The Telangana Science Journal, February 2004, Issue 74

Contents
ROLE OF AYURVEDIC MASSAGE IN CHRONIC PAIN

Diet and Exercise
    Longevity and Mother’s Nutrition
    Breastfeeding
    Cakes and Cookies Cause Colorectal Cancer in Women
    Colon Cancer Warning Signs
    Risk Factors for Kidney Disease
    Antibiotics and Breast Cancer
    New Mad Cow Disease
    Alcohol and Fetal Brain damage
    Mercury Poisoning
    Genetic Engineering
    Fruits and Grains

Women's Helath
Vaginal Birth after C-section

Miscellaneous
TV and Children

Recipes

    Butterscotch brownies
    Berry Tapioca Pudding

ROLE OF AYURVEDIC MASSAGE IN CHRONIC PAIN

Unless a chronic pain patient actively strengthens the aching muscles by stretching, s/he cannot get relief from the pain. Without pain relief it is difficult to do exercises, resulting in a catch-22 situation. Ayurvedic massage is a very good technique to fix the problem.

Ayurvedic massage, which is based on the principles of tridosha and marma points, can be of immense help for a patient suffering from chronic pain. In Ayurveda, massage has been used for headaches, insomnia, gout, polio, obesity, arthritis, high blood pressure, asthma and even mental disorders. It also helps immune system. Ayurvedic massage is known to yield many benefits such as anti-aging, improving eye sight, strengthening the body, improving longevity, soothing ailments caused by vata, pitta and kapha, and toning the skin. It relaxes the whole body, induces deep sleep, increases the appetite and balances the body and mind. This balancing of the body and mind is very important in chronic pain because both are interdependently involved in perpetuating the chronic pain condition. Ayurvedic massage, when properly administered following strict ayurvedic principles and tailored to the specific condition of a patient, and specific characteristics of the patient can work wonders.

Vagbhata, in his treatise ashtanga hridaya, says that therapeutic massage of the body prescribed according to the person’s doshas, gunas and season is the key for health, happiness and longevity. According to Sushruta Samhita, the massage should depend on the body type, atmosphere, and season. Sushruta also says that for those suffering from a vata disorder, massage is the only remedy.

In Ayurvedic oil massage, also known as Abhyanga, fragrant and health giving organic oils are used. Oils should be applied warm. Sesame oil is specific for lowering high vata and increasing ojas (the primal vigor, one of the three vital essences of the body, the remaining two being prana - the primal life-force, and tejas - the inner radiance). Anti-vata herbs like ashvagandha, calamus, nirgundi, fennel or ginger can be cooked in it to give it more strength. For all people suffering from pain sesame oil massage is very helpful. Coconut oil is specific for lowering high pitta. Anti-pitta herbs like Brahmi (Gotu kola) can be added to the coconut oil. Mustard oil is specific for lowering high kapha.

References: Ayurvedic Massage: Traditional Indian Techniques for Balancing Body and Mind, Harish Johari, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vermont; Ayurveda and the Mind, the healing of Consciousness, David Frawley, Lotus Press, Twin lakes, WI.
S. Vepachedu and V. Karuparthy

Diet and Exercise

Longevity and Mother’s Nutrition
Growth during prenatal life has a very powerful impact on longevity. Experiments with mice suggest that life span may be related to what your mother ate during pregnancy. A new study at Cambridge University in England shows that pregnant mice fed a well-balanced diet had babies that lived longer, healthier lives. Mice that were undernourished in the womb and ate a poor diet as adults died prematurely. However, mother's diet is likely to have very little effect on how long her offspring lives when compared to known health risks in adulthood, such as cigarette smoking and alcoholism. In the latest study published in Nature, mice that were nourished properly in the womb lived on average two months longer than the control group, the researchers reported. The mice that were undernourished in the womb died six months earlier than the control group. Mice that had poor maternal nutrition in the womb and weaned on the unhealthy diet survived only a year, or about half as long as other mice in the study.
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Breastfeeding
There is a relationship between breastfeeding and overweight, according to a study entitled, “Does Breastfeeding Protect Against Pediatric Overweight? Analysis of Longitudinal Data from the CDC Pediatric Surveillance System." The study found that breastfeeding's protective effects are found only if it continues for at least 3 months. The rate of overweight at four years of age was highest among children who were never breastfed or who were breastfed for less than a month. In addition, authors found that overweight decreased with increasing duration of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding longer than 6 months provided health benefits well beyond the period of breastfeeding, according to American Academy of Pediatrics.

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Cakes and Cookies Cause Colorectal Cancer in Women
Cakes, cookies and other quickly digested foods score high on the "glycemic index," a measure of the rate at which carbohydrates are processed into sugar. A sudden surge in blood sugar prompts the body to produce a matching rush of insulin, which helps convert the sugar, or glucose, into energy. Insulin stimulates cells to divide and keeps them alive longer than normal. That could encourage the growth of tumors. Diets filled with such high glycemic foods may increase the risk of colorectal cancer in women, according to a study published on February 4th in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Brown rice and whole wheat breads, in contrast, contain carbohydrates that are absorbed more slowly by the body and hence are healthy.

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Colon Cancer Warning Signs
Colon cancer will be diagnosed in more than 100,000 people this year, according to the American Cancer Society. It is one of the most common types of cancer in industrialized nations. High blood levels of a protein linked to heart attacks might also be an early warning sign of colon cancer, a study found. The substance is C-reactive protein, or CRP, which is produced in the liver in response to infection or inflammation anywhere in the body. In recent years, doctors have come to believe that high levels of CRP in the bloodstream raise the risk of a heart attack by damaging blood vessel walls. High CRP levels were strongly linked with colon cancer even after other risk factors such as age, family history, being overweight and smoking were taken into account. The study appeared in February 5th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Screening tests include colonoscopies, which allow doctors to examine the entire colon through a narrow tube. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables, avoiding smoking and fatty animal foods, and getting plenty of exercise can lower the risk of colon cancer.

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Risk Factors for Kidney Disease
Established cardiovascular disease risk factors, including high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, and obesity are associated with the development of kidney disease, according to a study in the February 18 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Hypertension and diabetes are the leading causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Among individuals who develop ESRD, the risk of cardiovascular disease is 10 to 20 times higher than the general population, and increased risks are evident even in mild kidney disease.

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Antibiotics and Breast Cancer
Women who took the most antibiotics, who had more than 25 prescriptions, or who took the drugs for at least 501 days, faced double the risk of developing breast cancer over an average of about 17 years, compared with women who didn't use the drugs, a study showed. The results appeared in Journal of the American Medical Association, published on February 18.
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New Mad Cow Disease
Mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) and human Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) are caused by different forms of mutant proteins called prions. A number of people, mainly in England, have also suffered from a variant CJD, a brain disease acquired by eating meat from infected cows. Now, a team of Italian researchers reports a study of eight cows with mad cow disease found that two of them had brain damage resembling the human victims of CJD. They said the cows were infected with prions that resembled those involved in the standard form of the human disease, called sporadic CJD, not the variant caused by eating infected meat. Both the human and cattle diseases cause holes in the brain. The report was published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Britain announced last December what it said could be the world's first case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) caused by transfusion, following the death of an unidentified patient several years after receiving blood from a donor later found to have had the illness. Two studies published in The Lancet medical journal show infection through blood is a possible route of transmission. The finding that vCJD can be transmitted via blood transfusion is not surprising. Stringent studies in sheep show that prion diseases, such as CJD, can be transmitted via blood, even if blood is collected in preclinical stages of prion disease. All blood products for use in operations in Britain are now based on plasma imported from the United States, where there have been no cases of human mad cow disease blamed on American beef. The human form of mad cow disease so far has claimed 143 victims in Britain and 10 elsewhere.
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Alcohol and Fetal Brain damage
Just two cocktails consumed by a pregnant woman may be enough to kill some of the developing brain cells in the unborn child, leading to neurological problems that can haunt a person for a lifetime, suggest new studies reported at the national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Mercury Poisoning
A study, done by an international group led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, showed that children exposed to mercury in the womb might suffer permanent damage to their heart function. Children whose mothers eat seafood high in mercury while pregnant can suffer irreparable brain damage, researchers reported in Journal of Pediatrics, February 2004. The report comes the same week as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency doubled its estimate of how many newborns had unsafe levels of mercury in their blood. Non-fish sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids include walnuts, urad (black gram), and flaxseed oil, and some fortified foods.
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Genetic Engineering
Scientists have pulled off a feat of gene engineering that could lead, in theory at least, not worry about walnuts and flaxseed. The scientists inserted a worm gene into mice and made the rodents produce significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, a heart-friendly substance normally found in walnuts and flaxseed. Details of the mouse experiments appeared in February 5th issue of the journal Nature. Omega-3 fatty acids are thought to prevent heart disease by helping to reduce the inflammation involved in hardening of artery walls. They also may reduce blood pressure and chemically regulate the electrical impulses of the heart's rhythm. Omega-3s also are important to brain development and may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The American Heart Association recommends two or more weekly servings of foods, which are naturally high in omega-3s. The Food and Drug Administration treats transgenic animals as medicine and requires extensive testing. So far, the agency has not approved any gene-engineered animals for human consumption.

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Fruits and Grains
A study reported in Archives of Internal Medicine, February 23, 2004, found that for every increase in total fiber intake of 10 grams per day, the risk of developing heart disease within the next six to ten years fell by 14 percent. The same increment in fiber intake was associated with 27 percent decrease in the risk of dying from heart-related illness. However, only fiber from fruits and whole grains appeared to reduce the risk of heart disease. People should still strive to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Women's Health
Vaginal Birth after C-section
In the US about a quarter of all births are by C-section. Doctors used to recommend repeat C-sections because of the possibility that labor and a vaginal birth could rupture the scars and uterus. In the 1990s, government experts concluded that many women could safely deliver vaginally. The rate of vaginal births after C-sections increased from 3 percent in 1981 to about 31 percent in 1998. Mothers have a less than 1 percent chance of having a uterine rupture if they deliver vaginally after a previous Caesarian section, according to a study released at a meeting of the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine in New Orleans, in February. The researchers found that of the 17,902 women who delivered vaginally after a C-section, less then 1- percent, or 128 women, had a uterine rupture. Their infants were also more likely to suffer a brain injury from lack of oxygen during delivery. There were 13 cases of brain injury, eight occurring after uterine rupture and two of the babies died. There were no cases of brain injury involving the women who had repeat C-sections.

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Miscellaneous

TV and Children
Watching television has several adverse effects on children, including poor behavior and school performance, and higher rates of violence and childhood obesity. The Committee on Public Education of the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests limiting children's television viewing time to a maximum of two hours per day, and discourages television viewing altogether for children younger than two years. Television watching patterns develop during the preschool years, and although intervention programs exist to reduce television viewing in older children, there are none for younger, preschool children. As one would expect, preschool children, who participated in an intervention program that encouraged reading and eating dinner together as a family, watched less television than their peers who did not participate in the program, according to an article in the February issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

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Health and Nutrition

Issue 74