Health Tips-16: Clap Your Way to Good Health - PTI

Clapping is no child's play, especially for 82-year-old Kishan Chandra Bajaj, who claims to have got cured of glaucoma, a degenerative eye disease, all because of clapping.

Despite knowing about age-old therapies like yoga, reiki and acupressure, Bajaj decided to try a novel "clapping yogasana", when he lost his eyesight suddenly, a decade ago. "If a person claps in a correct way he an help maintain a good health and cheerful mind. It is not at all tiring," he adds.

"Our palms have pressure points for the whole body, which get stimulated during clapping and benefit people," says B.B.Mittal, honorary senior consultant at Jaipur Golden Hospital.

According to Bajaj, forceful clapping warms blood and increases its circulation, cleans the blood vessels of cholesterol and reduces chances of heart ailments. While the increased temperature of blood kills germs thus preventing various diseases. He claims to have clapped for at least one crore times in a duration of two and a half years! Bajaj has his name in Limca Book of Records-1997 for his special ability to "clap 9,500 times in an hour", the sound of which could be "heard a kilometre away".

Bajaj says clapping is no child's play but needs will power and faith to reap its benefits. Clapping in correct way can cure stammering also, he says giving his own example.

He discovered the positive effects of 'clapping yogasana' after he learn about it in a discourse.

People in airconditioned offices do not sweat but this exercise helps circulae warm blood and opens pores to cleanse body.

(Source and other details not available)

Health Tips-15: Calcium, a safe-deposit - Devika Murthy

Milk, greens and dhal are some of the food that contain a high quantity of calcium. It is the calcium content that determines the physique and also gives the body resilience.

What oxygen is to the lungs, calcium is to the bones. A component of skeletal mass and shell, calcium(Ca) - a silvery white metal - is an intrinsic part of our body, a kind of safe deposit that is built up during one's growing years, and it is important to see that one has stored enough of it so that when one grows older the bones are still strong.

It is the calcium content that, besides heredity, determines physique and gives the body its resilience. A shortage of it leads to lack of stamina and brittle bones, which in later years results in osteoporosis.

Teeth, which are also wholly calcium-based can turn problematic and painful in periods of deficiency. That is why calcium fluoride, a water-insoluble crystalline mineral is used as a decay preventive in dentrifices. The assuring thing about calcium is that it is readily available in a host of everyday consumables and is just as easily assimilated: Milk - literally awash in calcium - cheese, fresh fruits and yogurt are unfailing suppliers. Leafy vegetables can also take pride in their calcium stock; generous helpings of all locally-grown varieties help boost the body's reserves. So children should be made to understand that shunning greens could end up slowing or stunting their growth.

For lack of calcium, aggravates leaching from bones into the bloodstream, as blood too requires - an infinitesimal but indispensable quantity of - calcium to help produce hormones, aid nerve conduction, regulate heartbeats, draw essential nutrients from food and facilitate myriad physiological functions. Dried dates, rich in calcium as well as apricots are things that most children love; so too til and groundnut laddoos bound with jaggery, which turn into lip smacking treats are filled with calcium.

For Indians, an advantage is the range of dals that we use in our daily meals; all the regulars such as toor, channa, rajma and moong offer respectable levels of it.

Regular exercise stabilises inflow and outflow of calcium, so it is both necessary and advisable. Avoiding aerated drinks, alcohol and nicotine, meats and controlling stress check calcium erosion.

There is truly no dearth of items that provide all the calcium that we can use. The only requirement is that we be aware of the sources and include them in a healthy and tasty diet.

Courtesy: Young World, Supplement to The Hindu, August 28, 1999.

Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

Health Tips-14: Key to Brain Aging

Onset of the dreaded Alzheimer's disease which becomes apparent in a patient's 60's or 70's is due to midlife breakdown of myelin, a fatty insulation coating of the brain's internal wiring say UCLA neuroscientists.

A model identifying this process has been reported in Neurobiology of Aging. As the brain develops, cholesterol levels increase. This promotes production of a toxic protein that attacks myelin. This eventually leads to the brain-destroying tangles visible years later in Alzheimer's patients. Increasing iron levels in the middle age also degrade myelin. Intake of cholesterol and iron-lowering and anti-inflammatory medications may prevent the disease.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, January 1, 2004.

Grateful thanks to The Hindu.

Health Tips-13: "Our GI Tract is a Window on our Emotions"

Sometimes our gastro-intestinal (GI) tract is a window on our emotions. We are not always aware of feeling trapped or depressed or stressed, but we are aware if our stomach sends a message or distress signal. For those of us, who experience emotions in a visceral way, it can lead to physical problems if the signals are not respected and if we fail to make changes. When strong emotions are felt, our GI tract is often a barometer, it gives us adverse warning that we need to pay attention and make adjustments in our attitude or in our behaviour. If we repeatedly ignore these signals, we take the chance of missing important information our body is trying to transmit.

We can prevent more critical physical problems if we heed the warning signs and change our behaviour and/or our thinking. Our bodies and our minds see things in different ways. When we ignore our body's messages and think we know what is wrong, our body is forced to send stronger messages to us to feel. Feeling our feelings gives us the information we need to stay healthy. If my stomach is my barometer and I am avoiding 'taking action' on an issue that is important in my life, my stomach may remind me. It is sensible to ask myself, "What am I avoiding?" Sometimes it may be that I am avoiding looking at a problem that I have relegated to the 'it is not THAT important' file. A part of us is aware even when we have rationalized an issue. Our feeling body knows more than our thinking mind and is able to access the information for us. Listening to this information by quieting the mind is a learned skill and, when practised, serves us well.

Foods That Heal-5: "Bitter Gourd Juice"

Bitter gourd juice purifies blood. It is an excellent appetiser. It eliminates the worms thriving in the intestine. It gives relief in piles. As it is a diuretic, it relieves the burning in the kidneys. It dissolves kidney stones. Bitter gourd could be effectively used in diabetes. A glass of bitter gourd juice taken on empty stomach is beneficial to patients suffering from arthritis and jaundice.

Health Warnings-4: "Job Satisfaction and Health"

Recent investigations have revealed that inner disconnectedness is a significant factor in producing disease. For example, medical research has discovered that the most powerful predictor of heart attacks in men under the age of fifty is not high cholesterol, nor high blood pressure, nor smoking, but JOB DISSATISFACTION. When men do not feel a meaningful connection to their work, it can kill them. I see this as a manifestation of soul loss: a 'soulless' connection to work. It is very stressful to live without a meaningful connection to our lives and our activities, and it is well established that stress is a significant cause of disease - Dr.A.Allina, M.D. (Source: Unknown)

Health Tips-12: "Nine Health Rules"

1. Eat less, chew more.
2. Ride less, walk more.
3. Clothe less, bathe more.
4. Worry less, work more.
5. Idle less, play more.
6. Talk less, think more.
7. Waste less, give more.
8. Frown less, laugh more.
9. Preach less, practice more.

Source: Not given

Health Tips-11: "How to beat the Clock inside you - The Independent"

Deep in your brain, lodged just behind your eyes, there is a literal body clock. All humans have one: the clock is called suprachiasmatic nucleus, and scientists can isolate it, plug it up to electrodes, and convert the ticking into a regular, electronic beep. The clock can govern anything subject to our 24-hour routine: body temperature, hormone cycle, patterns of alertness and tiredness. Because it influences the day-by-day, it has a knock-on effect for the longer term, probably prompting the body's menstruation and reproductive cycles and helping our adjustment to seasonal changes.

The trouble, researchers are now warning, is that this sensitive piece of biological timekeeping is being skewed by our unnatural lifestyles. International travel across different time zones, more shift work and late-night leisure pursuits take no heed of that little nucleus. Increasingly the body clock is being masked by caffeine or amphetamines or simply ignored.

"I think we should be very concerned about our 24-hour society," says Jo Arendt, Professor of Endocrinology, University of Surrey. Her conclusion is that if you mess with your natural tick-tock, you may be inviting trouble... How do scientists suggest you can best adapt your body? The main cue for the clock, the factor which adjusts it to 24 hours - its natural cycle is actually 24 hours and 20 minutes - is light. (Our 'clock' is particularly close to the retina, which is why blind people, their natural timekeeping unprompted by daylight, have a much higher incidence of sleeping disorders.) So the best way to adapt your body to unusual hours is by providing it with an intensity of light which might otherwise be absent. NASA, for instance, uses strong light to shift its astronauts.

Another, closely related way of adapting the clock is using melatonin. It is a naturally occurring "chrono-biotic"; a hormone-like secretion from the pineal gland, melatonin's basic function is to tell your body "when the dark happens". It also reduces the length of night to determine reproduction or sleep cycles.

Courtesy: The Independent.

Grateful thanks to The Independent.

Health Tips-10: Onions prevent brittle bones

Onions, garlic and a range of other salad goods may help reduce the risk of osteoporosis - the crippling disease that affects one in three women, usually after the menopause.

The claim comes from researchers at the University of Bern, Switzerland. They said one gram of onion a day can help prevent the process that causes the condition - resorption, where calcium seeps from the bones making them brittle.

Osteoporosis can cause the spine to bend and makes bones more likely to break. In the UK, 52,000 women suffer hip fractures each year as a result of the disease. Estimates put the cost of the disease on NHS somewhere between 600 million to one billion, although it is difficult to quantify as sufferers will often need special care as well as immediate treatment for fractures.

Excerpt from 'Energy Era' of Oct.1, 1999

Health News-3: "Vitamin E : Healthcare Miracle"

It is common knowledge that vitamins are indispensable to lead a healthy life. Their deficiency may result in various diseases. Among all the vitamins, Vitamin E is the one on which recent studies have thrown some new light.

It is viewed by scientists more as an anti-oxidant rather than as a vitamin. It is present in large quantities in vegetable oils and foods that are high in vegetable fats. Almonds, corn oil, peanut oil, walnuts are among the edibles that are high in Vitamin E. The best way to keep up the optimum intake is to eat a variety of foods that contains this vitamin. Since the human body cannot produce this vitamin on its own, it has to be provided by foods and supplements.

As an anti-oxidant, it prevents the attack of free radicals that are linked to the onset of premature ageing, coronary heart disease, cataract and an array of degenerative diseases. It prevents the formation of LDL - the bad cholesterol, which promotes heart diseases. People who eat foods higher in Vitamin E are prone less to cardiac ailments. It may also help people from infectious diseases like cold, flu and TB. It also inhibits the conversion of nitrites in smoked, pickled and cured foods to nitrous amines that are strong tumour promoters. However, it is not advisable to take this vitamin if one has liver disease or over-activity of thyroid. Very high doses may lead to hormonal problems and impaired sex functions.

Excerpt from Science Express, February 6, 2001.

Grateful thanks to Science Express.