Have a safe and healthy New Year!

With the New Year round the corner, many of you out there might be hitting the bottle soon. Here are some tips:

Avoid Getting Drunk
*Limit your intake to 2-3 drinks max. Know your limits.
*Snacks with cheese and butter taken immediately before drinking slows down alcohol absorption. But this is not an excuse to drink more!

How to avoid Hangovers
*The sureshot way, of course, is not to drink. Jokes apart, take 2-3 spoons of honey immediately before or after drinking. The fructose present in the honey metabolizes alcohol faster. Lime and tomato juice are other good choices. Consume lots of water, which helps to eliminate the alcohol via urination and also prevents dehydration.
*Drinks like vodka and gin are less likely to cause a hangover.

Don't drive drunk
*Even before the party starts, it is always safe to request a friend who does not drink to drive you home.

So have a hic... Happy, hic...Safe and hic...Healthy New Year Guys!

Stroke and carotid endarterectomy

Build up of plaque in the carotid artery (situated in the neck and supplying blood to the brain)leads to stroke. Either clots, which form on the plaque, or both clots and plaque material may break loose suddenly and travel to the brain causing a stroke.

According to The American Stroke Association, the warning signs of stroke are:

* Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg (especially on one body side).
* Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
* Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
* Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
* Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

Carotid endarterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the plaque from the carotid arteries. Here's a video on carotid endarterectomy (not recommended for the weak hearted!)

6 Tips for fat loss

1. Have a fat loss goal. Follow it. Relentlessly.

2. Drink lot's of water. Yeah, you heard it right. Water is essential for all normal physiological process in the body. Water accounts for approximately 73% of lean body mass, and drinking at least a gallon of water helps in fat loss.

2. Eat small meals in a day, high in fiber, protein, moderate carbohydrates and low in fat. High fiber diet (vegetables, fruits, whole wheat etc) gives a sense of satiety and reduces appetite.

3. Get a good carido work out at least twice a week (jogging, walking, swimming etc. It should last for at least 20 intense minutes followed by cooling down for 5 mins. One very efficient way is to use the stairs and chose to walk rather than using the car,whenever possible.

4. Do progressive weight training at least thrice a week.

5. Measure your fat with a fat caliper and track your fat loss.

Keratoprosthesis

Keratoprosthesis is basically an artificial cornea. In people with extensively scarred corneas, as in chemical burns, Steven Johnson syndrome or in those patients with failure of multiple keratoplasty (corneal transplant from cadaver) has failed, keratoprosthesis will be helpful. It is basically a special tube extending from inside the eye to the outside and anchored to to the front surface of the cornea. The tube might have a optical disc in the centre.

A keratoprosthesis is usually made of a special plastic material but it can be even fashioned out of the patient's own tooth! Read about Modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (MOOKP)

The Man who mistook his wife for a hat

I happened to read the book by Oliver Sacks titled the same. Oliver sacks is a neurologist. He chronicles interesting cases in the form of stories. In the opening story "The Man who mistook...." he describes a musician and teacher who comes to him for complaints of decreasing vision and failing memory. When he is asked to describe a rose, he describes it as "About 6 inches in length. A convoluted red form with a linear green attachment". When he was shown a glove, he describes it as “ A continuous surface, enfolded on itself. It appears to have 5 outpouchings, if this is the word.” Finally, as he is about to go, he starts looking for his hat. He reaches out, takes hold of his wife’s head, and tries to lift it off, to put it on. He actually mistakes his wife’s head for his hat. The man suffers from a condition called prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, a neurological condition that renders a person incapable of recognizing faces or sometimes other objects. The book is really interesting with other such stories. Read it if you can !

Stuttering

Stuttering is a disturbance in the normal speech pattern, and is characterized by repetitions of words, syllables or speech sounds and sometimes the inability to start a particular word. Stuttering generally starts when the child is 3-4 years old, and the child has a normal speech development prior to the onset of stuttering. It can be pretty traumatic for the affected person, and in fact, I had a friend who even attmpted suicide due to the stress.

The causes of stuttering may be broadly considered under three categories: developmental stuttering, neurogenic stuttering and psychogenic stuttering. It is also a well-known fact that some cases of stuttering may be hereditary. However, no gene for stuttering has been found yet.

Developmental stuttering is the most common form, and occurs in children who are in the speech and language developmental phase. The child usually outgrows this kind of stuttering. Neurogenic stuttering occurs due to damage to the central nervous system and may the sequelae of stoke, head trauma, extra-pyramidal disorders, tumors, dementia, and medications prescribed for depression and asthma. Psychogenic stuttering is an acquired speech disorder in adults with psychopathology like mental illness and mental stress.

Although there is no cure for stuttering, it is generally believed that the treatment for stuttering should begin in the pre-school years. There are many treatment options available but currently, only the Lidcombe programme has undergone phase I and II clinical trials. This is a behavioral treatment programme, specifically for children in the pre-school age (less than 6 years).


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The power of Soya

Soybean can truly be considered as a complete food. It contains protein, omega-3 fatty acids,and isoflavones.

Clinical studies have demonstrated that soy lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as raises the level of HDL (good) cholesterol and lowers the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce the risk of arrhythmia and/or sudden death. It also reduces the stickiness of platelets, thereby lowering the risk of a heart attack. Soy protein has also been shown to increase the blood levels of nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels.

Soy isoflavones could help prevent hip fractures in postmenopausal women. In menopausal women, isoflavones, reduce menopausal symptoms.

The protein and fiber in soybeans can help to control blood sugar level and prevent spikes of rise in sugar levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

High-fiber soybeans and sphingolipid may be able to help reduce the risk of colon cancer as well as some other cancers, including breast cancer, and phytoestrogen in soybeans can prevent lung cancer.

Home remedies for Diabetes

Home remedies are ideal for those with just a marginal rise in blood sugar, and who have been advised diet control. For others, it is best to follow the prescription of your doctor.

*1-2teaspoons of sprouted fenugreek powder (available in market)in a glass of water, 15 mins before B'fast, lunch and dinner,
*Juice of 1-2 bitter gourd (made upto 300 ml of water) taken 100 ml after b'fast, lunch and dinner.
*Powdered cinnamon (1/4-1/2 teaspoon) with black tea.
*High fiber diet (plenty of vegetables, fruits, salads, whole wheat bread etc.)
*AVOID sugar, soft drinks, sweets, fast food, fruits like mangoes and bananas)
*Nutritional supplements like amino acid supplements daily once.
*Instead of artificial sweeteners, you could try natural and healthy sweeteners like stevia

*Last, but not the least, and most importantly, exercise (this could be aerobics, weight training or both). Toning your body with weights help to build muscle and a well-toned body burns more fat. It's also important to regularly keep track of your sugar level with a glucometer.




You can read here about some new advances like inhalable insulin.





Related links

Artificial Pancreas
Inhalable insulin

Food pesticides

There is a raging controversy in India about the presence of pesticides in Pepsi and Coke. All being said and done, one should realize that even most of the vegetables, fruit and cereals that we consume are grossly contaminated. For instance, fish is likely to contain a large number of pollutants like mercury. Most of those shiny apples, tomatoes and mangoes are polished to give it that bright and colorful look. Some precautions that you can follow are:

* Wash fruits thoroughly under running water and later with mild soap.
* Do not eat vegetables like carrot raw; peel the skin throughly.
* All vegetables, grains etc should be throughly washed.
* The best bet is to grow your own vegetables! If this is not possible, try organic food. Organic vegetables, fruits etc are grown without pesticides or fertilizers. They are however, more expensive, but a small price to pay for a truly healthy diet. Don't you think so?

The health benefits of massage therapy

Massage helps in blood circulation, stimulates the nerves, which control the blood vessels, and aids in the relaxation of tense muscles and tight connective tissues, which could have a constricting effect. Although massage can be done with just simple massage oil, the use of essential oils, as in aromatherapy, has an additional benefit.

Essential oils are the pure volatile portion of aromatic plant products, normally extracted by distillation and encompass more than sixty kinds of herbal oils. Aromatherapy is the use of such essential oils for therapeutic or medical purposes. In addition to being used to ease aches, pains and injuries, aromatherapy also acts on the central nervous system, thereby decreasing anxiety and depression, reducing stress, inducing sedation, and restoring both physical and emotional well-being. Aromatherapy massage can also be beneficial to the immune system. Eight primary research studies on the effect of aromatherapy massage on anxiety in cancer patients revealed that seven of the studies showed a significant decrease in anxiety after aromatherapy massage.

Massage is also widely employed in Ayurveda. Special oils are used for this purpose. In ayurveda, specific types of massage (uzhichal and pizhichal) are used for different kinds of pains and other medical conditions or just as an energy booster.

Stevia

Stevia is a natural plant, which contains an active molecule called stevioside. Some studies have reported that when administered twice daily, stevioside demonstrated glucose lowering effects in diabetic rat models.

In addition, stevia has no calories, lowers blood pressure and inhibits fat absorption. It is said to be much sweeter than sugar and is available in both powder and liquid form. Further studies of this agent for the treatment of diabetes are underway.

Artificial Pancreas
Inhalable insulin

Symptoms of food allergy

Food allergy is a condition wherein an individual who is sensitive to certain types of food, develops symptoms after eating that particular food. This reaction (IgE reaction) is most commonly associated with cow’s milk (in infants), shellfish, wheat, eggs, nuts, chocolate, certain types of sea-food (prawns) etc.

The acute symptoms include swelling of the lips, itching of the skin (urticaria), asthma or rarely anaphylactic shock and death. Sometimes, the symptoms may be delayed (delayed hypersensitivity) and include: joint pain, fatigue, and altered sensory perception.

If you suspect anyone suffering of food allergy, rush him immediately to emergency.

Steroid-based lung inhalers for asthma patients

Common inhaled steroids include: budesonide, fluticasone, flunisolide, triamcinolone and beclomethasone. There are four groups of inhaler devices:
1. Pressurized MDIs (Metered Dose Inhalers)-the most common device.
2. Inhalers with spacer devices –for children and very old people with incoordination.
3. Dry powder inhalers- each dose contains the medicine in a powder form that has to be sucked in. It is not suitable for children under 5-6 years.
4. Nebulisers- a nebuliser generates an aerosol vapor of the medicine. It is used mainly in hospitals for those with severe attacks of asthma when large doses are required.

Steroid-based lung inhalers reduce the need for oral corticosteroids. Some guidelines recommend steroid-based lung inhalers to be started in any patient whose asthma is not controlled by inhaled bronchodilators. If asthma is not controlled by the standard dose, then it may be increased two-fold or more. The majority of currently available steroid-based lung inhalers require 2-4 weeks of treatment to produce relief. Simultaneously, oral corticosteroids can also be started for faster resolution. The improvements can be maintained d with an inhaler after oral treatment is stopped. One of the most common complication of steroid inhalers is the development of thrush.

Tips for improving indoor air quality to prevent allergies

*Keep your house clean and free of dust.
*Control allergens (pollen from outside, dust mites, pet dander, mold, and mildew).
*Increase ventilation. Use exhaust fans when cooking, showering, and using the dishwasher.
*Maintain a comfortable temperature and low humidity.
*Do not allow smoking in the house.
*Keep your house clean and free of dust.
*Use trigger sprays instead of aerosols.
*Improve air filtration.
*Use exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom to remove moisture and indoor pollutants.
*Monitor the temperature and humidity in the home. Air-conditioning often helps. Clean the filters regularly.
*Use a dehumidifier to keep the level of moisture at 35-50%. This helps to reduce mold, dust mites, and cockroaches.
*Avoid smoke and combustion products.
*Keep the house clean.
*Inspect the air ducts in your house.

Controlling dust mite exposure for allergy sufferers

To control dust mites, you have to hit them where it hurts the most, i.e., deprive them of their food! They basically survive on dead skin cells. These may originate from people inhabiting the house and from pets in the house. Therefore, your mattress and pillows must be encased in tight covers. This prevents the dead cells from entering in and also prevent dust mite residue to escape from the bedding. Ban pets (especially the furry ones) from entering your house, and especially the bedroom. Kill the existing mites- by washing bedding in water at 120-130 F. Destroy their habitat- by removing carpets or clean carpets by steaming at least once a year. Dust and vacuum regularly- a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air filter) vacuum is the best. Reduce humidity levels- air conditioners and dehumidifier’s lowers the relative humidity to 50 % or below. Dust mites die because they can't absorb moisture from the air.

Remedies for dark circles under eyes

The skin under the eyes is very loose and thin. This makes it to darken under various influences. Let us know about some of the common conditions of dark circles, these include: heredity, fatigue and lack of proper sleep, allergies, asthma, eczema and uncorrected refractive errors (presence of any of these conditions make you to rub your eyes. Chronic rubbing of the eyes makes the skin under the eyes to darken), excess exposure to sun- this can cause higher skin pigmentation under the eyes, poor nutrition- the lack of proper nutrients in the diet, or the lack of a balanced diet may cause the skin under the eyes to look lackluster and dark, physiologic conditions like pregnancy and menstruation cause hormonal changes, which makes the skin, especially under the eyes to darken, increasing age also makes the skin thinner and paler, causing dark circles.

The treatment includes the following: lightening agents, such as hydroquinone, chemical peels remove the dead layers of skin and reduces pigmentatation, laser treatment- this involves Q-switched Ruby laser treatment or high-energy pulsed CO2 laser treatment.

Techniques to conceal dark circles- use an under-eye concealer, which is a shade lighter than the foundation you're using. Use a soft, gentle, circular motion to apply the concealer under your eyes. Apply the foundation up to the concealer and blend the two shades together, again using a gentle, circular motion. It is important NEVER to use an over-the-counter facial or body cream bleach under the eyes.

Natural remedies-these includes application of any of the following for about 15 minutes daily: chilled cucumber slices, half a peeled potato, almond oil massage under and around the eyes at bed time daily for 1-2 weeks or lemon juice application.
It is important to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water everyday. Avoid straining or rubbing the eyes. Get any refractive errors corrected. Get at least 8 hours of sleep.

Seeing the world through the eyes of your child

Very often, I see parents yelling at their kids. “No! Stop! Don’t touch it!” and so on. We tend to see things through the eyes of an adult; always critical and judgmental. It is important to realize that kids (especially in the 1-5 year age group) are very curious. This is the age when their urge to explore their surroundings is the maximum. They are seeing many things for the first time, and naturally, their brain is urging them to touch, to feel, to hear and to taste. Kids in this age group love to break toys, tear up paper, put things in their mouth, play with mud or bang on utensils. It is all a natural urge. This is how their neural network and proprioceptive senses develop. The more you try to stop them from doing it, the more you retard their natural neural growth, and more urge they have to do it.

So, does this mean that you should let them loose in the house, allowing them to destroy things? Well, not exactly. It means that you should see the world through their eyes. If they are tearing up some paper, which is not important, let them do it. If junior loves to play in mud, let him. Just clean him up later. Here are some tips to ensure that you can relax while the little one can play around the house, without trouble.

· Keep all valuable papers, glass, knives, medicine, crockery or other items in a place where kids can’t reach it.
· Avoid plastic toys and pacifiers. Many toys and pacifiers contain harmful chemicals like PVC, VMC and DHEP. Wooden toys are safer and more durable.
· Most plug points are within reach. Close them with a removable closer. Alternatively, you can tape points, which you don’t use frequently..
· If at all they get their hands on something valuable or dangerous, don’t panic. Just go beside them and calmly request them to hand it over. Most often it works. If you throw a fit and yell at them, they too get excited and understand that it is something valuable. The next time, they will have the natural urge to pick it up again.
· Whenever you are with the child, try to explore things together. Encourage them to feel the texture of a leaf or the smell of a flower. Give them a pen and paper and let them scribble. It will not only keep them occupied, but also allows for that crucial development.

Squidoo

I wonder if any of you have heard of Squidoo. It is made of a series of lenses (modules) which are used to focus on a particular topic of your choice. For instance, you can add specific links, add Amazon and Ebay items related to your topic etc. It is really a whole lot of fun.

You can join for free!