Information – Health +
Wholemeal bread checks cancer risk
Wholemeal bread checks cancer risk
26 Nov 2007, 1324 hrs IST,ANI
LONDON: A new research has revealed that having two portions of whole grains such as wholemeal bread and brown rice on a daily basis may almost halve the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
According to the research, carried out by the University of California, San Francisco, a diet rich in these ingredients and other whole grain foods could bring about a substantial reduction in the risk of developing this form of cancer.
In the study of more than 2,000 men and women, a clear link between the amount of whole grains eaten and the chance of developing pancreatic cancer was revealed.
It was found that those who ate at least two helpings of whole grains a day – the equivalent of a cup of brown rice or porridge, or two slices of wholemeal bread – were 40 per cent less likely to develop the disease than those who ate less than one portion.
It was also found that those who ate more than 0.9oz (26.5g) of fibre a day were 35 per cent less likely to develop pancreatic cancer than those who ate less than 0.6oz (15.6g).
“There is a possibility that diet can affect one’s risk of pancreatic, as well as other cancers,” maintain researchers.
“Eating a diet rich in a wide variety of grains is likely not only to help in the prevention of diabetes and heart disease, but also this very deadly cancer,” they added.
In fact, during the study, it was found that eating more refined and sweetened grains – such as two or more servings of doughnuts a week – was found to raise the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Dr June Chan, lead author of the study, said, “The risk reductions associated with some whole grain foods and fibre provide general support for the hypothesis that eating whole grains is much better than eating more refined and sweetened grains for pancreatic cancer prevention.”
The study looked at grain intake among 532 people with pancreatic cancer and 1,701 people without the disease among the San Francisco Bay area population. The two groups were similar in age, gender, and body weight, and had a similar history of diabetes.It was found that those with pancreatic cancer were also more likely to be current smokers.
Smoking can make you impotent
Smoking can make you impotent
18 Nov 2007, 1628 hrs IST,PTI
NEW YORK: It’s important that you give a second thought before lighting your next fag — if researchers are to be believed, smoking can ruin your sex life.
According to a study carried out by the researchers, men who smoke cigarettes run an increased risk of experiencing erectile dysfunction, and the more cigarettes smoked, the greater the risk, the ScienceDaily has reported.
“Although erectile dysfunction is not a life threatening condition, it compromises well-being and quality of life. Smoking prevention should be an important approach for reducing the risk,” lead researcher Prof Jiang He was quoted as saying.
In fact, Prof Jiang and his colleagues at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine came to the conclusion after examining the link between smoking and impotency in a study in China involving 7,684 men.
The researchers used questionnaires to assess the status of cigarette smoking and erectile dysfunction. Those surveyed were men between the ages of 35-74 who did not have vascular disease.
The team found that there was a significant link between the number of cigarettes that men smoked and the likelihood they would experience erectile dysfunction. The association was found to be stronger in those with diabetes.
“An estimated 22.7 per cent of erectile dysfunction cases among Chinese men might be attributable to cigarette smoking,” Prof Jiang said.
The findings have been published in the ‘American Journal of Epidemiology’.
Yoga as you like it: Mind that headache
Yoga as you like it: Mind that headache
By Bharat Thakur, Special to Unwind
Published: November 09, 2007, 23:39
Migraine debilitates one for hours and, although there is no cure, yogic asanas can help reduce the pain.
Migraine is a vascular headache caused by the inflammation and irritation of the nerve endings. This results from the expansion of the blood vessels on the surface of the brain.
Acute pain may be felt on one or both sides of the head, at the back of the neck, around the eyes or in the face or in the sinuses.
This pain can be severe and, if left untreated, can last from as little as four hours to even 72 hours.
The pain is often preceded by a sensory warning sign or the seeing of an aura, flashes of light or getting blind spots. A tingling sensation in the arms and legs may also serve as a warning.
Triggers for migraine attacks vary from person to person. The factors causing it include stress, certain foods, weather changes, odours, change in sleeping habits and hormonal fluctuations.
Yoga therapy for migraine generally focuses on prevention, which also includes stress reduction.
Yoga can also help reduce the headache by providing relief to sensory overload and relaxing your mind.
Pranayama for migraine
Yoga places much importance on breathing. Not only do pranayamas strengthen the lungs and improve oxygen levels, they also help restore and gradually balance the flow of prana or vital energy to the brain and soothe the nerves.
Kapalbhati pranayama
Exercise
Sit back on your heels, place palms on knees and hold the back straight.
Exhale forcefully and rapidly in quick successions through the nose, pulling the stomach towards the spine as you exhale. Inhalation is automatic and should be passive between every two exhalations.
Practise 30 to 50 inhalations at a stretch.
Repeat 3 times.
Nadi shodhana pranayama (Alternate-nostril breathing)
Exercise
Sit in padmasana. To do that, sit with legs stretched out and back held straight.
Bend one leg and place the foot on opposite thigh. Bend the other leg and place the foot on the thigh of the bent leg. Place your hands on your knees.
Curl the forefinger and middle finger of your right hand. Close your eyes and practise deep breathing.
Close your right nostril with the thumb and place the ring finger between eyebrows. Inhale to a count of 5.
Now, close the left nostril with your ring finger. Hold your breath for a count of 10.
Raise your thumb between eyebrows and to a count of 10 slowly exhale through right nostril.
Now, breathe in again through the right nostril to a count of 5. Close the right nostril with your thumb and hold your breath to a count of 10. Place ring finger between eyebrows and exhale through left nostril to count of 10.
Repeat complete cycle.
Kriyas for migraine
Kriyas rid the body of toxins and strengthen the 72,000 nadis which are energy channels in our body and form a kind of electrical circuit.
Jal neti
Exercise
Use a neti pot or a long-stemmed teapot.
Add 1 teaspoon salt to 1/2 litre lukewarm water and fill the neti pot.
Stand relaxed with legs apart, bend forward and tilt your head to one side as shown. Keep the mouth open so you can breathe through it.
Place the nozzle in the nostril that is facing upwards and slowly pour water into it. The water will flow out through the other nostril.
Straighten up, blow nose gently to remove any mucous.
Now, close one nostril and rapidly exhale 10 to 15 times through the other.
Repeat with other nostril.
Lastly, inhale and exhale rapidly 10 to 15 times with both nostrils open.
Inverted asanas for migraine
During migraine there is decreased blood flow to the brain. Inverted asanas help loosen the cervical and shoulder areas and also increase blood flow to the brain.
Caution: Those suffering from hernia, high blood pressure, heart conditions and severe back problems should not carry out these exercises.
Sarvangasana (Shoulder-stand pose)
Exercise
Lie flat on your back, arms by the sides. Slowly raise both legs to a 90 degrees position.
Lift your hips and back off the floor and bring the legs towards your head, supporting the hips with your hands.
Slowly lower the hands and bring legs to 90 degrees. Support the whole body on shoulders so that the trunk and legs are in a straight line. Keep your chin pressed to the chest.
Hold for 30 to 60 seconds.
Lower your back and legs without jerky movements.
(More asanas on migraine next week)
– Bharat Thakur is the founder of Bharat Thakur’s Artistic Yoga. For questions on yoga, write to dubai.artisticyoga@gmail.com. For information, log on to http://www.bharatthakur.com
Male Circumcision can Cut HIV Infection, Studies Show
Male Circumcision can Cut HIV Infection, Studies Show
Scientific studies have confirmed a long-standing belief that male circumcision can reduce HIV infection rates in men by 60 percent, an international AIDS conference will be told next week.
David Cooper, the co-chairman of an International AIDS Society (IAS) conference to be held in Sydney from July 22-25, said research on male circumcision represented a major development in HIV prevention.
“We always knew that if you went into any particular African country that HIV rates among Muslim men were lots lower,” Cooper told AFP.
“But we were never sure that the Muslim men had lower numbers of partners than non-Muslim men, so people always doubted it.”
Cooper said the only way to ensure the link between lower HIV rates and circumcision was not due to cultural factors was to carry out random trials, the results of which will be presented at the Sydney conference.
He said three trials were conducted in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda, each involving more than 2,000 heterosexual men, half of whom were circumcised.
“The reduction in HIV infection was about 60 percent, so clearly it works,” said Cooper, who is also the director of Australia’s National Centre for HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research.
Cooper said the studies showed circumcision could be a powerful tool in helping curb HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa, where infection rates in some countries are up to 40 percent of the adult population.
He said, however, that any introduction of widespread male circumcision in developing countries needed to be carried out with an education campaign that reinforced a safe sex message.
“In some areas of sub-Saharan Africa men are requesting circumcision, which is a bit of a worry, as they may think they’re protected and they’re not,” Cooper said.
“It merely reduces the risk, you still have to use condoms, men can’t think ‘that’s all I need to do, I can now have unsafe sex’.”
The clinical reason for circumcision’s preventive effect is still being investigated.
One theory is that the foreskin has a very thin lining and suffers minor abrasions during intercourse, making it easier for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to enter the man’s bloodstream. Another is that the foreskin is rich in Langerhans cells, whose surface is configured in such a way that the AIDS virus readily latches on to them.
Source-AFP
Skin, hair, nail show stress level
Skin, hair, nail show stress level
11 Nov 2007, 1125 hrs IST,PTI
NEW YORK: Feeling stressed? Your skin, hair and nails can show it as they’re the external indicators.
While everyone knows that stress can take a toll on a person physically and psychologically, researchers in the United States have carried out a study and found that it also can lead to dermatological problems, like acne, brittle nails or even hair loss, the ScienceDaily reported.
“When a person becomes stressed, the level of the body’s stress hormone (cortisol) rises. This in turn causes an increase in oil production, which can lead to oily skin, acne and other related skin problems.
“Stress can aggravate the skin and trigger unexpected flare-ups that, in effect, create more stress for patients,” lead researcher Dr Flor A. Mayoral of the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine was quoted as saying.
Dr Mayoral and his fellow researchers came to the conclusion after analysing a study, involving 27 medical, dental and pharmacy students.
The researchers examined how periods of higher stress impacted the skin’s response to repeated stripping of cellophane tape on the subjects’ forearms vs. periods of lower stress (such as after returning from winter vacation).
They found that it took longer for the skin to recover from the minimally invasive tape stripping during periods of perceived higher stress than during less stressful periods.
“This study’s the first of its kind to suggest what dermatologists anecdotally have known for years — that psychological stress adversely affects the normal functions of the skin.
“While the subjects in this study did not have any pre-existing skin conditions, I’d suspect that people with skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis would have been more adversely affected by this experiment,” he said.
Curvy women are cleverer too: Study
Curvy women are cleverer too: Study
11 Nov 2007, 1203 hrs IST,PTI
LONDON: Curvy women have been admired for their sensual figures. But, a new study has found that ladies with large hips and small waists are cleverer too, than those with apple-shaped bodies.
In fact, according to international researchers, women with an hourglass figure are not only intelligent, they also give birth to brighter children, The Sunday Times reported in London on Sunday.
“The fat around fuller hips and thighs holds higher levels of omega3 fatty acids which are essential for the growth of the brain during pregnancy,” the researchers were quoted as saying.
The scientists at the Universities of Pittsburgh and California came to the conclusion after analysing data from a study of 16,000 women and girls, which collected details of their body measurements and their scores in cognitive tests.
The team found that those women with a greater difference between the waist and hips scored significantly higher on the tests, as did their children — “possibly a result of higher levels of Omega3 fatty acids on the hips”.
The research has explained why children born to teenage mothers do worse in cognitive tests: Their mothers may have had insufficient stores of the best fatty acids.
“The cognitive development of their children is reduced, and their own cognitive development is impaired compared with those mothers with a later first birth,” the researchers were quoted as saying.
The study also noted, however, that children born to teenage girls with traditional hourglass figures seemed to be protected from this phenomenon and did better in tests.
‘Indian elite emit most CO2’
‘Indian elite emit most CO2’
13 Nov 2007, 1819 hrs IST,INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK
NEW DELHI: Greenpeace on Tuesday released a survey based report named “hiding behind the poor” which reveals that the highest income group in India, constituting merely 1% of the population emits four-and-a-half times as much CO2 as the lowest income group consisting 38% of the population. It demands that common but differentiated responsibility for CO2 emissions reduction, which the government is justifiably advocating at a global level be implemented in India. With less than a month to go for the United Nations Climate Change Council conference in Bali, the report challenges the Indian government’s hard line of not committing to GHG gases reduction on grounds of development and makes an argument about why India must de-carbonize its development.
According to the proposed national strategy on climate change India will not abide by any international commitment to mandatory reduction of greenhouse gas emission. India ‘s approach of measuring world GHG emissions is per capita emission rather than country-wise emissions which is the approach of the developed nations. Although India is the sixth largest carbon emitter in the world, it has one of the lowest per capita emission rates.
G Ananthapadmanabhan, Executive Director, Greenpeace India said “While the government continues to point at low average per capita emissions to justify non reduction of India ‘s CO2 emissions, over 150 Million Indians are emitting above the sustainable limit which needs to be maintained to restrict global temperature rise below 2 degree centigrade. India ‘s low average per capita emissions is due to the over 800 million poor population whose emissions are negligible and the difference in emissions between the highest and the lowest income groups in India is almost as glaring as the difference in the average per capita emissions between the EU and India .”
‘hiding behind the poor’ is based on face-to-face surveys of 819 households from the seven different income classes across the four metros, medium and small towns and rural areas for energy consumption patters. According to the report, the average CO2 emissions of an individual from the highest income group of above Rs 30,000 (1494 KG) is 4.5 times that of one from the lowest income group of below Rs 3000 per month (335 Kg).
Ananth further added “Electricity production in India is already extremely carbon intensive, emitting more then twice as much CO2 per kilowatt-hour than in the EU. The government’s objective, as in the 11th five year plan to base India’s future power generation on a massive expansion of coal power plants will further enhance climate instability and expose the most vulnerable poor population to increasing impacts of climate change. While rightfully demanding that developed nations reduce Co2 emissions and provide developing nations the carbon space to grow, the Indian government must not hide India ‘s emissions behind the vast poor population. The principle of climate justice must be included in the national development plan.”
The poor population, while contributing the least to global warming, is highly exposed to and has the lowest capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change. The report recommends that funds be created by mechanisms like carbon credits and carbon tax to be used for mitigation and adaptation projects to protect the poor from climate change impacts.
Inching closer to spinal cord repair
Inching closer to spinal cord repair
14 Nov 2007, 0148 hrs IST,ANI
WASHINGTON: A new study has identified key elements that may make the regeneration of nerve cells using the body’s own stem cells following spinal cord injury a possibility.
The seminal study, co-lead by Dr Philip Horner, neuroscientist at the University of Washington, Dr Tim Kennedy, neuroscientist at the Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University, might help in providing novel therapies for repairing previously irreversible nerve damage in the injured spinal cord.
In the study, the researchers tested numerous proteins and identified netrin-1 as the key molecule responsible for the migratory pattern of stem cells following injury. “Because of their regenerative role, it is crucial to understand the movements of stem cells following brain or spinal cord injury,” Horner said.
“We know that stem cells are present within the spinal cord, but it was not known why they could not function to repair the damage. Surprisingly, we discovered that they actually migrate away from the lesion and the question became why — what signal is telling the stem cells to move,” he said.
In the developing nervous system, netrin-1 acts as a repulsive or attractive signal, guiding nerve cells to their proper targets.
The team found that in the adult spinal cord, netrin-1 specifically repelled stem cells away from the injury site, thereby preventing stem cells from replenishing nerve cells. Very little knowledge is known as to why a wound to the skin repairs itself but the adult nervous system is unable to repair itself following spinal injury. This is in contrast to the developing brain and non-mammals, which can repair, and regenerate after severe injuries.
The sole clue from these systems has been the role of stem cells and their potential to develop into different cell types.
Majority of residents suffer spine problems
Majority of residents suffer spine problems
By Dina El Shamma, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS
Published: November 14, 2007, 00:18
Abu Dhabi: More than 60 per cent of the UAE population suffers from spine-related problems and majority are unaware of the condition, according to an expert.
Dr Aslam Khan, Founder of Khan Kinetic Treatment (KKT), told Gulf News that structural disorders and spinal problems are a growing concern that have been left ignored or undetected by a large number of people throughout the UAE; and if detected is usually treated via surgical procedures which he found to be unnecessary through his research.
“In many cases, people may have their whole nervous system partially shut down and not be aware of it or revert to surgery. KKT research involves acoustics of sound with specific treatments and angels and we are currently reverting to biosynthesis by measuring the DNA level and allowing KKT regenerate damaged tissues in the body,” said Khan.
KKT spinal treatment is a refined non-invasive procedure, utilising sound waves to address the core spinal distortions and disturbances.
The procedure takes a couple of minutes. It involves lying on a KKT table with a device placed on the precise region of the spine, sound waves are then applied to the spine, waves reposition vertebrae and the entire body is re-positioned. Healthy blood flow is restored to the brain and neural communication is re-established.
Dr Khan said the treatment is now available in the UAE at a KKT centre he opened with Emirati doctor Omar Salem.
Eat fish, veggies to boost memory
Eat fish, veggies to boost memory
A diet rich in fish, omega-3 oils, fruits and vegetables may lower your risk of memory-affecting diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s, a new study says.
But consuming omega-6 rich oils could increase the chances of developing memory problems.
Findings of the study have been published in the November issue of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Foods high in omega-3 oil include fish like salmon, sardines, trout and herring, and walnut, flaxseed oil and canola oil. Shrimps, clams, tuna, catfish, cod and spinach also contain omega-3 oil.
Foods rich in omega-6 oil include corn, safflower, sunflower, soybean and cottonseed oil.
For the study, researchers at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research, in Bordeaux, France, examined the diets of 8,085 men and women over the age of 65 who did not have dementia at the beginning of the study.
Over four years of follow-up, 183 of the participants developed Alzheimer’s disease and 98 developed another type of dementia.
The study found people who regularly consumed omega-3 rich oils reduced their risk of dementia by 60 percent.
People who ate fruits and vegetables daily also reduced their risk of dementia by 30 percent.
The study also found most people who ate fish at least once a week had a 35-percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and 40-percent lower risk of dementia.
The researchers also found that people who regularly use omega-6 rich oils, but not omega-3 rich oils or fish, were twice as likely to develop dementia.
“While we’ve identified dietary patterns associated with lowering a person’s risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s, more research is needed to better understand the mechanisms of these nutrients involved in these apparently protective foods,” the researchers said.
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