The Telangana Science Journal, April 2004, Issue 76

Contents
Diet and Exercise
    Appetite Control
    Wholesome Food
    Curry Leaves
    Curry Powder and Turmeric
    Mango Season in the Indian Continent
    Meditation Reduces Blood Pressure
    Alcohol Causes Gout
    Himalayan Mushroom
    Iron and Brain
    Prostate Cancer and Your Habits
    Vegetarian Diet Reduces Cancer Risk
    Caffeine Content in Coffee
    Fizzy Drinks and Your Child

Women's Health
   Sun and STDs in Women
   Indian Women and Suicide
   Folic Acid
   Red Clover
   Smoking, Women and Lung Cancer
    Exercise Reduces Breast Cancer Risk
    Woman Performs C-Section on Herself
    Calcium and Kidney Stones

Miscellaneous

    Man's Biological Clock
    TV and Your Child
    Arch Support in Shoes
    AIDS in India
    Heart Disease in the Third World
    Heart Disease and Erectile Dysfunction
    Arthritis
    Obesity in Children
    Yoga Helps Cancer Patients
    Nuking Mosquitos

Recipes
    CARAMEL FUDGE CAKE
    Mushroom and Corn Toast
    Chickpea and vegetable salad

Diet and Exercise
Appetite Control
Scientists knew that leptin is released by fat cells and tells the brain how much fat is on the body. They knew that animals lacking leptin become incredibly obese, as do a few humans who because of genetic mutations did not make the hormone. Leptin injections immediately made animals, and the patients with leptin deficiencies, lose their appetites. Their weight returned to normal. New studies in mice suggest that the hormone leptin can fundamentally change the brain's circuitry in areas that control appetite. Leptin acts during a critical period early in life, possibly influencing how much animals eat as adults. And later in life, responding to how much fat is on an animal's body, it can again alter brain circuitry that controls how much is eaten. Reported in Science, April 2nd.

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Wholesome Food
The American Association of Nutritional Sciences at Experimental Biology 2004, a joint conference in Washington, presented confirmation of the benefits of a varied, wholesome diet and called into question the wisdom of low-carb and other fad diets. In one study, men and women who ate three or more daily servings of whole grain foods were the least likely to be overweight or obese. In a second study, people who ate a variety of foods were more likely to get the recommended levels of vitamins and other nutrients than people who stuck to a few favorite foods. The researchers said more than half the American population eats less than one serving of whole grain foods each day. People who ate three or more servings of whole grain foods a day had a significantly lower body mass index. People who meet nutritional guidelines through food, mostly by eating plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains, have lower rates of cancer and heart disease.

The Florida Department of Citrus on April 20, 2004 launched a nationwide ad campaign that citrus officials hope will counter low-carb diets that discourage drinking orange juice because of its sugar content. The campaign extols the healthy virtues of orange juice, and pushes a message that orange juice strengthens the immune system and can help prevent heart disease, cancer and strokes.

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Curry Leaves

Curry leaf plant is known as karivepa in Telugu language. The botanical name is Chalcas koenigii or Murraya koenigii Sprengel. It belongs to the family Rutaceae. It is a small deciduous tree and native of the Indian Continent. Murraya koenigii is propagated by growing the small suckers from the base of the tree, by root cutting, or by seed. Don't confuse with its bitter cousin Vepa or neem (Azadirachta indica, family Meliaceae). This is not to be confused with the plant called 'Curry Plant' (Helichrysum angustifolium) which is grown for its essential oil, used in fruit flavors for candies, ice cream, chewing gum, and perfumes. This is not to be confused with curry powder either (see below). People often think of curry as a spice, but in fact in Telugu ku:ra means any vegetable or non-vegetable dish (usually cooked with spices) and the Tamil word kari means a soup or sauce or dish. However, the British mistakenly applied the word to the mixture of spices used to flavor these dishes. Curry leaves are a must in Telugu and other Indian cooking for their distinct, spicy flavor. There is hardly any dish without curry leaves in Telugu cooking. The same may be true in other south Indian cooking, including Sri Lanka.

It is not only well known for its subtle flavor and popular use in cooking, but also for its medical properties. Fresh juice of curry leaves mixed with lime juice and sugar cures morning sickness, nausea and vomiting due to indigestion. A glass of buttermilk with a pinch of salt and a spoonful of grounded curry leaf paste, taken on an empty stomach, relieves stomachache. Chewing the tender leaf helps control loose motions. Curry leaves cooked in milk and ground to a paste, when applied to poisonous insect bites and other wounds and cuts, relieves pain and removes swelling. Curry leaves ground with turmeric and taken daily is an effective remedy for allergic reactions. Curry leaves and black pepper beaten with sour curd is beneficial to those suffering from gas formation due to indigestion. Curry leaves boiled in coconut oil acts as an excellent hair tonic. It also stimulates hair growth and retains the natural pigmentation. When ground with raw turmeric to a paste and applied on the foot it prevents cracking. Eating 10 fresh, fully-grown curry leaves every morning is beneficial in controlling diabetes and in weight loss.

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Curry Powder and Turmeric
A new study provides more evidence that culinary spices indeed play a role in good health. For example, studies have shown that cinnamon can improve glucose (blood sugar) and cholesterol levels in the blood in people with type 2 diabetes and those fighting high cholesterol. Cloves, bay leaves, and turmeric have also shown promise in improving diabetes. The spices appear to protect cells, tissues, and arteries against the damaging effects of free radicals in the bloodstream. Free radicals are the by-products of cell processes that damage cells. Mounting evidence shows that this type of cell damage in the brain also leads to Alzheimer's disease. The new finding about curry powder was presented this month at the annual scientific conference held by the American Physiological Society in Washington. Curcumin has high levels of phenols, potent antioxidants that can prevent cell damage caused by free radicals. Curcumin is extracted from the rhizome of the Curcuma longa plant, the distinctive yellow pigment. Curcumin triggers an enzyme known as hemeoxygenase-1 or HO-1, which protects cells from free radical damage that causes inflammation and tissue damage, the root of various diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) afflicts about 30,000 American children and young adults. It attacks patients' lungs with thick mucus trapping bacteria. Most eventually die from lung damage or infection. CF also harms digestion and vitamin absorption as the mucus clogs other organs. The curcumin research, published in April 22nd edition of the journal Science, shows a possible way to attack the disease's underlying cause. Eating the substance found in the Indian spice turmeric significantly cut deaths among mice with the genetic disease.

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Mango Season in the Indian Continent
Mango or maamidi (Telugu) is considered as the king of fruits. It is not only a delicious fruit, but also medicinal. The unripe fruit mixed with oil and sugar is useful in cases of sunstroke and heatstroke. The sun-dried pieces of unripe fruit are useful in cases of scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency). The fried skin of the unripe fruit is given with sugar useful in cases of Menorrhagia (excessive menstrual bleeding). The tree bark powder or decoction is useful in cases of leucorrhoea, menorrhagia and in muco-purulent discharge from uterus. The powder of the fried skin of the unripe fruit with milk and honey for bleeding dysentery and is also useful for digestion. The ripe fruit is useful as an intestinal demulcent and for constipation. The ripe fruit is useful as a cardiac tonic, blood coagulant and is used in haemorragic disorders. The ripe fruit juice mixed with honey is recommended for liver and spleen disorders. The decoction of the bark is used as a mouthwash and as a local application and as a gargle-fluid in inflammations in oral cavity. The powder of dried tender leaves is used in diarrhea and diabetes, it can be applied locally to cuts, ulcers and bruises.

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Meditation Reduces Blood Pressure
One in four adults have hypertension, which is a risk factor for heart attack and stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Teens who have higher-than-normal blood pressure are more likely to develop the chronic disease when they're older. Meditation is one of several things including healthy eating and exercise that can help lower blood pressure. A study by the Medical College of Georgia found that two 15-minute meditation sessions each day helped teenage students lower their blood pressure over four months.

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Alcohol Causes Gout
One of humankind's most ancient diseases, the painful joint condition gout, is the leading cause of arthritis in men. It is less common in women, occurring only after menopause. Sometimes, gout causes excruciating episodes of pain in feet and joints. Severe cases can cause major disability or kidney failure. Curtailing alcohol consumption is already recommended for people who suffer from the disease. Confirming the wisdom of ages, researchers have found that drinking alcohol can more than double a man's risk of developing gout. The connection to drinking has been believed for centuries, but a study published in April in The Lancet medical journal verifies it for the first time and found that even light indulgence increases the risk. The higher the daily alcohol consumption, the more likely gout was to develop, and the disease was more than twice as likely to occur in men who drank compared with those who drank none. The strongest link was with beer. Each daily serving of beer increased the risk by 50 percent.
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Alcohol Causes Cancer
Alcohol consumption appears to moderately increase the risk of cancer in the colon and rectum, researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The cancer risk was increased for those who regularly drank at least 30 grams of alcohol per day. For example, drinking 30 to 45 grams raised the risk by 21 percent, while drinking more than 45 grams increased the risk by 51 percent. The results were similar for women and men, and did not differ between various locations in the colon. The risk also did not differ for beer, wine or liquor, leading to believe that it was the alcohol itself and not other components that was responsible for the increased risk. In the general population, reducing alcohol use to less than 30 grams per day could prevent 5 percent of colon cancer cases in men and 0.9 percent of cases in women.

Himalayan Mushroom
Cordyceps is one of the most rare and treasured herbs, and it has been an important ingredient in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. It can be found on isolated places in southwestern China, especially in the provinces of Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, Guise and Yunnan, in locations over 3,500 meters. The mushroom became a Chinese remedy around 1,500 years ago after herdsmen in the Himalayas noticed a significant increase in their herds' strength and agility after eating it. Tests showed people aged between 40 and 70 who lived a sedentary lifestyle became fitter after taking an extract of the Cordyceps mushroom. The research presented to the American Physiological Society indicated an improvement in the ability to exercise and a reduction in tiredness. Cordyceps became famous because it is believed to have powerful aphrodisiac effects.

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Iron and Brain
The brainpower of young women who are lacking in iron can be markedly boosted by taking supplements of the mineral, suggests a new study presented at the Experimental Biology 2004 meeting in Washington DC on April 19th. Iron deficiency is very common among women of reproductive age due to blood loss during menstruation. However, women of Anglo-Saxon origins should not rush to take iron supplements without proper medical examination. This is because about one in 20 people of Anglo-Saxon origin carry a gene for "iron overload" or heredity haemochromatosis.

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Prostate Cancer and Your Habits
The prostate is one of the male sex glands, about the size of a walnut and can be divided into two parts referred to as the right or left lobes. It lies just below the urinary bladder and surrounds the upper part of the urethra. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder and semen from the sex glands out through the penis. The male sex hormones stimulate the activity of the prostate and the replacement of prostate cells as they wear out. The chief male hormone is testosterone, which is produced almost entirely by the testes. The prostate adds nutrients and fluid to the sperm. During ejaculation, the prostate secretes fluid that is part of the semen. The other major sex glands in men are the testes and the seminal vesicles. Together, these glands store and secrete the fluids that make up semen.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, after skin cancer in America. One in every six men will develop it and kills about 30,000 each year, according to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. Compared with other types of cancer, prostate cancer is relatively slow growing. A man with prostate cancer may live for many years without ever having the cancer discovered. As a man gets older, his risk of developing prostate cancer increases. More than 70% of prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over 65 years of age.

Scandinavian, British and African Americans are at high risk and Asian and Indian men are at lower risk. Vegetarians are approximately half as likely to develop prostate cancer as meat eaters. It is also observed that people in eastern countries such as India and China are far less likely than westerners to develop cancer. However, it is increasing those countries also, coinciding with the availability and popularity of western food.

A study that appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association on April 7, involved 29,342 white men ages 46 to 81 who were asked about their ejaculations in their 20s, 40s and during the previous year, 1991. During about eight years of follow-up, 1,449 men developed prostate cancer. On average, the men overall had four to seven ejaculations a month. No increased risk of prostate cancer was seen in men who reported more frequent ejaculations, and there appeared to be a decreased risk in men with the highest reported levels. The two highest activity levels, 13 to 20 ejaculations a month and at least 21 a month, were linked with decreased cancer risks of 14 percent and 33 percent respectively. But relatively few men in the study reported heavy sexual activity. As the prostate cancer risk is high in men over 65 years of age, they may have to find ways to ejaculate more than 21 times a month to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by regularly removing the cancerous chemicals.

There are many factors that may affect your risk of developing prostate cancer, not just sex. Obesity increases the risk for higher-grade prostate cancer and higher recurrence rates after radical prostatectomy, reported in a December 22 online release from the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Diet high in fat (fatty meats, dairy food) and vitamin A from animal sources (red meats, especially liver) cause increased risk of prostate cancer. While, diet high in vitamin A from plant sources, beta carotene (orange, red or dark green leafy vegetables), isoflavonoids (plant-based weak estrogens found in soy products), lycopenes (carotenoid antioxidant found in tomatoes), selenium (grains), and vitamin E (vegetable and seed oils, whole grains, wheat germ, green leafy vegetables) reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Many studies have found that men who eat tomato products have a lower risk of prostate cancer, and scientists have credited lycopene, the compound that makes tomatoes red. Research published in November 2003 of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that men seeking to benefit from the properties of tomatoes will have to eat tomato sauce, paste or the whole fruit instead of popping a pill.

A number of studies have suggested that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables may help ward off prostate cancer, while "Western"-style diets heavy in animal fat and dairy products may increase a man's risk of the disease. Men who eat their veggies may be less likely than others to develop prostate cancer, a new study in the International Journal of Cancer, March 2004, suggests. Among men, those who ate the most fiber, particularly from vegetable sources, had a lower risk of developing the disease, the Italian researchers found. Fiber comes in two main forms, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber partially dissolves in water, and its food sources include vegetables, fruit, oatmeal and legumes. Insoluble fiber, which passes through the digestive system largely intact, is found in foods like whole grains, seeds and the skin on fruit. Men who got the most fiber from vegetables were 18 percent less likely than those who ate the least to develop prostate cancer.

Black men in Virginia are nearly twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than white men, Virginia state health officials reported on April 20, 2004.
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Vegetarian Diet Reduces Cancer Risk
Eating a meat-free, vegetarian diet reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, new research suggests. After following more than 10,000 people for 17 years, investigators found that vegetarians were 15 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer than meat-eaters. This study adds to the "increasing scientific evidence" that a diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fiber and low in meat-especially red and processed meat-can prevent colorectal cancer, according to the British Journal of Cancer report. Along with a decreased risk of cancer from eating vegetarian, the investigators found that frequent fruit eaters - consuming more than 5 servings of fruit per week-were over 40 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer. Smoking, drinking alcohol and eating more than 15 slices of white bread per week appeared to increase the risk of colorectal cancer. According to an article published in 2003 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, adults who consumed large quantities of fruit during childhood years appeared to have significantly lower rates of cancer than those consuming small quantities of fruit as children.
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Caffeine Content in Coffee

Caffeine is far and away the most widely used stimulant in the world. It is actually a member of a class of compounds called xanthines that includes theobromine, which is abundant in chocolate and theophylline, the major xanthine in tea. Each large cup contains on average about 375 milligrams, according to a 2003 study of caffeinated coffee published in The Journal of Analytical Toxicology. In general, more than 1.5 grams of caffeine a day can cause the typical symptoms of caffeinism: anxiety, insomnia, irritability and palpitations.
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Fizzy Drinks and Your Child
Drinking carbonated beverages from Dr. Pepper to Diet Coke, which are easily available in many middle school and high school vending machines, is the major cause of tooth erosion in teenagers. This occurs when the protective enamel coating on teeth wears away. Researchers from Britain's Birmingham University have published some sobering statistics: Drinking four or more glasses of fizzy drinks a day raises a 12-year-old's chances of suffering tooth erosion by 252 percent; and heavy consumption of soda pop by 14-year-olds increases the risk of tooth erosion to 513 percent.

A high intake of sweetened carbonated drinks probably contributes to childhood obesity, and there is a growing movement against soft drinks in schools. A study, outlined on the Web site of The British Medical Journal, found that a one-year campaign discouraging both sweetened and diet soft drinks led to a decrease in the percentage of elementary school children who were overweight or obese.

Women's Health
Sun and STDs in Women
Sunshine can affect susceptibility to a variety of everyday viruses like papilloma. These viruses are spread through sexual contact, and they are the most common cause of cervical cancer, a disease that kills about 10,000 U.S. women annually. Although the virus can cause genital warts, most infected people have no outward symptoms. Researchers using data from Holland found that detection of papilloma virus infection during routine cancer screening peaks during August, presented at at a meeting in Orlando of the American Association for Cancer Research, in March. The scientists found that the sunnier the year and the sunnier the month, the higher the rate of human papilloma virus. August is consistently the sunniest month in southern Holland, and the screening tests picked up twice as much evidence of papilloma virus infection than as in the winter. The virus fell off sharply in September.

No one can say exactly when people are having the most sex. Records show that conception is most likely to occur in Holland in March, indicating that people are having the most sex in March, although there is only about a 10 percent variation over the year. So, increase in sex is not responsible for the increase in HPV infection in August. Even though women are exposed to papilloma at roughly the same level year round, the summer sunlight probably weakens their defenses against it. Other research has suggested a connection between sunlight and susceptibility to herpes and adenovirus. Another study, also presented at the meeting, found that the more sunlight people receive, the less likely they are to get non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

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Indian Women and Suicide
Globally, the suicide rate for men is about 24 per 100,000, and about 6.8 per 100,000 for women. In a study in The Lancet medical journal, researchers give the first picture of suicide among young people in the Indian Union. The study looked at a community of 108,000 people in Vellore in the State of Tamilnadu in the Indian Union, over a period of 10 years, from 1992-2001. There were 122 suicides among the community's roughly 20,000 10- to 19-year-olds. Forty of the suicides were committed by men and 82 by women. Vellore is located 145km from Chennai. It is noteworthy for the Vijayanagar fort and its temple, which are in an excellent state of preservation and worth visiting. The famous rivers Palar and Ponnar flow through this City. The Christian Medical College of Vellore occupies a prominent place among medical institutions in India and in the world.

Folic Acid
Taking folic acid supplements could help women avoid a life-threatening complication of pregnancy. A study published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association found that black women who developed pre-eclampsia, a condition that causes sudden, serious high blood pressure in pregnancy, had lower levels of folic acid and higher levels of homocysteine than white women. Black women tend to be at higher risk for pre-eclampsia compared to white women.

Red Clover
A study, which appears in the February issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that women who took the red clover-derived supplement experienced a significantly lower loss of bone mineral density, bone mineral content, and blood markers of bone turnover in the lumbar (lower) spine compared with the women who took the placebo. Isoflavones found in plant foods, such as soybeans and red clover, are structurally similar to estrogen and have been proposed as an alternative to menopausal hormone therapy for the prevention of osteoporosis.

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Smoking, Women and Lung Cancer
According to a report in Journal of American Medical Association, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in US women and is responsible for as many deaths as breast cancer and all gynecological cancers combined. Most lung cancer is caused by cigarette smoke. Despite all that is known about the devastating effects of cigarettes, one quarter of women in the United States continue to smoke. Women are targeted in tobacco advertising, and teenage girls are often drawn to cigarette smoking under a variety of social pressures. Following the increase in smoking, the death rate from lung cancer in US women rose 600% from 1930 to 1997. Women may be more susceptible than men to the carcinogenic properties of cigarette smoke. In addition, differences in the biology of lung cancer exist between the 2 sexes with higher levels of DNA adduct formation, increased CYP1A1 expression, decreased DNA repair capacity, and increased incidence of K-ras gene mutations in women. The novel estrogen receptorhas also been detected in lung tumors and suggests that estrogen signaling may have a biological role in tumorigenesis. Given these differences and given the enormous toll this disease has on US women, undertaking sex-specific research in lung cancer is crucial. Finally, disseminating information about this epidemic may prevent a similar epidemic in other parts of the world where women are just now becoming addicted to tobacco through Westernization in the name of modernization.
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Woman Performs C-Section on Herself
A woman in southern Mexico cut open her own womb with a knife and delivered a healthy baby boy in her rural home when problems developed during childbirth. The woman and her son, her ninth child, both survived despite an eight-hour car ride to the nearest hospital and several hours' wait for medical care once there. The woman involved was 40, living in a dirt-floored house with no running water or electricity. A nurse stitched up the woman's abdomen with an ordinary needle and thread. The incident happened about two years ago, but the report appeared in the March issue of the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

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Exercise Reduces Breast Cancer Risk
Exercise not only reduces women's risk of developing breast cancer, it may reduce breast cancer patients' risk of dying from the disease. A study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Orlando this week finds that moderate amounts of exercise -- as little as a half-hour of walking each day -- can increase a woman's odds of surviving breast cancer by 25 to 50 percent.

Calcium and Kidney Stones
Including more calcium in the diet may help to reduce the risk of kidney stone formation in younger women, according to an article in the April 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Diet plays an important role in the development of kidney stones. In older men and women, higher levels of dietary calcium, sodium, animal protein, and sucrose (sugar) may be associated with a reduced risk of developing kidney stones. A compound called phytate (found in plants and cereal grains) may also play a role and might inhibit the formation of kidney stones by preventing tiny crystals of calcium oxalate (which is a component of kidney stones) from forming. The findings indicate that a higher intake of dietary calcium decreases the risk of kidney stone formation in younger women.

Miscellaneous
Man's Biological Clock
Women have long been aware of the fact that age has impact on their fertility and the possibility of children with Down's syndrome. Latest birth statistics released in December 2003 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that women in two groups, 35-39 and 40-45 years are having children at the highest level in three decades. Usually women marry men of same age or older, so the age of the fathers is also important. With many couples having children at an older age, increased risk for birth defects is gaining importance. The first link between paternal age and incidence of birth defects was noted in 1912. A report in Journal of American Medical Association, April 16th issue, says biological clock ticks for men also. Diseases such as Apert syndrome, achondroplasia, schizophrenia etc. are associated with the age of the father.
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TV and Your Child
There are lots of reasons for children not to watch television. Studies have shown it to be associated with obesity and aggressiveness. A study, in the April issue of Pediatrics, focused on two groups of children, aged 1 and 3, and suggested that TV permanently "rewires" the developing brain, developing attention deficit problems later in life. The findings back up previous research showing that television can shorten attention spans and support American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations that youngsters under age 2 not watch television.

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ADHD in Children
ADHD, the most common neurobehavioral disorder in childhood, affects 4 percent to 12 percent of U.S. school-age children. Symptoms may include short attention span, impulsive behavior, and difficulty focusing and sitting still. New research bolsters evidence that stimulants like Ritalin used for attention deficit problems may stunt children's growth. Children who took stimulants during the two-year study grew more than half an inch less and gained over eight pounds less than those who weren't medicated. Girls generally reach their final height around age 16 and boys around age 18, so it's too soon to tell if the growth delays continued or were permanent.

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Arch Support in Shoes
Putting arch supports in your shoes could protect you from a common sports injury. A study that looked at 11 college basketball players found that arch supports reduced stress on the fifth metatarsal, a small bone in the foot that is susceptible to fractures during jumping and running, which was presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

AIDS in India
A 60 Minutes Special Report Apr 11, 2004 reports that AIDS may get out of control in India. But according to a CIA report, if the epidemic isn't contained soon, it could come back to haunt the US by weakening India's army, and damaging India's economy, which is closely tied to the US economy now. Experts say India is close to the tipping point, after that, the virus will have spread too far to be contained. Right now, it's still India's prostitutes who have been hit the hardest.

A local outreach doctor showed 60 Minutes around Mumbai's red light district. Most of the women were reluctant to talk about AIDS. The few that did, however, said condoms, the only thing between them and virtual-certain death, are simply bad for business. Dr. Suniti Solomon first detected AIDS in India among prostitutes more than a decade ago. But, the virus has spread well beyond the red light districts. Roughly about 20 percent of Solomon's patients are truckers, because drivers at truck stops often frequent prostitutes and many have little understanding of how the HIV virus is spread. Ninety percent of Solomon's female patients are not prostitutes, but monogamous women who've contracted HIV from their promiscuous husbands. Because of Dr. Yusuf Hamied runs an Indian pharmaceutical company called Cipla, which makes inexpensive knockoffs of expensive Western drugs that have extended the lives of so many HIV-infected Americans, AIDS today is not a death sentence in India. By doing so, he hasn't broken any laws in India, because the country's patent rules still allow pharmaceuticals to be copied, until January 2005. That's brought the cost of treating someone with AIDS down from $12,000 a year to less than $300.

Bill Gates recently donated $200 million specifically to combat AIDS in India. “This is the largest initiative focused on a single country we've ever done,” says Gates. “India's very important. It's the world's largest democracy. It's doing a great job in its educational institutions and developing a lot of programmers. Microsoft, my day job, has benefited from a lot of very smart people from India.” So has the United States. A CIA report warns that "The rise of AIDS will have significant economic... implications." The CIA report says resistant strains of the virus "have spread around the world," in part because the triple cocktail drug regimen is not only expensive, but complicated. But Hamied has a solution: By ignoring the patents held by the different big pharmaceuticals that manufacture the three drugs in the cocktail, he and other generics-producers have created an all-in-one pill that's much easier, and cheaper, to take. Despite the CIA's warning, the U.S. government has focused almost all of its AIDS programs so far on the parts of the world where the virus is already out of control, Africa and the Caribbean. It has offered comparatively little money - less than 1 percent of the entire AIDS expenditure - to address the epidemic in India.
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Heart Disease in the Third World
Low- and middle-income countries suffer about 80 percent of the world's 17 million deaths every year from heart disease, including stroke, researchers found. In the age group of 30 to 59, for example, the rate of men dying from heart disease in Russia is about five times that of the United States; in India, it's nearly double; and in South Africa and Brazil, markedly higher. India alone is losing a million people a year from its potential active work force. In total, the loss is about 21 million productive years annually, and it will climb to about 34 million by 2030 unless communities and their governments take action. Columbia's Earth Institute and its school of public health, the University of Sydney in Australia and the Initiative for Cardiovascular Health Research in The Developing Countries sponsored the report. It was available on the institute's Web site on April 23rd.

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Heart Disease and Erectile Dysfunction
Age, obesity, high cholesterol, and high triglyceride measurements in midlife predict not only heart disease risks, but also the likelihood of erectile dysfunction decades later, according to a new study in the April 21, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Mean age, body mass index, cholesterol, and triglycerides were each significantly associated with an increased risk of erectile dysfunction. Cigarette smoking was common in those with severe or complete erectile dysfunction, as compared with those without erectile dysfunction. Blood pressure and fasting blood glucose were not significantly associated with erectile dysfunction, due to higher death rates among men with higher blood pressure or blood sugar levels. Not surprisingly, the men who were still alive appeared to be those who were healthier 25 years ago.

Viagra, cialis and levitra makers spend billions of dollars on ads to market these drugs for erectile dysfunction. However, ancient Indian Medicine called Ayurveda has remedies for impotency, which are not as expensive as Western drugs. Aswagandha extract as an rejuvenator and anti-fatigue agent relieves from stress & strain and its anti-anxiety properties are further enhanced with Jatamamsi, makes a remarkable effect on the individuals before and after coitius. It is a best adoptogen, prevents insomnia and nervousness, reduces physical weakness and builds stamina. Akalkara with its strong aphrodisiac properties quickly induces concentration & mood elevation. Along with Yashtimadhu its action on central nervous system controls decongestion of genetials, improves erection & reduces frigidity. Shankapushpi in combination with Brahmi improves mental faculties enhances thinking capacity provides confidence & alertness. Silajit (Black Bitumen) betters the geneto-urinary conditions, regulate blood pressure, increases libido, improves the quality & quantity of semen and helps to control leucorrhoea. Atmagupta extract enhances the urge and satisfies the individual with aphrodisiac action.
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Arthritis
Osteoarthritis develops as cartilage that cushions the joints wears away, leaving the ends of the bones rubbing against each other. The condition commonly begins to show up between ages 40 and 60. Extra weight on the cartilage brings extra risk of the joint disease. People ages 60 and older had a 60 percent chance of pain if they were obese, according to the study in the October 2003 edition of the journal Obesity Research. Losing weight can reduce the risk of developing arthritis. Cartilage benefits by being well-fed. It gets nutrients from fluids in the joint, and the nutrients can be squeezed into the tissue by movement. The muscles that protect the knee, one of the most common sites for osteoarthritis, act as shock absorbers. Strengthening them relieves pressure on the joint. Although they can't prevent aging, baby boomers can reduce the risk from obesity, by dieting and exercise.

Obesity in Children
New research shows obese children as young as 10 years old have arteries resembling heavy smokers and face the prospect of coronary disease in early middle age. Obese children are at risk of heart attack or stroke in their 40s or 50s, rather than their 70s or 80s. Even chubby children were at risk. The research will be published in May issue of International Journal of Obesity, AP reports.
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Yoga Helps Cancer Patients
Over the years, studies have linked yoga to a number of health benefits, including stress reduction, lowering blood pressure, beating fatigue and easing chronic pain. According to an article in the journal Cancer, the investigators found that among patients being treated for lymphoma, those who participated in only seven weekly sessions of yoga said they got to sleep sooner, slept for longer, and needed fewer drugs to fall asleep.

Nuking Mosquitos
The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is a technique in which scientists breed insects and expose the males to enough radiation to render them sterile. The males are then released into the environment to breed with the females, whose eggs are unfertilized and never hatch. Alan Robinson, the entomologist in charge of the IAEA's entomology unit, said the $4 million project is still in its infancy. He described it as a "high-risk project" with many hurdles to overcome before it is ready for field trials. Over the next five years, they need to reach a point where they can produce a million sterile male insects a day, reports Reuters.

Health and Nutrition

Issue 76