say parents should pay closer attention to teens' sleep schedules.
Other research suggests a good night's sleep is key to making good judgements.
Sleep enables the brain's intricate wiring system to form and to clear out waste products
Complex decisions
Prof Maria Wong from Idaho State University, who led the project, told the BBC: "Most of the time we don't think sleep is important. But our results show sleep is a good marker of some serious later problems.
"A lot of parents don't monitor their adolescents' sleep schedules and let them make their own decisions about when to go to bed.
"But parents need to start talking to their teenagers, not just about grades and extra-curricular activities but about sleep too. And they must get help if needed."
HEALTH
The secret to a long healthy life?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30351406
Every Friday evening Loma Linda falls quiet. On Saturday, take the day off from anything that could be considered work like browsing social media or watching television.
For most, Saturday is a day to recuperate from the past week and to be with family and friends.
She puts her longevity down to "living a pure life, no alcohol, no tobacco, going to bed early and prayer.
He argues that their healthy status is based on more than just diet.
It is a complex mix of spirituality with other lifestyle components such as exercise, social support, mostly plant-based diet, regular exercise and a commitment to celebrate day of rest.
A long-term study concluded that their lifestyle added a significant number of years to the average lifespan.
Researchers identified "striking" protective effects of a vegetarian diet.
Robotic surgery linked to 144 deaths in the US
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33609495
The events included broken instruments falling into patients' bodies, electrical sparks causing tissue burns and system errors making surgery take longer than planned.
The report notes that the figures represent a small proportion of the total number of robotic procedures.
But it calls for fresh safety measures.
"Despite widespread adoption of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery, a non-negligible number of technical difficulties and complications are still being experienced during procedures," the study states.Despite these benefits, sales of surgical robots declined by 2% in 2013 - the most recent year for which figures have been published by the International Federation of Robotics.
That has been linked to some medical experts questioning claims that the cost of using such machines is justified by improved outcomes.
"There is no good data proving that robotic hysterectomy is even as good as - let alone better - than existing, and far less costly, minimally invasive alternatives," the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in 2013.
"Aggressive direct-to-consumer marketing of the latest medical technologies may mislead the public into believing that they are the best choice."
Fitness 'rubs off on your partner'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30877338
Whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking or exercise more, you have a better chance of success if your partner shares your goal, research suggests.
Joint effort
Many studies suggest that our partners can have a big influence on our behaviour and our health.
Happily married or cohabiting people appear to have a lower risk of heart disease and better cancer outcomes, for example.
"For example, if you want to lose weight and have a friend or colleague who's trying to do the same thing, you could encourage each other by joining up for a run or a swim at lunchtime or after work. And local support such as stop smoking services are very effective at helping people to quit.
"Keeping healthy by not smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight and being active can all lower the risk of cancer, and the more people can help and encourage each other, the better."
HEALTH
Regular coffee drinkers have 'cleaner' arteries
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31690358
Drinking a few cups of coffee a day may help people avoid clogged arteries - a known risk factor for heart disease - Korean researchers believe.
They studied more than 25,000 male and female employees who underwent routine health checks at their workplace.
Employees who drank a moderate amount of coffee - three to five cups a day - were less likely to have early signs of heart disease on their medical scans.
People who drank a few cups of coffee a day were less likely to have calcium deposits in their coronary arteries than people who drank more than this or no coffee at all.
Fat 'breathed out' of body via lungs, say scientists
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30494009
Fat can be breathed out as well as burned off as you lose weight, biochemists who have studied metabolism at a microscopic level say.
But they warn that people still need to huff and puff with exercise to keep slim - hyperventilating on its own will not do the trick.
Triglyceride consists of three kinds of atoms; carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and this means that when it is broken down around a fifth of it forms water (H2O) and four-fifths becomes carbon dioxide (CO2).
The water formed may be excreted in the urine, faeces, sweat, breath, tears, or other bodily fluids and is readily replenished by drinking water.
But the exhaled carbon (in CO2) can only be replaced by eating food or consuming beverages such as fruit juice.
Eat less, move more
The study authors, Ruben Meerman and Andrew Brown from The University of New South Wales, said: "None of this biochemistry is new, but for unknown reasons it seems nobody has thought of performing these calculations before.
"These results show that the lungs are the primary excretory organ for weight loss."
They estimate that an average person loses at least 200g of carbon every day and roughly a third of that occurs as we sleep.
Replacing one hour of rest with moderate intensity exercise, such as jogging, removes an additional 40g of carbon from the body, raising the total by about a fifth to 240g.
So to keep weight off you need to balance what you eat against what you burn off and exhale.
"But it does not change the health message that we need to do exercise to keep fat off,"
Yoga may guard against heart disease, study finds
Yoga exercises is an ancient form of exercise that focuses on strength, flexibility and breathing to boost physical and mental wellbeing.
Yoga does count as a muscle strengthening.
Calming
Yoga exercises had significant benefits - it was linked to a lower risk of obesity, high blood pressure and raised cholesterol, the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology reports.
When pitched against other types of exercise, such as brisk walking or jogging, yoga was no better or worse based on the same measures of heart risk.
Yoga exercises could be down to its calming effect. Stress has been linked to heart disease and high blood pressure.
Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "The benefits could be due to working the muscles and breathing, which can bring more oxygen into the body, leading to lower blood pressure.
She said the benefits of yoga on emotional health were well-established.
Why I take the stairs at the BBC
Stair climbing is officially classed as "vigorous exercise", burns more calories per minute than jogging and improves cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength.
Apparently you burn one and a half calories for every 10 upward steps and one calorie for every 20 steps down.
http://www.maxworkouts.com/?gclid=CO2hyZbW4MICFUkpjgodJ1EABA
"These High-Intensity Interval Workouts, Circuit Workouts & Strength Workouts Get You Lean & Ripped So Fast
Here are the 6 WORST things you can do if you want to ignite your body's own fat-burning furnace and get lean, strong & totally ripped in less time:
Mistake #1:
Doing Isolated Exercises
Mistake #2:
Working Out With Machines
Mistake #3:
Doing Long Bouts of Cardio
Mistake #4:
Doing Crunches & Sit-Ups To Get 6-Pack Abs
Mistake #5:
Repeating The Same Workouts Over & Over
Mistake #6:
Doing Loooong Workouts
Longer workouts do NOT equal better or faster results. If you've been slaving away at the gym and your body isn't visibly changing, you can't do more of the same thing and expect a different result.
HEALTH
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27904822
Even a small amount of activity can make major health gains, and this is what the population really needs to be taught.
Every action, even a single step on a stair or standing up for a few seconds, can put you on a positive path to better health.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28982126
Brain 'can be trained to prefer healthy food'
One study has even found that if you have more plants and flowers around your house you are not only more likely to have a diverse array of bacteria on your skin, you are also less likely to be allergic
Can you make your way to fitness easily achievable?
OR Can you cheat your way to fitness? by Tasty food and TV
HEALTH
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29795577
We drive everywhere, avoid the stairs, pack our houses with labour-saving devices and email colleagues rather than walk down the corridor to talk to them.
We are a slothful lot and the most common reason given for not doing enough exercise is lack of time.
But what is enough exercise? Most health experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week.
Any activity will help but it has to be moderate, vigorous or high intensity if you really want to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and obesity.
Then we moved outside, to see how much energy they would burn through doing typical outdoor chores like washing the car, cleaning windows, mowing the lawn or planting flowers.
And if you were wondering, one of the best all-round activities seems to be gardening.
Obesity 'costing same as smoking'
The worldwide cost of obesity is about the same as smoking or armed conflict
and greater than both alcoholism and climate change, research has suggested.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30122015
Lost output
The financial costs of obesity are growing - for health care and more widely in the economy.
By causing illness, obesity results in working days and output lost.
The initiatives assessed in the report include portion control for some packaged food and the reformulation of fast and processed food.
It said these were more effective than taxes on high-fat and high-sugar products or public health campaigns. Weight management programmes and workplace fitness schemes were also considered.
The report concluded that "a strategy of sufficient scale is needed as obesity is now reaching crisis proportions".
The rising prevalence of obesity was driving the increase in heart and lung disease, diabetes and lifestyle-related cancers, it said.
HEALTH
Are the health risks of keeping exotic pets increasing?
Exotic pets may be fascinating and even fun, but they bring with them a wide variety of bugs, microbes and parasites.
When these pass from animals to humans they can cause a wide variety of conditions, such as salmonella, ringworm and tuberculosis.
Complex jobs 'may protect memory'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30115497
People with mentally taxing jobs, including lawyers and graphic designers, may end up having better memory in old age, research suggests.
"Keeping the brain active throughout life could be helpful and different types of work may play a role.
HEALTH
http://www.bbc.com/news/health/
Childhood obesity has become a global epidemic, but it is not easy to treat.
Now a scheme proven to help children shed pounds by asking them and their families to make numerous lifestyle changes has been adopted across Denmark.
Have the Danes cracked childhood obesity?
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29755469
A typical weight loss programme
The child's doctor creates a tailored plan with 15-20 strategies, which could include:
1 - No crunchy muesli or fruit yoghurts for breakfast - choosing oatmeal, dark brown bread, meat and fish instead
2 - No fast food or white bread for lunch; choose brown bread, meat, fish and vegetables instead
3 - Portions served up in the kitchen - no pots and pans at the dining table
4 - Plate proportions for dinner should be: half vegetables, a quarter brown rice, pasta or potatoes, and a quarter low fat fish or meat
5 - Wait 20 minutes before having second helpings - this allows time for the body to feel full
6 - Feel satisfied after each meal
7 - Only two pieces of fruit per day
8 - Fast food only once a month
9 - Sweets only once a week
10 - Snack only once a week
11 - Limit juice, iced tea, cocoa, soda or lemonade to once weekly - only half a litre in total
12 - Cycle or walk to school
13 - Organised physical activity eg dancing, handball or gymnastics
14 - Free physical activities like walking/biking after school, walking the dog or trampolining
15 - Screen time (television, computer or tablet) limited to two hours per day
16 - No television/computer access until 5pm
17 - Set a regular, early bedtime
The programme requires the whole family to embrace it.
HEALTH
How much better is standing up than sitting? (October 2013)
Calorie burner: How much better is standing up than sitting?
Can walking while working make you live longer? (January 2013)
Treadmill desks: How practical are they?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21076461
"The health consequences of prolonged sitting... include not only obesity but also hypertension, hyperlipidemia - high cholesterol if you like - cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, poor or low mood, a predisposition to diabetes,"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3669517.stm
People of all ages should be encouraged to take more exercise according to a report by England's chief medical officer.
Sir Liam Donaldson says that exercise is a key factor in reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Adults should take 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week, children and young people 60 minutes.
Possible activities include walking to work or mowing the lawn.
How can I cut down on sugar?
"We need to reduce sugar intake but should not swap from sugar to fat", said Prof Susan Jebb of the University of Oxford.
"A greater proportion of our plate should be fruit and vegetables and more fibre-rich carbohydrates and whole grain."
Health benefits of a vegetarian diet
HEALTH
Waistlines 'grow an inch in a decade' in US
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29220000
Carrying too much fat around the middle (waist) can increase the risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said more people were carrying extra weight around the middle, including in the UK.
"This increases your risk of heart disease and stroke, but losing weight and reducing your waist size is doable," she said.
"Try cutting down on the calories and getting more active, but don't try to lose weight too quickly.
"Slow and steady weight loss - around 1-2lb [1kg] each week - is healthier."
Sugary drinks warning signs change habits of US teens
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29645062
The most effective sign said it took five miles to walk off the 250 calories in a sugary drink.
Brain repair 'may be boosted by curry spice'
HEALTH
Mediterranean diet is best way to tackle obesity, say doctors
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29929403
Typically, it consists of an abundance of vegetables, fresh fruit, wholegrain cereals, olive oil and nuts, as well as poultry and fish, rather than lots of red meat and butter or animal fats.
"Foods high in salt, fat and sugar should be eaten less often and in small amounts. If you are currently overweight you will need to eat less to achieve a healthy weight and be active as part of a healthy lifestyle."
The chairman of the National Obesity Forum, professor David Haslam, welcomed the article.
"A calorie is not just a calorie and it is naive for anyone to think the complex hormonal and neurological appetite systems of the body respond to different substances in the diet in identical fashion."
He said banning fast food outlets in hospitals would be a "legal minefield" given the extended contracts in existence. But he said healthy nutrition programmes could be put in place - as has happened in other big organisations - to counter what he called their "sinister effect".
HEALTH
Complex jobs 'may protect memory'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30115497
People with mentally taxing jobs, including lawyers and graphic designers, may end up having better memory in old age, research suggests.
"Keeping the brain active throughout life could be helpful and different types of work may play a role.
How technology is checking health corruption in India
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-29814110
In 2011 Amarendra Kumar learned that a doctor at one of Delhi's biggest hospitals was pushing for his baby niece to have a heart operation she didn't need.
"I was speechless," Mr Kumar said. He got second and third opinions that confirmed the baby only required monitoring.
A year earlier he had watched his friend Amit Bhagat run in circles trying to find a trustworthy doctor after his father suffered a heart attack.
The traumas spurred the business graduates to design their first start-up, Surgerica, to make it easier to find good doctors. The online marketplace launched last year lists health providers across India and lets users rate their performance.
Corruption is rife across India's healthcare system, from expensive private hospitals to crowded government facilities.Duped
In July, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan promised to crack down on doctors taking commissions for referrals after an Australian doctor wrote of his horror at witnessing the common practice in a Himalayan hospital.
This came little more than a year after Oxfam revealed that thousands of women had been duped into having unnecessary hysterectomies.
Corruption has left many unable to trust doctors. But it is also fuelling innovation, with young Indians using new technologies to shake up the old dynamic.
Risk Factors for Osteoporosis
Risk Factors You Can Change
Daily walking for 30 to 45 minutes with or without Walking aids
If you have OA of your hip or knee, when walking try using a cane (walking stick). Hold it in the hand on the opposite side of the body to the affected joint. This takes some pressure off the affected joint and helps to ease symptoms in some cases.
Diet - Vitamins, minerals, calcium should be obtained from natural dietary resources and
not by 'vitamin tablets/capsules' which can increase your risk of 'medicinal side-effects'.
Fruits, Salads, green vegetables/leaves, Sprouts -250 grammes
Curd/Yoghurt -250 grammes,
Lemon juice with little salt/sugar.
Water -5-6 lit per day or more, daily slow sustained yoga type physiotherapy exercises as given in website is essential for good health of bones and body.
Daily brisk/speed walking for 1 hour, getting enough vitamin D from your diet, sunlight will decrease your risk.
Cycling outdoors and non-gym outdoor exercises such as brisk walking, using stairs at home and office, walk at work bring overall improvement in health, well being besides controlling and curing many diseases such as Hypertension, diabetes, depression, cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis, muscular pains and joint pains.
Physical activity. Not exercising and being inactive or staying in bed for long periods can increase your risk.
Smoking. Smokers harm their blood circulation, damage all tissues in body by free radicals of smoke and absorb less calcium from their diets.
Medications. Some commonly used medicines can cause loss of bone mass. These include steroids used to control arthritis and asthma; some drugs used to treat seizures; some cancer drugs; and, too much thyroid hormone.
Low body weight. Women who are very thin – and small-boned – are at greater risk for osteoporosis.
Risk Factors You Can't Change
Gender. Women are at higher risk for osteoporosis than men. They have smaller bones and lose bone more rapidly than men do because of hormone changes that occur after menopause.
Age. Because bones become thinner with age, the older you are, the greater your risk of osteoporosis.
Ethnicity. Due to differences in bone mass and density compared with other ethnic groups, Caucasian and Asian women are at the highest risk for osteoporosis.
Family history. If a family member has osteoporosis or breaks a bone, there is a greater chance that you will too.
History of previous fracture. People who have had a fracture are at high risk of having another.
How Is Osteoporosis Diagnosed?
Osteoporosis is often called "silent" because bone loss occurs without symptoms. You may not know that you have osteoporosis until a sudden strain, bump, or fall causes one of your bones to break.
Stooped posture, back pain, and back fatigue.
Bone density test (BMD test): This test is a measure of how strong – or dense – your bones are and can help your doctor predict your risk for having a fracture. Bone density tests are painless, safe, and require no preparation on your part.
Bone density tests compare your bone density to the bones of an average healthy young adult. The test result, known as a T-score, can tell you whether you have osteoporosis and helps predict your risk for having a fracture.
DEXA Scan (Dual X-ray Absorptiometry) : The most common osteoporosis test is dual X-ray absorptiometry -- also called DXA or DEXA. It measures people’s spine, hip, or total body bone density to help gauge fracture risk
How Can I Lower My Chances of Getting Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis treatments include the “basic CDEF’s” -- calcium(C), vitamin D (D), weight-bearing exercise (E), prevention of Falls (F), and bone-friendly medicines.
A balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, a regular exercise program, and, in some cases, medication can help protect your bones and slow bone loss
Nutrition :
People over 50 should get 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily. To do this, make foods that are high in calcium part of your diet. The most concentrated food sources of calcium include:
dairy products such as low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheeses.
If you have a diet that does not contain enough calcium, calcium suppliments can help fill the gap, ensuring that you meet your daily calcium requirement.
Calcium tablets and Vit. D injections should be considered later if dietary intake is not adequate as natural dietary calcium and sunshine is best for health
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium. Exposure to sunlight causes your body to make vitamin D. Some people get all the vitamin D they need this way. However, many older people, especially those who are indoors most of the time and/or live in northern areas, are not getting enough vitamin D.
It is recommended people aged 51 to 70 should have 400 IU of vitamin D daily. People over 70 should have 600 IU.
Exercise :
Exercise can make bones and muscles stronger and help slow the rate of bone loss. It is also a way to stay active and mobile.
Weight-bearing exercise is often an option for osteoporosis patients, and it might even help your bones, as this article explains.
Check with your doctor before starting a new fitness program.
A recent study published in the journal ‘Lancet’ on diet-related death rates in the world places India (1,573,595) at second place,
only after China (3,128,516), with the most number of deaths caused due to poor diet.
In fact, India scores way higher in terms of poor food choices too.
Incidentally, studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) reiterates the above fact.
WHO states that Indian consumers, across all income groups are consuming less than the recommended quantity of at least 400 gms (or five daily servings with an average serving size of 80 gms) of fruits and vegetables.
According to the study, youngsters are resorting to cheap and unhealthy food options that mainly comprise snacks.
On an average, the Indian diet pattern is skewed towards cereals;
and fruits and vegetables account for only 9% of the total calorie intake (National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) 2014).
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59896819
Risk factors that urgently need addressing and account for more than six million of the projected increase include high rates of smoking, obesity and diabetes