Alternative Medicine-1: "Miracles of Water Therapy"

The Japanese Sickness Association confirms that several diseases such as headache, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, rheumatism, sinusitis, rhinitis, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, hyper acidity, gastritis, dysentery, constipation, irregular menstruation, uro-genital problems etc are cured by Water Therapy.

Though it sounds incredible, it has been proved factual and is recommended by several doctors as well. Human health depends mainly on the digestive system. As Swami Paramahansa Yogananda said, "It is overeating that leads to most of the diseases. Whereas drinking ordinary potable water helps clean the stomach and enables the intestine to form new fresh blood called "Haemoatopoesis", which in turn fights against the disease-causing organisms. Thus many of the ailments are cured by practising Water Therapy.

How to Practise

The method is simple, easy and inexpensive. Early in the morning, before attending to any of the morning chores, 6 glasses of water (1.26 kg or 1.26 litres) should be taken in one stretch. You may give a short break. Do spot-walking exercise for a few minutes and complete the rest of water. Take necessary precautions against impurities of water. Water should be boiled and cooled, if purity is suspected. For the next 45 minutes to one hour after drinking water, no other beverage or eatable should be taken. After supper, one should not have any stimulating beverage or soft drink.

During the first few days of therapy, one may pass urine 3-4 times within one hour after drinking water. Some may have even loose stools. But in a short period, everything comes back to normalcy and symptoms of relief from the disease will be seen.

Persons suffering from arthritis and rheumatism should take Water Therapy three times a day in the first week and thereafter practise it once a day. While practising water therapy, water should be taken two hours after each meal and not before that.

Experiments show that the following diseases be cured in the stipulated period mentioned in brackets: Hypertension (one month), Diabetes (one to two weeks), Gastritis (one week), Constipation (one or two days).

Courtesy: Japanese Sickness Association

Health Tips-9: "Exercise can make the brain strong and make it work faster!"

A recent article entitled, ‘Lobes of Steel’ by Gretchen Reynolds in the New York Times claims that physical exercise increases neurogenesis, that is, making of neurons. For example, going for morning walks can add neurons and can help to better your concentration levels and better your performance while on job. That is what the experts say!

The research work carried out by Fred H.Gage and colleagues at Salk Institute for Biological Studies, near San Diego, US, initially on mice and then human beings confirms that exercise can improve the performance of the brain by boosting memory and cognitive processing speed. Exercise can, in fact, create a stronger, faster brain.

In another study at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign on a group of elderly sedentary people, were assigned aerobic exercise program. After six months, their brains were scanned using an M.R.I. Those who had been doing aerobic exercise showed significant growth in several areas of the brain. These results raise the hope that the human brain has the capacity not only to produce new cells but also to add new blood vessels and strengthen neural connections, allowing young neurons to integrate themselves into the wider neural network. "The current findings are the first, to our knowledge, to confirm the benefits of exercise training on brain volume in aging humans," the authors concluded.

And the benefits aren't limited to adults. A team of University of Illinois scientists have studied school-age children and found that those who have a higher level of aerobic fitness processed information more efficiently. The researchers also found that higher levels of aerobic fitness corresponded to better standardized test scores among a set of Illinois public school students.

What is it about exercise that prompts the brain to remake itself? Different scientists have pet theories. One popular hypothesis credits insulin-like growth factor 1, a protein that circulates in the blood and is produced in greater amounts in response to exercise. IGF-1 has trouble entering the brain — it stops at what's called the "blood-brain barrier" — but exercise is thought to help it to do so, possibly sparking neurogenesis.

Other researchers are looking at the role of serotonin, a hormone that influences mood. Exercise speeds the brain's production of serotonin, which could, in turn, prompt new neurons to grow. Abnormally low levels of serotonin have been associated with clinical depression, as has a strikingly shrunken hippocampus. Many antidepressant medications, like Prozac, increase the effectiveness of serotonin. Interestingly, these drugs take three to four weeks to begin working — about the same time required for new neurons to form and mature. Part of the reason these drugs are effective, then, could be that they're increasing neurogenesis. "Just as exercise does,"Gage says.

Health Tips-8: "Is the 'Five Second Rule' safe?"

Almost everyone has dropped some food on the floor and still wanted to eat it. If someone saw your drop it, he or she might have yelled, "5-second rule!" This so-called rule says food is OK to eat it you pick it up in 5 seconds or less.

Believe it or not, scientists have tested the rule. We are sorry to report it is not necessarily true. Bacteria can attach itself to your food even if you pick it up super-fast. But will your dropped food contain enough bacteria to make you sick? It is possible and that is why you should not eat food that has hit the floor.

Here is what you need to know about the 5-second rule: A clean floor is not necessarily clean.

A floor that looks dirty is usually worse, but even dry floors that look clean can contain bacteria. Why? Some germs can survive on the floor for a long time. And unless you have a powerful microscope, you can't check to see how many germs are there. So chances are, some bacteria are probably living on your kitchen floor and the cafeteria floor at school.

Fast may not be fast enough. Bacteria can attach to your food as soon as it hits the floor. That means food left on the floor for an instant can get contaminated, if conditions are right. And foods with wet surfaces, like apple slice, can pick up bacteria easily.

When in doubt, toss it out. Some bacteria are not harmful. But others can give you awful stuff, like diarrhoea. You can't see the bacteria and even if you could, it does not take much to make you sick. So what are you to do with that delicious piece of whatever that just slipped from your grip? The safest choice is to throw it out. Or give it to your brother. Just kidding! (MCT)

Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle, Chennai of Sep.24, 2007

Health Tips-7: "New Ways to Fight Ageing"

Washington, Sep.21, 2007: Researchers said they had found more ways to activate the body's own anti-ageing defences - perhaps with a pill that could fight multiple diseases at once.

Their study, published in the journal, Cell, helps explain why animals fed very low calorie diets live longer, but it also offers new ways to try to replicate the effects of these diets using a pill instead of hunger, the researchers said.

"What we are talking about is potentially having one pill that prevents and even cures many diseases at once," said David Sinclair, a pathologist at Harvard Medical School, who helped lead the research.

The key is a family of enzymes called sirtuins. They are controlled by genes called SIRT1, SIRT2 and so on. They found the enzymes controlled by these genes help preserve the mitochondria - little organs inside of cells that provide their energy.

"These two genes, SIRT3 and SIRT4, they make proteins that go into mitochondria... These are little energy packs inside our cells that are very important for staying healthy and youthful and, as we age, we lose them and they get less efficient," Sinclair said in a videotaped statement.

"They are also very important for keeping the cells healthy and alive when they undergo stress and DNA damage, as we undergo every day during the aging process."

Sinclair and colleagues have found in other studies that even if the rest of a cell is destroyed - the nucleus and other parts - it can still function if the mitochondria are alive. His team found that fasting raises levels of another protein called NAD. This, in turn, activates SIRT3 and SIRT4 directly, in the mitochondria. Such a molecule could be used for many age-related diseases ," he added. "Diseases like heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis - even things like cataracts," he said.

Courtesy: Reuters/The New Indian Express, Chennai, Sep.22, 2007

Health News-2: "Ban on Smoking"

Beijing started posting 'No Smoking' signs inside cabs in the city ahead of a smoking ban from October 1, amid efforts to create a 'no-smoking' Olympics in 2008.

Newscape, The Hindu, Sep.24, 2007

Health Warnings-3: 'Supplements of Calcium can raise Heart Attack Risk' - DPA

Older women in New Zealand have been advised to stop taking calcium supplements, acknowledged to protect their bones, after a study found it could raise the risk of heart attack.

A trial run by Auckland University's bone research group found the supplements caused a 40% increase in heart attacks, the Sunday Star-Times reported.

Ian Reid, the professor who directed the study, said women over 70 who had been on the trial were recommended to stop taking extra calcium, especially if they had a history of heart or kidney disease, pending further investigations. About 1,500 women took part in the trial, which was funded by New Zealand's Health Research Council.

Reid told the appear that three other international studies on calcium supplements had since been reviewed, and all showed varying degrees of elevated risk of heart attacks, ranging from 10 to 20%.

"When you put four studies together, you need to take it more seriously," he said.

"This is potentially very important because there are so many people around the world who take calcium supplements." Reid said the study found calcium supplements dramatically reduced older women's risk of bone fractures and bone density loss.

"But heart disease kills you, whereas bone disease can, but it is not quite so lethal."

Courtesy: DPA/Deccan Chronicle, Chennai, Sep.24, 2007

Health Tips-6: 'Mighty Mushrooms' - Health, Supplement to The New Indian Express

Mushrooms have health benefits that many people are unaware of. They contain natural ingredients to naturally help prevent certain types of cancer and other life-threatening medical conditions.

Mushrooms have been used for thousands of years both as food and for medicinal purposes. They are often classified as a vegetable or a herb, but they are actually fungi. While there are over 14,000 mushrooms, only about 3,000 are edible, about 700 have known medicinal properties, and fewer than one percent are recognized as poisonous.

Mushroom extracts are increasingly being used in nutraceutical products and sports drinks. Mushrooms contain about 80 to 90% water, and are very low in calories (only 100 cal/oz). They have very little sodium and fat, and eight to ten percent of the dry weight is fibre. Hence, they are an ideal food for persons following a weight management program or a diet for hypertensives.

Mushrooms are an excellent source of potassium, a mineral that helps lower elevated blood pressure and reduces the risk of stroke. One medium portabella mushroom has even more potassium than a banana or a glass of orange juice. One serving of mushrooms also provides about 20 to 40% of the daily value of copper, a mineral that has cardioprotective properties.

Mushrooms are a rich source of riboflavin, niacin, and selenium. Selenium is an antioxidant that works with vitamin E to protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals.

According to studies, consuming just three and a half ounces of the white button variety each day, can decrease the risk of developing prostate cancer and breast cancer.

Shitake mushrooms are also said to inhibit tumour growth. They are natural disease fighters, and like other natural foods, mushrooms can help keep the body healthy for many years to come.

(Courtesy: Health, Supplement to The New Indian Express, Madurai, Aug.28, 2007)

Health Tips-5: 'Slow down, it is healthy' - The New Sunday Express, Aug.19, 2007

What is so great about eating slowly? For starters, it helps you lose weight through consuming fewer calories (if you eat slower, you eat less) and also allows you to really enjoy your meal. Eating slowly also improves digestion (you chew your food more thoroughly), helps lower stress (concentrating on your food keeps you from thinking of life's other activities), and lets you rebel against fast food (if you are willing to spend time on a meal, you are more likely to spend it on a good one). Take 30 minutes out of your day to enjoy meal. It is really worth it.

(Courtesy: 'Better Living' Page, The New Sunday Express, Aug.19, 2007)

Health Tips-4: "Eat Less, Live Longer!"

Evidence has been accumulating since the 1930s that calorie restriction - reducing energy intake below energy expenditure - extends lifespan and delays the onset of age-related diseases. CALERIE(Comprehensive Assignment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy), a study sponsored by America's National Institutes of Health took 48 men and women aged between 25 and 50 and assigned them randomly to either a control group or a calorie-restriction regime. Those in the second group were required to cut their calorie intake for six months to 75% of that needed to maintain their weight. The study is a landmark in the history of the field, because its subjects were either normal weight or only slightly overweight. At a molecular level, CALERIE suggests that these advantages are real. They showed drops in body temperature and blood-insulin levels - both phenomena that have been seen in long-lived, calorie-restricted animals. They also suffered less oxidative damage to their DNA.

The search for a drug that will stave off old age is itself very old. Scientists are trying to find a drug that will mimic the effect of calorie restriction. There is a family of enzymes called sirtuins, which act both as sensors of nutrient availability and as regulators of metabolic rate. These might provide the necessary biochemical link between starving and living longer. Some plant-derived molecules are known to activate sirtuins in yeast. One of these molecules, resveratrol, has increased the maximum lifespan of a small fish by 60%. However, some of these molecules are already in clinical trials for safety.

(Excerpted from "Manorama Yearbook 2007)

Health Warnings-2: "Effects of Noise Pollution"

While levels and dangers of noise pollution are well-documented and everyone knows what an irritant and stresser noise is, what is lesser known is that chronic noise can cause:

Mental distress
Ulcers
Migraines
Acidity
Non-cooperative behaviour
Aggression
Learning impairment
Musculo-skeletal problems
Heart problems
Tinninitus or a ringing sound within the ears (even when there is no noise in the surroundings)

It can hamper performance and productivity.

Chronic noise also affects interpersonal relationships.

(Courtesy: Aruna Chandraraju, Weekly Magazine, The Hindu, April 3, 2005)