Doctors Can Remove Your Kidney Stones Upto Disustrus Level From Gall Bladder
remove kidney stones

NEW DELHI: Over 830 stones were removed from the gallbladder of a 60-year-old woman at a hospital in Delhi, doctors said today. The patient, suspected to be suffering from a cancerous tumour, had also been experiencing intermittent bouts of fever and was advised to go for an ultrasound and CT scan.

A team of specialists at Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh performed a two-hour laparoscopic procedure on the patient in January to remove her gallbladder.

“The patient’s gallbladder was extremely inflamed and had grown six times its original size. As per plan, this was a laparoscopic surgery wherein her gallbladder would be removed,” said Amit Javed, consultant, gastrointestinal surgery, at Fortis Hospital.

“However, after its removal, when we opened the gallbladder to look at what was inside before sending it for biopsy, to our astonishment, we found several hundred small and large gall stones inside it. In total, there were 838 gallstones,” Mr Javed said.
Gallstones cause inflammation of gall bladder, severe pain and symptoms of indigestion and complications like blockage of the bile duct, leading to jaundice, severe infection, and pancreatitis. They are also commonly found in patients with gall bladder cancer.

“The only remedy to both gallstones as well as cancer of the gallbladder is complete removal of the organ. Gallstones are masses formed abnormally in the gall bladder or bile ducts from bile pigments, cholesterol, and calcium salts.

“Gallstones can also develop when there is too much cholesterol in the bile secreted by the liver. The incidents of gallbladder cancer in North and Central India are very high, and commoner in women. Northern India is much more prone to gallbladder cancer than South India,” said Mahipal Bhanot, Facility Director at the hospital.

Having Less Glucose And More Fat May Also Leads To Diabetes – Health
less glucose

HOUSTON: Making muscles burn more fat and less glucose may increase exercise endurance but simultaneously cause diabetes, a new study has warned.

Mouse muscles use glucose (carbohydrate) as fuel when the animals are awake and active and switch to fat (lipid) when they are asleep.

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in the US discovered that disrupting this natural cycle may lead to diabetes but, surprisingly, also can enhance exercise endurance.

The switch is controlled by a molecule called histone deacetylase 3 or HDAC3. This finding opens the possibility of selecting the right time to exercise for losing body fat but also raises the concern of using HDAC inhibitors as doping drugs for endurance exercise.

“How the muscle uses glucose is regulated by its internal circadian clock that anticipates the level of its activity during the day and at night,” said Zheng Sun from Baylor.

“The circadian clock works by turning certain genes on and off as the 24-hour cycle progresses. HDAC3 is a key connection between the circadian clock and gene expression,” said Sun.

“Our previous work showed that HDAC3 helps the liver alternate between producing glucose and producing lipid. In this work, we studied how HDAC3 controls the use of different fuels in skeletal muscle,” Sun added.

Skeletal muscles, the voluntary muscles, are important in the control of blood glucose in the body. They consume most of the glucose and if they develop insulin resistance and consequently are not able to use glucose, then diabetes likely will develop.

To study the role of HDAC3 in mouse skeletal muscle, Sun and colleagues genetically engineered laboratory mice to deplete HDAC3 only in the skeletal muscles.

some important nutrition tips
Then they compared these knocked out mice with normal mice regarding how their muscles burn fuel.

When normal mice eat, their blood sugar increases and insulin is released, which stimulates muscles to take in and use glucose as fuel.

“When the knocked out mice ate, their blood sugar increased and insulin was released just fine, but their muscles refused to take in and use glucose. Lacking HDAC3 made the mice insulin resistant and more prone to develop diabetes,” Sun said.

“Yet, when the HDAC3-knocked out mice ran on a treadmill, they showed superior endurance, which was intriguing because diabetes is usually associated with poor muscle performance.

Glucose is the main fuel of muscle, so if a condition limits the use of glucose, the expectation is low performance in endurance exercises,” Sun added.

Researchers studied what fueled the HDAC3-knocked out mice’s stellar performance using metabolomics approaches and found that their muscles break down more amino acids.

This changed the muscles’ preference from glucose to lipids and allowed them to burn lipid very efficiently.

This explains the high endurance, because the body carries a much larger energy reservoir in the form of lipid than carbohydrate.

The study appears in the journal Nature Medicine.

Beat Bloating tips by float belly – health tips
beat bloatingYou’d love to have a flat belly for the party tonight, but thanks to one too many sodas or that basket of tortilla chips, zipping your pants is a real struggle. Abdominal bloating not only looks bad but can also cause physical discomfort. The good news? Experts say stomach bloating is a condition you can avoid pretty easily.
We’re not talking about extra pounds of stomach fat here. We’re talking about the temporary abdominal distention that plagues most everyone from time to time. Michael Jensen, MD, an endocrinologist and obesity researcher at Mayo Clinic, says unless your stomach bloating is caused by a medical condition such as liver or heart disease, the only real cause is intestinal gas – not “water weight.”

womens torso

“It is a myth that bloating in the stomach is from fluid accumulation in healthy adults, because the abdomen is not a place where fluids accumulate first,” Jensen says. “Instead, you would see it in your feet or ankles as long as you are upright.”

So what causes gas to accumulate and wreak havoc on how you feel and look? Here are answers from experts plus their stomach-slimming advice.

1. Avoid Constipation.

Too little fiber, fluids, and physical activity can lead to constipation, which can result in bloating, Jensen says.

To avoid this, eat a diet high in fiber (25 grams per day for women and 38 for men) from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Also, drink plenty of fluids (aim for 6-8 glasses a day) and aim for physical activity for at least 30 minutes, five times a week.

If you’re eating a low-fiber diet, gradually bump up the fiber level, making sure you also drink plenty of fluids for better tolerance.

2. Rule Out Wheat Allergies or Lactose Intolerance.

Food allergies and intolerances can cause gas and bloating. But these need to be confirmed by your doctor. Many people self-diagnose these conditions and unnecessarily eliminate healthy dairy and whole grains from their diets. If you suspect you have an allergy or intolerance, see your doctor for tests.

You may benefit from reducing the amount of the suspected food or eating it with other foods. In the case of dairy, it can help to choose aged cheeses and yogurts, which are lower in lactose.

3. Don’t Eat Too Fast.

Eating quickly and not chewing your food well can cause air swallowing that leads to bloating, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet.

So slow down and enjoy your food. Your meals should last at least 30 minutes. Also, keep in mind that digestion begins in the mouth and you can decrease bloating just by chewing your food more, Blatner says.

There’s another benefit to slowing things down. When you take your time to thoroughly chew and taste your food, your snack or meal becomes more satisfying. And studies have shown that if you eat more slowly, you may end up eating less.

4. Don’t Overdo Carbonated Drinks.

The fizz in carbonated drinks (even diet ones) can cause gas to get trapped in your belly, Blatner says.

Instead, drink water flavored with lemon, lime, or cucumber. Or just reduce the number of fizzy drinks you consume each day. Try some peppermint tea for a soothing beverage that may help reduce bloat.


5. Don’t Overdo Chewing Gum.

Chewing gum can also lead to swallowing air, which can cause bloating.

If you’ve got a gum habit, alternate chewing gum with sucking on a piece of hard candy or eating a healthy, high-fiber snack like fruit, vegetables, or lower-fat popcorn.

6. Watch Out for Sugar-Free Foods.

“Many of my patients suffer from bloating because they consume too much sugar alcohol in artificially sweetened foods and drinks,” Blatner says. And that can lead to bloating.

Experts recommend consuming no more than 2 or 3 servings of artificially sweetened foods and drinks per day.

7. Limit Sodium.

Highly processed foods tend to be high in sodium and low in fiber, both of which can contribute to that bloated feeling, Jensen says.

Get in the habit of reading food labels, Blatner advises. When buying processed, canned, or frozen foods, shoot for no more than 500 mg of

sodium per serving in any product — or a total of 1,500 to 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Look for labels that say “sodium free,” “low sodium,” or “very

8. Go Slow with Beans and Gassy Vegetables.

If you’re not used to eating beans, they can cause that gassy feeling. So can the cruciferous family of vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.

That doesn’t mean you should give up on these super-nutritious, high-fiber vegetables.

“Don’t be nervous about beans,” Blatner says. “Just work them into your diet slowly until your body adjusts to the compounds that can initially cause gas.”

Or, you can take an anti-gas product, which can help reduce gas from beans or vegetables.

9. Eat Smaller Meals More Often

Instead of three big meals per day, try eating smaller meals more often. This can keep you free of the bloated feeling that often follows large meals (think Thanksgiving). Eating more frequently can also help control blood sugar and manage hunger.

So go for five to six small meals each day, but make sure the quantity of food and calories are proportionate to your needs. To create a daily meal plan that includes the recommended amounts of all major nutrients, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate web site.


10. Try Anti-Bloating Foods and Drinks.

A few studies suggest that peppermint tea, ginger, pineapple, parsley, and yogurts containing probiotics (“good” bacteria) may help reduce bloating.

“These are safe foods that are good for you when used appropriately, so why not try them and see if they help you de-bloat?” Blatner says.

A Final Word About Stomach Fat

Experts agree that you shouldn’t fast, skip meals, or use laxatives or water pills to help you de-bloat or lose weight.

If you’re looking to flatten your belly for the long term, there’s no substitute for losing a few pounds, Jensen says.

“For most everyone, when you lose total body fat, your body reduces belly fat preferentially,” he says. “Even though people lose weight differently, there is a little more lost in the abdominal region than elsewhere.”

Experts also say that doing ab exercises all day long won’t get rid of the excess belly. Although you can’t necessarily spot reduce, you can strengthen abdominal muscles with routines like Pilates and exercise ball workouts. And, stronger muscles can help your belly appear flatter.

“Toning and strengthening the abdominal muscles can help you look less fat [and] improve your appearance, muscle tone, and posture, which is also very good for your back,” Jensen says.

Important Tips Keep Healthy Pragnancy – Baby
healthy pragnancy tips

Being pregnant with your first child is an incredibly magical and transformative experience. In reality, if you don’t know what to expect, it can be hard to find useful pregnancy tips.

Young mothers will do anything for their unborn child, but the best course of action isn’t always straightforward. While doctors recommend plenty of supplements and prenatal vitamins, there are simple things you can do every day to give your baby a fighting chance.

How Your Body Changes During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the greatest feat our bodies can go through. At any rate, as your baby grows inside you, your body has to change and grow to make room for him/her.

Super-sore breasts
Headaches
Constipation
Faintness and dizziness
Frequent urination
Bulging veins on your hands and feet
Nosebleeds
Flushed and plump skin
Feeling bloated
Blurry vision
Second trimester:
Feeling clumsier (shift in your center of gravity)
Increased feeling of happiness
Skin darkening — around your nipples, areolas, navel, armpits and inner thighs
Skin tags and growths
Butterflies in your belly
Stomach rumblings or indigestion
Swelling in your lower abdomen
Pregnant belly “pops”
Sharp pains in your hip, abdomen or groin
Dizziness and lightheadedness
Lower blood pressure
Low energy
Anemia
Low libido
Sore ribs as your rib cage expands to make room for your ever-growing uterus
Third trimester:

Musculoskeletal pain
Trouble sleeping
Shortness of breath
Leaky breasts (colostrum)
Itchy skin
Sciatica
Urine leakage
Heartburn
Increased appetite
Nausea
Braxton Hicks contractions
Lumpy breasts
If you experience anything abnormal during your pregnancy or if your body doesn’t quite feel right, cal your doctor right away and don’t take any chances.

Having A Healthy Pregnancy

In order to grow and deliver a healthy baby, you have to be healthy yourself.

Growing babies require plenty of energy and large sums of vitamins and minerals to develop properly. Hence, it’s important to watch what you eat throughout the pregnancy process.

Since giving birth is a very physical feat, it’s a good idea to stay fit and flexible to prepare yourself. Exercising will also loosen up tight muscles and provide some relief from pregnancy back pain (3).

Plus, being stressed can trigger a miscarriage or other complications since your body can’t sustain life while you’re in fight-or-flight mode. This includes impaired brain development (4).

To find out how to have a healthy pregnancy, follow these prenatal care tips.

21 Pregnancy Tips

These pregnancy tips will help yoachieveve good health and feel as comfortable as possible.

1. Adjust Your Sleeping Position

As your baby grows and your body adjusts, it can be difficult to feel comfortable, especially at night.

Sleeping on your back can put extra stress on your body and baby, especially when it some to our breathing. Sleeping on your belly isn’t comfortable either (5).

While you can get away with just about any position in the first semester, you should exclusively sleep on your left side during the third trimester (6).

First of all, the side-sleep position keeps your spine straight to reduce back pain and increases nutrient and blood flow to the placenta. Better yet, use a pregnancy pillow to make you as comfortable as possible and offer support to your knees, abdomen, and back. You might also find comfort by sleeping in the fetal position.

If you need to, feel free to nap to get all the rest your body needs before your child comes into the world.

2. Prenatal Exercise
Exercise is essential for a great pregnancy and birth. It’s actually very safe to exercise while pregnant. In fact, it will help you control your weight, improve circulation, boost your mood, and give you a good night’s sleep. It’s also a great way to relieve muscle pain and increase endurance you’re the birthing process.

Try to get at least 30 minutes of pilates, yoga, walking, or a mild workout every day. Before trying another exercise, talk to your doctor to make sure you don’t overdo it.

3. Write up a Birth Plan
As your pregnancy progresses, giving birth can feel daunting. But if you plan it out in advance, it can help take some of the edge off. Writing your birthing plan will allow you to feel more in control of the situation and keep you and your family on the same page.

Here are a few things to consider in your birth plan (7):

Who you want present, including children or siblings of the baby
Procedures you want to avoid
What positions you prefer for labor and delivery
Special clothing you’d like to wear
Whether you want music or a special focal point
Whether you want pain medications, and what kind
What to do if complications arise
4. Practice Kegels
In short, Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles to support your bladder, bowels, uterus, and vagina.

According to the Baby Center: “Kegels may help keep hemorrhoids at bay and possibly speed healing after an episiotomy or tear during childbirth because they improve circulation to your rectal and vaginal area.” (8)

These exercises can also prevent pregnancy-related urinary stress incontinence,

Here’s how to do Kegels them right:

Start with an empty bladder.
Pretend that you’re trying to stop yourself from passing gas and interrupt the flow of urine at the same time – it’s a sensation of squeezing and lifting.
If you’re not sure you’ve got it, one way to check is by inserting a clean finger into your vagina then doing a Kegel. If you feel pressure around your finger, you’re on the right track.
Hold the pressure for 10 seconds and release for another 10.
Practice any time of the day, while you’re on the couch or sitting at your desk.
5. Track Your Weight Gain
The saying goes “you’re eating for two”, but it’s not exactly true. According to Web MD “The average pregnant woman needs only about 300 healthy calories more a day than she did before she was pregnant.” (9) Of course, you will experience weight gain during pregnancy.

How much pregnancy weight you should gain depends on your body type before getting pregnant:

Average weight mother weight gain: 25 to 35 pounds
Underweight moms: 28-40 pounds
Overweight pregnant women: 15-25 pounds
And here’s how the weight gets distributed:

Baby: 8 pounds
Placenta: 2-3 pounds
Amniotic fluid: 2-3 pounds
Breast tissue: 2-3 pounds
Blood supply: 4 pounds
Stored fat for delivery and breastfeeding: 5-9 pounds
Larger uterus: 2-5 pounds
6. Change Your Shoes
As your belly grows and your center of gravity changes, your feet take on extra pressure. This extra stress can make your arches fall, which flattens out your feet. Pregnancy also causes edema, which makes your feet and ankles swell.

As such, your favorite shoes probably won’t fit as they should, so replace them for comfortable, flat shoes.

7. Skip The Sauna
Being too warm is a bad idea for pregnant women. In fact, a body temperature of 101º F and above during the first trimester can increase your risk of birth defects (10). If you want to head to the sauna, visit one with low-temperature options and speak to your doctor first.

8. Eat Folate-Rich Foods
Any doctor will tell you that folate (folic acid) is essential for fetal development and red blood cell formation. During pregnancy, you’ll have to increase your intake of the vitamin by 200 mcg daily (11).

Foods high in folic acid include beans, peas, yeast, soybean, spinach, artichoke, and asparagus.

9. Cut Caffeine
Simply put, caffeine can worsen your baby’s kicks and punches. Additionally, as a stimulant and a diuretic, caffeine increases your risk of dehydration. Caffeine addiction can also lead to “birth defects, premature labor, preterm delivery, reduced fertility, and increase the risk of low-birth weight offspring and other reproductive problems.”(12)

If quitting caffeine is too hard, wean off the chocolate and coffee and stay below 150 mg – 300 mg of caffeine daily.

10. Stretch your Legs Before Bed
Nighttime leg cramps are all-to-common during the second and third trimester. You can prevent them by stretching your calf and foot before bed every night (13).

Here’s how to do a great stretching routine:

To start, stand at arm’s length from a wall, place your hands on the wall in front of you and move your right foot behind your left foot.
Slowly bend your left leg forward, keeping your right knee straight and your right heel on the floor.
Hold the stretch for about 30 seconds, being careful to keep your back straight and your hips forward.
Don’t rotate your feet inward or outward and avoid pointing your toes.
Switch legs and repeat.
Afterward, meditate or do some bedtime yoga.
11. Indulge in Omega-3s
Fish doesn’t appear on most pregnancy diets, but it should. “In a study of almost 12,000 pregnant women, children born to those who ate less than two servings of fish a week didn’t do as well on tests of intelligence, behavior, and development as children born to mothers who ate fish at least twice a week.,” reports the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (14).

That’s because fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for proper brain function and development. To get all the benefits of omega-3s, eat up to 12 ounces weekly of shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, catfish, and other low-mercury fish. You can also try vegetarian food high in omega 3. On the other hand, stay away from shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish.

12. Stay Away from Soft Cheeses and Lunch Meat
Some foods may contain bacteria and additives that can hurt your baby.

To stay safe, don’t eat:

Soft cheeses like feta, Brie, and goat cheese
Uncooked or undercooked meats or fish
Lunch meats and hot dogs
13. Protect Your Skin
Your skin is more sensitive to the sun when pregnant. This means that you’ll be prone to burning and chloasma (skin discoloration). Above all, protect your skin with an all-natural sunscreen, wide hat and cover-up, and moisturize with organic skin care. You’ll also want to avoid going outside during peak sun hours for healthy skin throughout your pregnancy.

14. Fly During your Second Trimester
Ah, the age-old question: can you fly while pregnant?

According to the Mayo Clinic, flying while pregnant is safest during your second trimester, after morning sickness has subsided. At this time, your fetus is well implanted and growing steadily, ensuring that you won’t suffer from early complications (15).

You can also travel early into the third trimester, as long as it’s before the 36th week. Before flying pregnant, speak to your doctor, check with your airline, stay hydrated, and walk regularly to promote circulation.

15. Indulge in Some of your Cravings
We all know what it’s like to be craving sweets. But, sometimes, cravings are your body’s way of saying that it needs specific nutrients. To make your growing child has all he/she needs, cave in once in a while.

16. Know When To Ask For Help
Your body will communicate with you if there’s anything wrong with your baby. Luckily, with early intervention, many of these complications can be handled quickly and remedied.

Call your doctor if you (16):

Have signs of preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition, such as
sudden swelling of your face, hands, or feet, visual problems (such as dimness or blurring) or severe headache.
Have pain, cramping, or fever with bleeding from the vagina.
Pass some tissue from the uterus.
Think or know you have a fever.
Vomit more than 3 times a day or are too nauseated to eat or drink, especially if you also have fever or pain.
Have an increase or gush of fluid from your vagina. It is possible to mistake a leak of amniotic fluid for a problem with bladder control.
Have any vaginal bleeding or an increase in your usual amount of vaginal discharge.
Experience pelvic pain that doesn’t get better or go away.
Itch all over your body (usually in the evenings at first, then throughout the day as well) with or without dark urine, pale stools, or yellowing of skin or eyes.
Experience painful or frequent urination or urine that is cloudy, foul-smelling, or bloody.
Feel unusually weak.
17. Treat Yourself
Pregnancy can be rough, as your muscle ache, your moods change expectantly, and your bladder gets full faster. To stay cool through it all, treat yourself with little relaxing activities every day. Take a nice warm bath, drink some calming peppermint or chamomile tea, and enjoy some pampering “me” time.

18. Get Out The Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a great way to hydrate your skin as it expands to accommodate your growing belly. Better yet, this habit will help prevent stretch marks and help your skin bounce back after giving birth.

19. Go Swimming
Swimming creates a weightless environment to stretch your muscles, ligaments, and joints. Also, the sport relieves aches and pains and keeps you active.

20. Stay Away From Toxins
To avoid exposing your unborn child to toxic chemicals, stop using chemical cleaning solutions and avoid paint fumes. You can also use natural remedies for common ailments and tell your general practitioner that you’re pregnant to avoid x-rays and other questionable treatments.

It’s also important to stay away from (17):

Alcohol
Androgens and testosterone derivatives, such as danazol
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, such as enalapril and captopril
Coumarin derivatives, such as warfarin
Carbamazepine
Folic acid antagonists, methotrexate, aminopterin
Diethylstilbestrol (DES)
Lead
Lithium
Organic mercury
Phenytoin
Streptomycin and kanamycin
Tetracycline
Trimethadione (no longer available in the U.S.) and paramethadione
Valproic acid
Vitamin A and its derivatives, such as isotretinoin, etretinate, retinoids
Fertilizers and pesticides
Oral contraceptives
Nail polish
21. Try a Pregnancy Massage
Getting a prenatal massage “can reduce anxiety, decrease symptoms of depression, relieve muscle aches and joint pains, and improve labor outcomes and newborn health,” says the American Pregnancy Association (18).

A maternity massage can also increase blood and lymph flow, fight nerve pain, and reduce swelling. Just be sure to visit a certified massage therapist familiar with prenatal massage. She should not use any juniper, rosemary, and clary sage essential oils during the massage.

To stay healthy throughout your pregnancy, make sure to follow these pregnancy tips, go to all your doctor’s appointments, and listen to your body throughout. Don’t push yourself too hard, especially during your first trimester. Most of all, stay calm and relaxed as much as possible. It’ll all pay off once you have your newborn in your arms!

Health – High Cholesterol Level May Cause Bone Loss
cholesterol-level-high

SYDNEY: High cholesterol, which is a known factor for the decrease in heart health may harm more than our cardiovascular systems and lead to bone loss, say researchers including one of Indian-origin.

The new research conducted using animal models suggests that high levels of cholesterol can trigger mitochondrial oxidative stress on cartilage cells — connective tissue — causing them to die.

This may ultimately lead to the development of osteoarthritis — a type of arthritis that occurs when flexible tissue at the ends of bones wears down, said Indira Prasadam, a researcher at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

For the study, Ms Prasadam and her team used two different animal models to mimic human hypercholesterolemia.

The first was a mouse model that had an altered gene called Apolipoprotein E that made the animals hypercholesteremic.

The other was a rat model, and the animals were fed a high-cholesterol diet, causing diet-induced hypercholesterolemia.
Both models were fed a high-cholesterol diet or control normal diet, after which they underwent a surgery that mimics knee injuries in people and was designed to bring on osteoarthritis.

Both the mice and the rats that were subjected to surgery and fed with high-cholesterol diets showed more severe osteoarthritis development than seen in the normal diet group.

However, when both the mice and the rats were exposed to the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin and mitochondrion-targeted antioxidants, the development of osteoarthritis was markedly decreased in relation to the untreated groups.

This study tested the potential therapeutic role of mitochondria targeting antioxidants in high-cholesterol-induced osteoarthritis, the researchers said.

“Our team has already begun working alongside dieticians to try to educate the public about healthy eating and how to keep cholesterol levels at a manageable level that won’t damage joints,” Ms Prasadam said.

The research was published online in The FASEB Journal.

Prevent Eye Problem by Decreasing E-Cigarette
e-cigrette

Storing e-cigarette liquid next to eye drops caused one woman to mix them up, leading to slight eye damage that could have been much worse, Scottish doctors report.

Since the bottles looked similar at a glance, and the nicotine-laced liquid carried no warnings about the harm of contact with the eyes, the authors of a case report in JAMA Opthalmology say e-cigarette users should be aware of this risk.

The researchers describe a patient in her 50s who presented to the Tennent Institute of Ophthalmology at Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow with eye irritation. She had recently been prescribed antibiotic drops for bacterial conjunctivitis, or pinkeye, and stored these next to her e-cig refill liquid in her bathroom cupboard.

When she mistakenly dripped e-cig liquid in her eye she immediately experienced pain, redness and blurred vision. She flushed the eye with water and went to emergency eye services. According to chemical tests, her e-cig liquid had a pH of 6, more acidic than tears, which usually have a pH of about 7.0 to 7.3.

By the time the woman was tested in the hospital, her eye pH was 7.0, which the doctors credited to her having rinsed her eye immediately. Her cornea was stained but there was no damage to the delicate epithelial cells of the eye.

The researchers did not find any other reported cases of people putting e-cigarette liquid in their eyes, but there have been similar accidents with nail glue or olbas oil, which is used to remedy nasal congestion, they write.

“There have been increasing reports of severe ocular injury (including globe rupture) from e-cigarette explosions, both in the eye literature and in the mainstream media,” said coauthor David Lockington of Gartnavel General Hospital. “As far as we know, inadvertent administration of E-Cig liquid to the eye instead of eyedrops has not been previously reported in the ophthalmic journals,” he said by email.
In this case, the patient only experienced superficial ocular surface damage, which resolved with treatment, he said.

“Our patient had a good outcome from this unfortunate incident, with no long term damage to her ocular surface or vision, because she immediately washed out her eye as soon as she realized her mistake, and so limited the potential damage,” Lockington said.

Emergency management of any chemical injury to the eye is immediate irrigation and to seek help, he said.

“This is a disturbing report, and it is fortunate that it happened in a bathroom where she had access to running water,” said biochemist Irina Stepanov of Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, who was not involved in the report.

Though the similarly shaped bottles were misleading, regardless of their shape, medical products like antibiotic drops should be stored away from any potentially similar products like nail glue, Lockington said.

“There is no warning information on the side of these e-cig liquid bottles or in the product information regarding the potential danger of a chemical injury to the eyes, or the emergency treatment,” he said. “This is an oversight which should be addressed by the industry.”
© Thomson Reuters 2016

Why Doctors Feel Risk About HIV Infection Ups Tuberculosis
hiv

LONDON: Researchers have found that the HIV virus increases the potency of the tuberculosis bacterium (Mtb) by affecting a central function of the immune system.

In most people who are exposed to tuberculosis infection, the immune defence deals with the bacteria by enclosing them in a special scar tissue. In this condition the tuberculosis is said to be “latent”. Around 10 per cent of those with latent tuberculosis go on to develop active disease.

“The risk of infection progressing to active tuberculosis is around 30 times higher for people who are HIV-positive. But the reason for this has not been known at the cellular level,” said lead researcher Robert Blomgran from Linkoping University in Sweden.

The new study, published in the American Journal of Pathology, describes how the researchers looked in more detail at what happens in one particular type of immune cell, known as dendritic cells.

These play an important role in the immune defence. Dendritic cells break down tuberculosis bacteria and other foreign microorganisms, and display the bacteria fragments at the cell surface.

Other cells of the immune system, in particular T-cells, recognise the fragments and bind to them.
The dendritic cell then activates the T-cell such that it can kill the tuberculosis bacteria efficiently.

In this way, dendritic cells act as a communication link between the innate immune defence and the specific immune defence, of which the T-cells are part.

The researchers infected human dendritic cells with both Mtb and the HIV virus. They showed that co-infection reduced the ability of the dendritic cells to present foreign molecules to the immune defence.

They also had a lower capacity to activate tuberculosis-specific T-cells than was the case when the dendritic cells were infected with Mtb alone.

“We have now shown that HIV has a clear effect also on the innate immune defence, in particular the dendritic cells, which link the innate and the adaptive immune defences,” Blomgran said.

Docters Thoughts About Your Using Mobiles
sun screen

Even though most dermatologists recommend sunscreen to prevent skin cancer and premature aging of the skin, nearly all of them believe patients aren’t getting the message, a small US study suggests.

“There is an understandably long list of reasons most people do not use or apply enough sunscreen: the lotion is uncomfortable, inconvenient to apply, not always readily available, expensive and the list goes on,” said lead study author Dr Aaron Farberg of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

“However, we know that solar UV causes skin cancer, so as dermatologists we want to encourage our patients to continually improve their sun protection,” Farberg added by email. “This includes using sunscreen, seeking shade, and wearing sun protective clothing with sunglasses.”

In a survey of 156 US dermatologists, every single one of them agreed that sunscreen reduces premature aging of the skin, or photoaging, and 97 percent agreed that it also lowers the risk of cancer.

But 99 percent of them also think their patients don’t apply enough sunscreen.

Most people need at least an ounce of sunscreen, or enough to fill a shot glass, to cover all the exposed parts of their body, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

It should offer broad spectrum (UVA and UVB) protection and have a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 30 or higher, the AAD recommends. Sunscreen should be applied at least 15 minutes before going outdoors, and reapplied every two hours or after swimming or sweating even if it’s labeled as water resistant.

Nearly all of the dermatologists surveyed were comfortable recommending sunscreens with an SPF of 50 or higher, and 83 percent of them believed that high-SPF sunscreens provide an additional margin of safety.

When advising patients on how to choose sunscreen, 99 percent of dermatologists recommend looking at the SPF level and checking for broad spectrum protection, while 71 percent also counsel patients to consider how it looks or feels.
One topic the majority of dermatologists don’t broach with patients is what’s known as photostability, or UV filters that work in sunlight. Certain sunscreen ingredients, including avobenzone and octinoxate, can be unstable and become ineffective in sunlight, previous research has shown.

This is tricky to discuss with patients, though, because there’s no meaningful way for consumers to assess photostability when they’re choosing sunscreens, said Dr David Leffell, a dermatology researcher at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, who wasn’t involved in the study.

“Photostability is always somewhat of an issue but the technology has improved especially for broad spectrum sunscreens,” Leffell said by email. “I recommend they go with a recognized brand.”

Beyond its small size, limitations of the study include the possibility that some participants may have provided survey responses they thought were desirable instead of reflecting their actual beliefs, the authors note in JAMA Dermatology.

It’s possible, too, that the minority of dermatologists who said they didn’t believe regular sunscreen use lowers the risk of skin cancer did so not because they think it’s a bad idea, but because they think patients need to take additional steps to protect themselves, said Dr Elizabeth Martin, who wasn’t involved in the study.

“The data are clear that daily sunscreen use can cut the incidence of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, in half,” Martin, a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and president of Pure Dermatology and Aesthetics in Hoover, Alabama, said by email.

“Perhaps when considering their response, this small number of dermatologists recognized that applying sunscreen is only one part of an overall comprehensive sun protection plan, which also includes seeking shade and wearing protective clothing,” she said.
© Thomson Reuters 2017

Interesting Discovery Counting Of Fingers May Clever Mind Of Children
fingers count

WASHINGTON: Parents, take note! Counting on fingers may make your kids smarter, suggests a new study which found that children who have better perception of their hands tend to be more skilled at math.

Finger perception – the ability to distinguish, name, or recognise the fingers – is associated with math skill and even when people are not manually ticking off numbers, areas of the brain associated with fingers are still activated, researchers said.

In order to analyse how the mind works while performing arithmetic, Ilaria Berteletti from Gallaudet University in the US and colleagues scanned the brains of 39 children between ages eight and 13 while they mentally subtracted and multiplied single-digit numbers.

The scans showed two regions of the brain associated with fingers – the somatosensory area, which responds to sensations such as pressure, pain or heat and the motor area, which controls movement.

Both were active during subtraction, even though the children did not use their fingers to arrive at the answers.

There was no similar brain activity during multiplication, which the researchers interpreted as a reflection of how children learn to subtract versus how they learn to multiply, ‘The Wall Street Journal’ reported.
“You probably learned subtraction using your fingers.

Multiplication was probably presented verbally and with rote memorisation. For us, it is evidence that the two types of operations rely on different networks,” Berteletti said.

Researchers are not sure whether finger recognition can make children better at math or using fingers for math improves recognition.

However, they are sure that children who have better finger perception tend to be more skilled at mathematics.

Your Dinner Is Not Important Than Sheddy Body
shedu body

WASHINGTON: Eating a very early dinner, or even skipping it, may help you lose weight, a new study has found.

The first human test of early time-restricted (eTRF) feeding found that meal-timing strategy reduced swings in hunger and altered fat and carbohydrate burning patterns, which may help with losing weight.

In eTRF, people eat their last meal by the mid-afternoon and do not eat again until breakfast the next morning.

“Eating only during a much smaller window of time than people are typically used to may help with weight loss,” said Courtney Peterson, researcher at Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in the US.

“We found that eating between 8 am and 2 pm followed by an 18-hour daily fast kept appetite levels more even throughout the day, in comparison to eating between 8 am and 8 pm, which is what the median American does,” said Peterson.

This new research suggests that eating a very early dinner, or even skipping dinner, may have some benefits for losing weight.

The body has a internal clock, and many aspects of metabolism are at their optimal functioning in the morning.

Therefore, eating in alignment with the body’s circadian clock by eating earlier in the day can positively influence health, and this new study of eTRF shows that this also applies to metabolism.
This first test of eTRF in humans follows rodent studies of this approach to weight loss, which previously found that eTRF reduced fat mass and decreased the risk of chronic diseases in rodents.

To conduct their study, researchers followed eleven men and women with excess weight over four days of eating between 8am and 2pm (eTRF), and four days of eating between 8am and 8pm (average feeding for Americans).

The researchers then tested the impact of eTRF on calories burned, fat burned and appetite.

To eliminate subjectivity, the researchers had all participants try both eating schedules, eat the same number of calories both times, and complete rigorous testing under supervision.

They found that although eTRF did not affect how many calories participants burned, it reduced daily hunger swings and increased fat burning during several hours at night.

It also improved metabolic flexibility, which is the body’s ability to switch between burning carbs and fats.

Whether eTRF helps with weight loss or improves other aspects of health is still unknown.

How Parental Stress May Effect Mental Health Of Children
parental stress

NEW YORK: A woman’s stress levels during pregnancy can cause changes in the microbiome of the foetus that can lead to anxiety as well as learning difficulty in babies, persisting even into adulthood, researchers say.

In the study, the team of researchers at The Ohio State University, found that when pregnant mice were exposed to stress, it appeared to change the makeup of the bacteria in both their guts and placentas, as well as in the intestinal tracts of their female offspring.

Markers of inflammation increased in the placenta, the foetal brain and the adult brain of the offspring while a supportive protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) decreased. And these microbial changes lasted into adulthood.

The mice were more anxious, they spent more time in dark, closed spaces and they had a harder time learning cognitive tasks even though they were never stressed after birth, the researchers said.

Further, the female offspring of the stressed mice showed a lower ability to learn and higher anxiety-like behaviour compared to the offspring of non-stressed mother mice.
“Microbes from a mother’s gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts are the first to colonise in a developing foetus and newborns,” said led researcher Tamar Gur, Assistant Professor at Ohio State.

“That makes the bacteria an interesting potential explanation of why and how stress before an animal or person is born could prompt mental illness that can last a lifetime,” Gur added.

The study was presented at Neuroscience 2016, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, recently.

Study Of Live Cancer Risk In Jet Lag – Health
liver cancer

WASHINGTON: Repeated jet lags may increase obesity-related liver disease as well as risk of liver cancer, a new study has warned.

When we are exposed to light, our body’s central circadian clock in the brain resets.

When we constantly travel through different time zones, work night shifts, or push ourselves to stay awake at the regular sleep time, our central clock is being chronically disrupted, said researchers from Baylor University in the US.

This disruption also extends to clocks in other tissues that are controlled by the central clock, they said.

By changing the times the lights went on and off during the night each week, the researchers modelled the effects of chronic jet lag in normal mice who were fed a healthy diet.

They found that the mice gained weight and fat, and developed fatty liver disease, which progressed to chronic inflammation and eventually liver cancer in some cases.

The jetlagged mice lost normal control of liver metabolism.

This included not only the buildup of fat, but also increased production of bile acids, which are produced by the liver to help us digest our food.

Earlier studies have linked high bile acid levels to liver cancer, not only in mice but also in humans.
The researchers found that circadian clock disruption activated two nuclear receptors that help regulate liver bile acid metabolism.

Jetlagged mice lacking a receptor called FXR, which keeps bile acid level in the liver within a normal physiological range, had higher bile acid levels and much more liver cancer.

Mice lacking a receptor called CAR that regulates bile acid breakdown and is also known to promote liver cancer, did not get any liver tumours.

In humans, these receptors work in a similar manner. Scientists did not directly study jetlag in humans.

However, there is evidence that sleep disruption increases both fatty liver disease and liver cancer risk in humans, and they hypothesise that lifestyle changes that generate chronic jet lag can also disrupt the body’s internal homeostasis and increase liver cancer risk in humans.

“Liver cancer is on the rise worldwide, and in human studies we have now seen that patients can progress from fatty liver disease to liver cancer without any middle steps such as cirrhosis,” said David Moore, professor at Baylor University.

“We knew we needed an animal model to examine this connection, and studies in the Fu Lab found that chronically jet-lagged mice developed liver cancer in a very similar way as that described for obese humans,” said Moore.

The study appears in the journal Cancer Cell.

Walking Style Can Predict Memory – Health Fitness
walking style

NEW YORK: Problems associated with gait can predict a significant decline in memory and thinking, a new study has found.

Using computerised analyses, researchers at Mayo Clinic in the US measured gait parameters such as stride length, ambulatory time, gait speed, step count, cadence, stance time and arm swing.

They examined medical records of residents from Olmsted County in the US, who were between ages 70 to 89 as of October 1, 2004 using the Rochester Epidemiology Project.

The analysis included 3,426 cognitively normal participants enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging who had a complete gait and neuropsychological assessment.

Alterations in several gait parameters were associated with decline in memory, thinking and language skills, and visual perception of the spatial relationship of objects.
The study results also supported the role of computerised analysis because the computer tool detected modifications before impairment was detected with a standard neuropsychological test.

“The presence of gait disturbances increases with advancing age and affects the independence of daily living, especially in the elderly,” said lead author Rodolfo Savica from Mayo.

“Computerised gait analysis is a simple, noninvasive test that potentially could be used to identify patients at high risk for cognitive decline and to target appropriate therapies,” said Savica.

The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Bilgates Invest 140Million Dollers In Treatment


Merkel Meets With Bill Gates
BERLIN, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 14: Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and former head of Microsoft, poses at the German federal chancellery on November 14, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. Gates was expected to discuss how Germany’s government could work with his foundation to meet many of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, when the country assumes presidency of the G8. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS: Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ charity foundation has invested USD 140 million in the development of HIV-preventing drug implants that could revolutionise the treatment of the life-threatening infection.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is providing this funding for the groundbreaking new technology which could revolutionise HIV prevention.

Currently prevention drugs are available in the form of a pill that, if taken daily, can reduce a person’s chances of being infected with HIV.

The drugs are recommended by the World Health Organisation for use by at-risk groups including men who have sex with men – but are only effective if the pills are taken consistently.

There are hopes that implant technology, similar to systems available for birth control, could be used to deliver a consistent supply of drugs, aiding people vulnerable to HIV.

According to The Wall Street Journal, their latest investment has placed their backing firmly behind a biopharmaceutical company located in Boston. They believe that this company could yield one of the largest revelations in HIV treatment yet.
This treatment takes the form of a pump that was initially designed for type two diabetes patients. It works by continuously delivering medication throughout the body. The pump is reportedly capable of administering drugs throughout the body for as long as 12 months. It could also be easily filled by a clinician annually or bi-annually.

Researchers believe that the pump could work similarly, for HIV prevention, in healthy patients. Delivering treatment such as PreP continuously and, therefore, working to prevent HIV and AIDS. PreP is a daily drug that has been critical in preventing HIV infections in sexually active adults.

The Gates invested USD 50 million in equity stakes at Intarcia Therapeutics – the company responsible for the pump.

They then provided a further USD 90 million in company grants towards the goal of developing the HIV preventing device.

Discoverd a new Human Organ by Scientists Read Which is
menstry

LONDON: Irish scientists have recently identified a new human organ that has existed in the digestive system for hundreds of years.

Named as the mesentery, the organ connects the intestine to the abdomen and had for hundreds of years been considered a fragmented structure made up of multiple separate parts.

However, researchers led by J Calvin Coffey, Professor at University of Limerick (Ireland), describe the mesentery as an undivided structure and outlined the evidence for categorising the mesentery as an organ in the paper published in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Mesentery is a fold of the peritoneum which attaches the stomach, small intestine, pancreas, spleen, and other organs to the posterior wall of the abdomen.

During the initial research, the researchers found that the mesentery, which connects the gut to the body, was one continuous organ.
“Up till then it was regarded as fragmented, present here, absent elsewhere and a very complex structure. The anatomic description that had been laid down over 100 years of anatomy was incorrect. This organ is far from fragmented and complex. It is simply one continuous structure,” Coffey explained.

Better understanding and further scientific study of the mesentery could lead to less invasive surgeries, fewer complications, faster patient recovery and lower overall costs.

“When we approach it like every other organ…we can categorise abdominal disease in terms of this organ,” Coffey said.

According to Coffey, mesenteric science is a separate field of medical study in the same way as gastroenterology and others.

Causes of Dies Woman In Us Due to Superbug
superbug

WASHINGTON: A woman in the US died after being infected by a superbug most likely during her visit to India, say doctors who found that the “nightmare” bacteria was resistant to all available antibiotics.

The infection was caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), a multidrug-resistant organism associated with high mortality.

While CRE are not new to the United States, what was new in this case was that the infection was resistant or non-susceptible to all available antimicrobial drugs, researchers said.

The 70-year-old patient in the US was admitted to an acute care hospital last year after an extended trip to India.

She was given a primary diagnosis of systemic inflammatory response syndrome, likely resulting from an infected right hip seroma. The infection was serious; none of the 14 antibiotics physicians used to treat the woman worked.

After the CRE – identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae – was confirmed by lab testing, an isolate from a wound specimen was sent to the CDC for further susceptibility testing and to determine the mechanism of resistance.

That testing confirmed the presence of New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-1), an enzyme that directly breaks down carbapenems, a powerful class of antibiotics that are often used to treat multidrug-resistant infections.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s antimicrobial testing showed the isolate was resistant to 26 different antibiotics, including all aminoglycosides and polymixins – another class of last-resort antibiotics.

It was also intermittently resistant to tigecycline, an antibiotic developed specifically to overcome drug-resistant organisms. Essentially, there were no treatment options.

Meanwhile, the patient’s condition was deteriorating quickly. She died of septic shock in early September last year, less than two months after admission.

The woman had been in India for two years and had been hospitalised at least four times there for a right femur fracture and a subsequent hip fracture.

“We feel comfortable saying that she most likely obtained the bug in India,” said Lei Chen, senior epidemiologist with the Washoe County Health District in the US.

CRE have been labelled as a “nightmare” bacteria not only because they are already resistant to most antibiotics, but also because they spread easily in hospital settings.

The enzymes that enable resistance are carried on mobile pieces of DNA known as plasmids that can spread to other types of bacteria. NDM-1 enzyme is particularly mobile, researchers said.
“It’s what we call a promiscuous plasmid, that seems to move easily between species,” said Alex Kallen, a CDC medical epidemiologist.

When CRE bacteria enter the bloodstream, they can be deadly. CRE bacteria kill up to half of patients who get bloodstream infections from them.

NDM-1 was originally identified in 2009 in a Swedish patient who had been hospitalised in India. The research was published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Once the bacteria was identified in Nevada, the patient was isolated to prevent the infection from spreading in the hospital.

Postmortem tests showed her infection might have responded to a treatment called fosfomycin, which is not approved in the United States.

Paul Hoskisson, a researcher at the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland, said that several European countries, including Britain, license fosfomycin for intravenous use in such cases.

“This is important because we are seeing increasing numbers of drug-resistant infections, and this is one of the first cases for Klebsiella where no drug options were open to the medical staff.”

Multi-drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae has been described by the World Health Organization as “an urgent threat to human health.”

According to Nick Thomson, leader of the bacterial genomics and evolution group at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in England, this bacteria is likely to become more and more resistant.

“The report highlights international travel and treatment overseas as a feature in the introduction of this pan-resistant isolate into the USA,” he said.

“Since we live in such an interconnected society, this is important because this isolate represents a truly untreatable infection” which leaves health-care professionals with few options but to seek to prevent further transmission.

Laura Piddock, a professor of microbiology at the University of Birmingham, said the case shows that doctors “need the flexibility to use antibiotics licensed for use in other countries and shown to be active in the laboratory against the patient’s infecting bacterium.”

Info about AIDS Virus & it’s agedity
aids
LONDON: Retroviruses, the family of viruses that includes HIV, are almost half a billion years old — several hundred million years older than previously thought, claim scientists from Oxford University.
New research suggests that retroviruses have ancient marine origins, having been with their animal hosts through the evolutionary transition from sea to land.

Until now, it was thought that retroviruses were relative newcomers – possibly as recent as 100 million years in age.

“Our research shows that retroviruses are at least 450 million years old, if not older, and that they must have originated together with, if not before, their vertebrate hosts in the early Paleozoic era,” explained Dr Aris Katzourakis from Oxford University’s department of zoology.

Furthermore, they would have been present in our vertebrate ancestors prior to the colonisation of land and have accompanied their hosts throughout this transition from sea to land, all the way up until the present day.

Retroviruses are a family of viruses that includes the HIV virus responsible for the AIDS pandemic.

They can also cause cancers and immunodeficiencies in a range of animals.

The ‘retro’ part of their name comes from the fact they are made of RNA, which they can convert into DNA and insert into their host genome.

In this study, the researchers unearthed genomic fossils for foamy-like retroviruses in highly diverse hosts, including ray-finned fish and amphibians in which they had not previously been found.

“We need to consider the adaptations that vertebrates have developed to combat viruses, and the corresponding viral countermeasures, as the product of a continuous arms race that stretches back hundreds of millions of years,” Dr Katzourakis noted in the journal Nature Communications.

The findings will help researchers understand more about the continuing ‘arms race’ between viruses and their hosts.

Unbelieve Benefits Of Jeera Water For Your Health
jeera water

Want to lead a healthy lifestyle? “Start your day with a glass full of jeera water”, advises Bangalore-based Nutritionist Dr. Anju Sood. All you need to do is boil a few seeds of jeera (cumin) in water, then allow it to cool and drink it early in the morning on an empty stomach. Jeera water also referred to as ‘Jal jeera’ in Hindi, jeeragam or cumin water can be used as a natural remedy for various health problems and is of great advantage to our bodies. “It is essential to drink jeera water every day”, adds Dr. Anju Sood.

Here are 15 incredible health benefits of jeera water:

1. Good for Stomach
: According to Dr. Ashutosh Gautam, “Jeera water helps get rid of acidity and bloating, and provides relief from indigestion. It acts as a painkiller and is especially beneficial in curing stomach ache and abdominal pain.”

2. Improves Digestion During Pregnancy:
“Jeera water improves digestion during pregnancy, as it acts as a stimulator for the enzymes which are required for digestion of carbohydrates and fats,” says Dr. Sood.

3. Promotes Lactation During Pregnancy:
“Jeera water facilitates the secretion of milk from the mammary glands, and thus promotes lactation in pregnant women,” continues Dr. Anju.

4. Boosts Immunity:
Dr. Manoj K. Ahuja, Fortis Hospital says, “Jeera is an excellent source of iron and dietary fiber. It is essential to drink jeera water to maintain the normal functionality of your immunity system. It fights diseases and reduces your chances of falling sick.”

5. Treats Diabetes:
“Jeera water is good for patients suffering from diabetes. You can drink it on an empty stomach to reduce blood sugar levels,” suggests Dr. Ashutosh Gautam.

6. Aids Respiratory System:
Dr. Manoj Ahuja says, “Jeera water also has a positive impact on your respiratory system. It is an anti-congestive by nature, and helps get rid of the mucous accumulated in your chest.”

7. Regulates Blood Pressure:
“Jeera water is high in potassium content. Potassium is a key mineral that the body relies on for proper functioning. It helps to regulate blood pressure by balancing out the negative effects of salt. And Jeera water is high in potassium” says Dr. Manoj K. Ahuja.

8. Boosts Energy:
Dr. Anju Sood says, “If you have a sluggish metabolic rate, drink jeera water. It improves your energy levels and makes you feel so much better.”

9. Good for Liver:
Dr. Ashutosh Gautam says, “Jeera water flushes out toxins from the body and facilitates the production of bile. Hence, it is extremely beneficial for the liver.”

Some Health Mistakes – Prevent Them From
health mistakes

Who doesn’t want to be healthy? In fact, in the past few years there have been a lot of information and silly misinformation about our health. Such as “gluten free food is the key to eternal youth”, “chocolate gives you acne”, and “corn is fattening”. All these claims do sound convincing and they keep bouncing back although without much evidence.

Behind most food and nutrition myths, there is probably a morsel of truth. So let’s separate science from silliness and get to real dietary wisdom that actually might help your health.

1. Honey – the Healthier Sugar Substitute in Cooking
Switching to honey from refined sugar is a common practice for people who seek to improve their health. Certainly honey contains vitamins, minerals, probiotics, enzymes, antioxidants and some amino acids. Now these nutrients are available to us when we consume honey in its raw state. Basically, heat denatures enzymes and as a result a lot of medicinal value of honey is destroyed. Further, science confirms that heating or cooking honey to 118o F / 48o C or above could result in negative chemical changes that can contribute to ill-health. So stop cooking with honey. An alternate for it could be palm sugar or organic maple sugar.

2. Going Fat Free
Fat free, zero calorie, low fat… I am sorry but all crap is called just that. Taking fat out of food makes it taste like cardboard. So, the food companies replace it with refined vegetable oils, sugar, refined carbs and artificial sweeteners. These ingredients tend to make you fatter than fat itself. Also, don’t be tempted by the 100 calories a serving on that health bar. Check the number of serving sizes because often a serving is considerably smaller than the amount you will be actually eating.

3. Breakfast Cereals Are All Healthy
This is one of the most common blunders that most people make – swapping their wholesome Indian nashta of chillas and methi-stuffed parathas with this modern day junk. Most cereals are loaded with sugar and refined carbs. They are highly processed and produced via extrusion, using high temperature processes to shape the cereal. A big problem is that food manufacturers are expert marketers, making us believe everything they say. Processed food is causing harm to our health, further adding to childhood obesity and other diet related diseases.

4. Throw Away the Egg Yolks
Health professionals have marked a record in demonising the egg yolk. Almost each day I remind my clients not to throw the yolk. It is rich in Vitamin A, D, E, K, B12 and contains an array of essential nutrients. Thankfully in the past few years, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has collected the findings of 21 different studies which state that “Saturated Fat” and “Dietary Cholesterol” are not associated with coronary heart disease and stroke. In fact, the B Vitamins, particularly Riboflavin, present in the yolk has been known to bring down cholesterol levels whereas Lecithin within the egg prevents much of cholesterol from getting absorbed within your digestive tract.

When it comes to keeping skin looking young, no beauty ingredient does the job like retinol. The vitamin A derivative diminishes the appearance of age spots, uneven skin tone, fine lines, and wrinkles, explains Kim Nichols, MD, a dermatologist based in Greenwich, Conn. It also shrinks blackheads, boosts elasticity, and reduces redness, inflammation, and pore size.



Retinol works its magic through cell turnover, says Suneel Chilukuri, MD, dermatologist and founder of Refresh Dermatology in Houston. “Retinol ensures the newest, healthiest cells rise to the surface while the dull and lifeless cells are sloughed off,” he says.



Thing is, that accelerated cell turnover can bring on a case of what some call “retinol uglies”—dryness, flaking, redness, and increased sensitivity. And in the winter, when dry heat, wind, and low humidity are already sucking moisture away from your skin, you may be even more prone to retinol-induced blotchiness.



No one wants to put her anti-aging skincare regimen on hold until the warmer weather comes, and with a few tweaks you won’t have to. First, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water to prevent your skin from getting dehydrated (here are seven easy ways to drink more water). Apply moisturizer every morning and night, and those with especially parched complexions can also add a hydrating serum. “In the summer, I use a lighter moisturizer,” says Dr. Nichols, who is also Avon’s Consulting Dermatologist. “But in the winter, I may replace a daily moisturizer with a heavier one. Vitamin E and aloe are effective moisturizing ingredients.” And be sure you’re not applying too much retinol—you only need about penny-size dab for your whole face.



Dr. Chilukuri cautions that excessively hot showers and steam also dehydrate skin. “Most of our patients are able to easily tolerate the appropriate retinol throughout the winter,” he says. “In some cases, you may need to decrease the number of nights per week you are using it. You can limit use to two to three nights a week to prevent additional dryness and irritation.”



If you’re still experiencing parched skin, buy a lower strength retinol for the cold season. “A .5% rather than a 1% may be the right fit for winter,” says Dr. Nichols. “The frequency and strength varies per age and skin type. Sensitive skin might apply retinol .5% retinol two to three times week, while a man or woman in their forties or fifties may prefer a retinol at 1% four to five times a week.”



However, all retinols should be used under the care of a pro. “It is important to have an initial consultation with a dermatologist or qualified skincare expert to determine the best retinol for your skin,” says Dr. Chilukuri. “Typically, patients can avoid complications such as dry, irritated skin if the proper products are used and introduced correctly. Patients are then more compliant, will continue their regimen, and achieve long-term benefits.”