VEPACHEDU
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
(501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation)



   

The Telangana Science Journal

Health and Nutrition

(An International Electronic Science Digest Published from the United States of America)
(Click here to subscribe to this free e-journal)
(Dedicated to one of the most backward regions in India, "Telangana," where I was born, although I am an American citizen and ethnically 1/2 Andhra , 1/4 Kannada and only 1/4 Telangana.)
Chief Editor: Sreenivasarao Vepachedu, PhD, LLM

 Associate Editors & Contributers
 Venkateswararao Karuparthy, MD, DABPM

Varaprasad Chamakura, PhD
Rajagopal Duddu, PhD
Ramarao Vepachedu, PhD

Issue 75

5106 Kali Era , taarana Year, Chaitra month
1926 Salivahana Era , taarana
Year, Chaitra month
2062 Vikramarka Era,
taarana Year, Chaitra month
 2004 AD, March

Contents
Diet and Exercise

    Tai Chi
   
Fizzy Drinks
    Animal Protein and Gout
    Stents v. Exercise
    Sexercise
    Fast Food Epoch of America
    Starving Prevents Breast Cancer
    Food Kills!
    Milk Products v. Soda
   
Yoga Helps Cancer Patients
    Yoga: Moving and breathing your way to relaxation
    Mercury Poisoning
    Fructose Problem
   
Nuts and Olive Oil

 Women's Health
    Grannies
    Fertile Octogenarian
    Urinary Tract Infections
    Smoking
and Alcohol

Miscellaneous

    Acupuncture Relieves Headaches
   
Anger Causes Stroke
    Alternative Medicine for Cancer
    Sunlight
    Good News for Smokers
    ICMR publishes research on 600 plants
    Astrology and Caste of Your Heart
   
World Population
    Circumcision Prescribed For Promiscuous Indians
    Nurture

 Recipes

          Rice Pancake
          APPLE GINGER UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
          SPINACH AND COTTAGE CHEESE TIMBALE



Diet and Exercise
Tai Chi

Tai Chi builds strength, balance and flexibility through slow, fluid movements with mental imagery and deep breathing.  The practice is believed to improve a number of aspects of health, including memory, concentration, digestion and reduce anxiety and depression. According to a review of medical literature in Archives of Internal Medicine, March 8, 2004, Tai Chi appears to have many positive effects in people with chronic health conditions, including heart and joint problems, and multiple sclerosis.


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Fizzy Drinks
Ever popular fizzy drinks not only cause bone deterioration, but also cause tooth problems.  Drinking four or more glasses of fizzy drinks a day raises a 12-year-old's chances of suffering from tooth erosion by 252 percent. Heavy consumption in 14-year-olds increased the risk to 513 percent, according to research published in The British Dental Journal.  Unlike tooth decay, which results from high levels of sugar, erosion is caused by acidic substances in the drinks. Even diet versions are harmful.

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Animal Protein and Gout
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that a diet high in animal protein might increase risk of developing gout.  Meat and seafood can raise the risk for gout, and dairy protein may protect against the joint condition. Men who ate seafood were 51 percent more likely to develop gout, while those who ate red meat were 41 percent more likely to develop this form of inflammatory arthritis than those who didn't.

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Stents v. Exercise
Twenty minutes on an exercise bike every day is more effective for relieving chest pain caused by narrowed vessels in the heart than even minimally invasive procedures used to open blocked vessels, according to a report in the rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Men assigned to exercise worked out on stationary bikes for 10 minutes six times a day for the first 2 weeks of training, all of which was done in the hospital. Chest pain was measured by a scale called the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) class.  In both exercise and stent groups, clinical symptoms improved significantly during the study period, researchers said. In the exercise group, average CCS class decreased from 1.5 at baseline to 0.4 after 12 months. In the PCI group, mean CCS score was reduced from 1.7 to 0.7.   But men in the exercise group improved exercise tolerance by 20 percent, while there was no improvement in exercise tolerance in the stent group. Additionally, the men in the exercise group improved oxygen uptake by 16 percent compared to the stent group.

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Sex and Health
Love reverses the aging process.  Making love is as essential as food and sleep. Dr. Deepak Chopra, in his book "Grow Younger, Live Longer," says that sexual energy is available to us at all ages. Being open to sexual energy reverses aging.  Investing the time and attention to create physical, emotional and spiritual intimacy can often result in the most fulfilling sexual experience of a person's life.  Ancient traditions of China and India suggest extending the process of love making beyond orgasm expands the heart, mind and spirit.  The principles of Tantra, the religious tradition in which lovemaking is considered sacred, involve ritual, communication and finesse. When lovers consciously direct their powerful sexual energy, they become more attractive to each other.  When we restore the sexual experience to the realm of sacred, our world becomes divine, holy and healed.

A study in the British Journal of Urology International says that sex helps men reduce their risk of prostate cancer by a third if they ejaculate more than five times a week.  Women also benefit from sex, as it lowers the risk of breast cancer.  Sex also acts as a natural painkiller and brain scans show that the part that kills pain is activated on climax.  The extra oestrogen women produce while having sex can also ease period pain and PMS symptoms.  Sex also helps in taking years off your face.  Those who had sex at least three times a week, looked 10 years younger than those who made love less frequently.  Passionate kissing also helps in toning facial muscles, thighs, stomach, buttocks and arms and relieves depression.  Women whose partners don't use condoms are less likely to suffer from depression than those whose partners do. The reason is that prostaglandin found only in semen helps balance other hormones that play a role in depression.  Humping and pumping helps burn calories, around 200 calories per intercourse. 

Researchers from Bristol University found those who had sex twice a week or more reduced their risk of a heart attack by half.  Another study conducted by researchers from Queens University in Belfast found that the more orgasms one has, the longer s/he lives.  Scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, found the sores healed twice as fast in rats that were injected with oxytocin, a hormone released during sex, when compared with rats that didn't get the shots. While, sex with your spouse is healthy and makes you younger, having sex with someone else brings stress and disease into your life that kill you (see below).  Also visit: Better Love Better Sex.

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Fast Food Epoch of America
The most complete body survey conducted in 50 years shows Americans have super-sized waist and hips, reports The Associated Press. TC2, a company based in the Raleigh suburb of Cary, used light-pulsing, 3-D scanner technology to measure some 10,000 Americans of all ages and ethnicities. The SizeUSA survey confirmed that all those French-fries and fast food have come with an added benefit, the super size.  Size 8 has long been thought to represent the measurements of the average American woman. In the clothing industry, a size 8 officially is supposed to be a 35-inch bust, a 27-inch waist, and 37 1/2-inch hip.  But in the survey, white women ages 18 to 25 came in, on average, at 38-32-41, with white women ages 36 to 45 coming in at 41-34-43.  In truth, some manufacturers made the adjustment years ago. Some sell a size 10 as a size 8 to flatter women's vanity.

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Starving Prevents Breast Cancer
The findings that appear in March 10th issue of Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that starving prevents breast cancer.  Weight gain has long been known to be a risk factor for breast cancer. Moreover, the study fits in with evidence, mostly in animals, that severe calorie restriction can have anti-aging effects, including a reduced risk of cancer and a prolonged life span. The researchers examined breast cancer incidence in 7,303 Swedish women who were under 40 when they underwent hospital treatment for anorexia between 1965 and 1998. Most developed anorexia before age 20.

Older people may be able to prolong life by restricting calories. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that older mice put on a low-calorie diet lived 42 percent longer than those who ate a standard diet.

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Food Kills!
Poor people in the third world die of malnutrition due to lack of food, while Americans die of malnutrition due to eating too much. Inactive Americans are eating too much food to death at an alarming rate.  American unhealthy overeating habits are fast approaching tobacco as the top underlying preventable cause of death, a government study found.  In 2000, poor diet including obesity and physical inactivity caused 400,000 U.S. deaths, more than 16 percent of all deaths, while tobacco habit resulted in 435,000 deaths, or 18 percent.  Researchers analyzed data from the year 2000 for the leading causes of death and for those preventable factors known to contribute to them.  Tobacco, obesity and inactivity increase the risks for the top three killers: heart disease, cancer and cerebrovascular ailments including strokes. Obesity and inactivity also strongly increase the risk of diabetes, the sixth leading cause of death.  The results appear in the March 9th issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.  The leading causes of death in 2000 were heart disease, cancer, strokes and other cerebrovascular disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, unintentional injuries, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, Alzheimer's disease, kidney disease, and septicemia.  The underlying causes of death were preventable. Tobacco, poor diet, physical inactivity, alcohol, microbial agents, toxic agents, motor vehicles, firearms, sexual behavior and illegal drug use are the top preventable causes of death.

Yoga Helps Cancer Patients
The American Cancer Society said research has shown that yoga can be used to control physiological functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, metabolism, body temperature, brain waves and other bodily functions.  Stress can weaken the immune system, making it even tougher to battle cancer. A growing number of hospitals and other organizations are discovering yoga, a tranquil 5,000-year-old therapy from India that may help them.

Read more at: http:/ www.inteli health.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC268/333/28815/377096.html?d=dmtICNNews. Yoga (http://www.intelihealth.com/ IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8513/34968/358876.html?d=dmtContent) and Yoga: Moving and breathing your way to relaxation.

A growing body of research in the West is finding therapeutic value in meditation and other forms of spiritual practices of Indian origin (Yoga and Meditation) for illnesses ranging from psychological stress to some forms of cancer. Meanwhile, the world's most famous Buddhist, the Dalai Lama, recently has sponsored a series of dialogues between Buddhist scholars and Western scientists, with the goal of finding common ground for common good (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/articles/A16475-2004Mar22.html).

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Milk Products v. Soda
Lord Krishna's favorite foods were milk, yogurt and butter.  Several reports in recent years have shown health benefits of dairy products, despite their fat content.  Moderation is the key to obtain the benefits of milk products.  Pediatricians say that too much weight is now the most common medical condition of childhood. The problem has doubled over the past two decades, and about 15 percent of children are now considered overweight or obese.  As a whole, the cause is too much food and too little exercise.  However, many studies are attempting to tease apart the precise changes in habits responsible this health hazard.  Several studies were reported at a meeting in San Francisco of the American Heart Association on March 5.  Youngsters who ate moderate amounts of milk products and increased consumption of fruits and vegetables weighed less. Childhood soda consumption has risen by 300 percent in the last 20 years, in part as youngsters' have switched from milk to soft drinks. At the same time obesity in America reached almost the status of number one killer.

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Mercury Poisoning
Mercury in fish poses a hazard to youngsters. Women who are pregnant, nursing or may become pregnant, and young children should not eat certain kinds of fish that tend to be high in mercury, according to FDA. Mercury can affect almost any organ in the body.  The most sensitive organ is the brain. So, there could be a mental effect on a young child.  In recent years fish has become increasingly popular because of the omega-3 compounds it contains that can benefit the heart. Although alternate food sources such as flax seed and urad dal are available, most of the research on omega-3 oils is done using fish products, thereby popularizing fish as a source of omega-3 fatty acids.

The government issued new guidelines on March 19th for eating fish, while still trying to stress the health benefits of (omega-3 fatty acids containing) fish.  The American Heart Association recommends that people eat a variety of foods containing omega-3 fatty acids at least twice a week, even more for those diagnosed with heart disease. However, mercury pollution from industry and other sources contaminates water.  Mercury pollutes small fish, which are then eaten by larger fish, which then affects people who eat the fish. The new guidelines, issued jointly with the Environmental Protection Agency, say the fish most likely to contain mercury are shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. Albacore tuna has more mercury than light tuna.  These fish should be avoided by women in the groups that may be most affected, and also by small children, the guidelines say.  The trade association the National Fisheries Institute issued a statement stressing the health benefits of fish and expressing concerns that the guidelines might alarm consumers and cause them to avoid fish.   The health benefits of fish are due to omega-3 oils present in fish.  These fatty acids are available in other vegetable sources that do not pose any threat of mercury poisoning, e.g., flax seed, urad dal, walnuts etc. (See below)
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Fructose Problem
Obesity among American adults climbed from 23 percent in the early 1990s to 30 percent today, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And two-thirds of Americans are overweight. That means increased risks for heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.
The debate over high-fructose sweeteners centers on how the body processes sugar. Fructose containing sodas and drinks are, at least, partly responsible for increase in calorie intake. Unlike glucose, fructose doesn't trigger responses in hormones that regulate energy use and appetite. Fructose is more likely to be converted into fat.  The sweeteners are also cheaper to produce and use in food manufacturing than cane and beet sugars.

In a new study, that lays blame squarely on people for eating more, loading up on calories and exercising less, researchers examined consumption records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 1967-2000 and combined it with previous research.  The data showed an increase in the use of high-fructose corn sweeteners in the late 1970s and 1980s, coincidental with the epidemic of obesity due to too much eating and too little exercise.  The study is being published in the April issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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Nuts and Olive Oil
For thousands of years Ayurveda and Yoga have been teaching that food has not only nutritional value, but also medicinal value.  Those claims are being tested by modern medicine and research now.  The research, released on March 28 at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, is the latest addition to growing evidence for the nutrients' powers to ward off diseases. Getting plenty of vitamin E by eating foods like nuts and olive oil appears to cut in half people's risk of bladder cancer, the fourth leading cancer killer among men, which kills about 12,500 Americans annually and is four times more common in men than women. The team looked at the two most common forms of vitamin E, called alpha- and gamma-tocopherol, and found that only the alpha variety was linked with lower bladder cancer risk. Good sources of this include almonds, spinach, mustard greens, peppers, sunflower seeds and a variety of vegetable oils, including olive, cottonseed and canola.

Coronary heart disease affects an estimated 12.6 million Americans, making it the most common form of heart disease. CHD usually results from a condition known as atherosclerosis, which occurs when plaques or fatty substances form inside the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Nuts have been shown to have heart-beneficial effects.  Last summer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed the California Walnut Commission to use a qualified claim on the nut's health properties. It reads, "Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces per day of walnuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease."  A Spanish study, which was partially funded by the California Walnut Commission, appearing in the March 23 online edition of Circulation adds another piece of scientific evidence that Walnuts protect against heart disease.  Epidemiological studies have shown that eating nuts on a frequent basis reduces the risk of coronary artery disease.

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Women's Health
Grannies

Women often live long after their reproductive years are over, while females in other species die once they are no longer able to reproduce.  In a study, reported in Nature, March 11, 2004, of pre-modern communities, researchers found that adults whose mothers were still alive after menopause had children sooner and more frequently than people whose mothers had died. According to authors' "grandmother hypothesis," post-menopausal women are able to help their own children raise families. By helping out with children, grandmothers allow their offspring to start having children earlier and to have more kids.
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Fertile Octogenarian
For centuries, lawyers have believed that an octogenarian woman was fertile and based their property inheritance laws on that premise. For more than half a century, the medical textbooks and scientists have said that women are born with a fixed number of eggs, and the supply eventually runs out in middle age. The idea that women are born with a finite number of eggs, or oocytes, was first suggested nearly a century ago. Among humans, mice and other mammals, females gradually lose healthy follicles in which eggs develop. In older women, eggs often are abnormal, leading to a decline in fertility.  However, recently scientists proved that lawyers were correct, after all.  Scientists reported in the journal Nature that they found stem cells in mouse ovaries that apparently generate new eggs well into adulthood.  Now, there is a real possibility of a fertile octogenarian woman. Another study published online in the journal Nature Biotechnology found that bald mice implanted with stem cells were able to grow hair.

Urinary Tract Infections
Urinary tract infections (UTI) are the No. 2 reason antibiotics are prescribed, accounting for more than 8 million U.S. doctor visits and about $1.6 billion in health costs each year, says the National Women's Health Resource Center. Symptoms can include burning on urination, urgency, fever and abdominal pain.  Untreated UTI may result in kidney infection that could lead to stones or even kidney failure. Only 13 percent of women aged 18 to 45 knew sexual activity is a primary risk factor for bladder infection, or that simple precautions such as proper hygiene, emptying the bladder after intercourse and plenty of fluids can prevent UTI.

Smoking and Alcohol
A study by the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health found that children whose mothers were exposed to secondhand smoke have reduced scores on cognitive development tests at age two, when compared with children from smoke-free homes.

Even a small amount of alcohol increases the pleasurable effects of nicotine, according to a study released this month by Duke University researchers.  Easing into a drink, for many smokers, is inseparable from the act of lighting up. It's the reason a cocktail party can wither the resolve of someone who is trying to quit smoking.  To bartenders and barflies everywhere, the connection between booze and butts is not news.

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Miscellaneous
Acupuncture Relieves Headaches

Acupuncture was developed in China about 2,000 years ago.  It involves inserting needles into the skin at various points in the body.  It is a complementary medicine that has been shown to relieve nausea and pain.  In a study, scientists found it worked better than conventional treatment alone for headaches. The scientists compared acupuncture plus standard treatment to normal therapy alone to patients who suffered from headaches. Their research is published online by the British Medical Journal, March 14, 2004.

Anger Causes Stroke
Expressing anger may not be healthy, at least for men. A study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation finds that men who unleash their anger have a 10 percent higher risk of developing heart rhythm irregularities that can lead to stroke, and are 20 percent more likely to die from any cause compared to men who don't express anger.
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Alternative Medicine for Cancer
According to a report published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, February 15, 2004, researchers found that about 48 percent of women reported using complementary and alternative medications.  Women with higher levels of education were more likely to use herbs or other alternative products.  Older women were also more likely to use complementary and alternative treatments. It was reported that nearly half of women with breast cancer and other types of cancer might be using herbal treatments and vitamin products. To know more about CAM visit: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC267/8513/31412/311998.html?d=dmtContent.

Sunlight
Sunlight is the life-giver, but is it a painkiller also? Sunlight may be a key prescription for easing surgical pain and saving millions of dollars in hospital pharmacy costs, according to a report in USA Today on March 4.  Surgery patients in rooms with lots of natural light took less pain medication, and their drug costs ran 21% less than for equally ill patients assigned to darker rooms.

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Good News for Smokers
Reports on rimonabant, released in New Orleans at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology, found the drug helped people drop 20 pounds in a year, and concluded it doubles smokers' success at quitting.  The research was financed by the drug's developer, the French firm Sanofi-Synthelabo.

ICMR publishes research on 600 plants
As the Indian government gears up to face the inevitable product patent regime beginning January 2005, the ICMR has brought out three volumes in a series of publications entitled "Reviews on Indian Medicinal Plants" consolidating multi-disciplinary scientific published research work on over 600 medicinal plants. The publication will help researchers worldwide and also be the first ever systematic compilation of research done on plant species found in India.  For the first time the Sanskrit synonyms as well as the auyervedic description have been given along with chemical, pharmacological and clinical data.  The publication will be a window to the World Research Community about the extensive work done on medicinal plants in India. The book has more than 8,000 citations and will be a big help in situation where foreigners are able to secure patents for medicinal uses of plants, which have earlier been worked out independently by the Indians. The publications are the first official recording of the intellectual property that the Indians have in the field.
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Astrology and Caste of Your Heart
Cold outdoor temperature at the time of birth is associated with an increased risk of heart disease in women later in life, reports journal Heart, April 2004. Women born during the coldest temperatures were 24 percent more likely than other women to develop heart disease. In addition, cold temperatures at birth were linked to insulin problems, high triglyceride levels, and decreased lung function. But, the association was not present in subjects from a non-manual social class during childhood. 

World Population
In a report, the Census Bureau forecast a fewer births and more deaths from AIDS are helping slow world population growth and a world population of about 9.1 billion people by 2050.  The growth rate is slowing significantly.  The peak growth of population was 2.2 percent in 1963 -1964.  The global population growth fell to 1.2 percent in 2001 - 2002, or about 74 million people, but growth will further slow to 0.42 percent by 2050. Generally, in the United States and Europe, women are having fewer children, while fertility rates remain high in India, parts of Africa and some other developing countries, say demographers with the Population Reference Bureau, a private research group. According to the bureau, the population in India is expected to rise more than 50 percent to 1.6 billion in 2050, surpassing China as the most populous country. 

In 2002, the world's women gave birth to an average of 2.6 children over their lifetime. The bureau projections assume that the fertility rate will drop below two children per woman by 2050. In the Indian Union, Andhra Pradesh was third lowest (2.4%) in birth rate trailing behind Kerala (1.75%) and Tamilnadu (2.07%) in according to 1991 census. Each woman in Andhra Pradesh had 3 kids, while in Kerala 1.8 kids/woman, and in Tamilnadu 2.2 kids/woman.

Meanwhile, AIDS has killed more than 20 million people since the epidemic began two decades ago, mostly in Africa. Twice that many people now live with HIV and are expected to die within the next 10 years. AIDS continues to have its greatest impact in developing countries of Asia, Latin America and especially sub-Saharan Africa. Botswana and South Africa are among countries that may see population decline because of AIDS deaths.

The Food and Drug Administration approved on March 26th the first H.I.V. test that uses saliva rather than blood and delivers results in 20 minutes.  About 25 percent of all Americans carrying H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, do not know that they are infected, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  According to the World Health Organization, that figure may be as high as 95 percent for the entire world.
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Circumcision Prescribed For Promiscuous Indians
Circumcision involves removal of the foreskin, which covers the tip of the penis, and usually is performed shortly after birth, in Islamic countries.  This is a cultural and religious tradition very popular in Islamic and Jewish traditions.  Unlike its counterpart, the female genital mutilation, male circumcision has gained popularity even in the US, a predominantly Christian country founded under Judeo-Christian principles.  In the United States, approximately two-thirds of male infants are circumcised annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Worldwide, the rates of circumcision vary widely, depending on culture and religion: in India, circumcision is uncommon among Hindus (such as Animists, Atheists, Buddhists, Dalits, Dalit Christians, Jains, Shaivites, Sikhs, Tantriks, Tribals, Vaishnavites, etc.) and Christians. However, Indian Muslims undergo circumcision routinely. The population of Indian Muslims is approximately 250 million, almost equal to the total population of the US.  For some strange reason, even after more than a thousand years of interaction with Islam, male circumcision is not popular among non-Muslim Indians.  Now, there is a reason to embrace the time tested Islamic tradition, at least by those who want to be promiscuous with multiple partners and not use condoms.

Uncircumcised Indian men (mostly non-Muslim men) who have multiple partners and do not use protection are at 6 times the risk of being infected with HIV-1 compared with those who are circumcised (mostly Muslim men) who have unsafe sex, according to a report in the March 26 issue of the British medical journal, the Lancet.  And if confirmed, it could lead to a pro-circumcision policy to halt the HIV spread through prostitution in India, especially among those men who visit red-light districts often and do not use condoms.  The hypothesis is that male circumcision protects against HIV-1 infection during unprotected sex with HIV positive prostitutes primarily due to removal of the foreskin, which contains a high density of HIV-1-specific cellular targets, including CD4+ T-lymphocytes and Langerhans cells, which are easily accessible to the virus through the thin layer of keratin overlying the inner mucosa.

The study found that uncircumcised men attending sexually transmitted infection clinics in India were over six times more likely to acquire HIV infection than circumcised men attending the same clinics for STD treatment.  All men were HIV-negative when first assessed; most men were assessed three times after initial assessment for around a year. No protective effect of circumcision against herpes simplex virus type 2, syphilis, or gonorrhea was found.  The landmark study that may have an impact on AIDS spread through prostitution was a joint effort involving public health scientists at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and medical scientists at the Pune-based National Aids Research Institute. Over 2200 HIV-uninfected men attending sexually transmitted infection clinics, who were already infected with other STDs such as herpes simplex virus type 2, syphilis, or gonorrhea, were monitored for the study that lasted from 1993 to 2000 in India.  The results indicate that those who visit prostitutes to have unprotected sex will get AIDS even if they get circumcised, but a little later. Note that circumcision may allow 6 unprotected encounters with prostitutes and the seventh visit will result in AIDS. Further, circumcision doesn't protect from other STDs.

It is important to note that by far the most seriously affected country at present in the Middle-East and north Africa is Sudan, where a mainly heterosexual epidemic is well under way.  Available data indicate a national adult HIV prevalence of more than 2%.  In other parts of the Middle East, AIDS is in its nascent stage (http://www.unaids.org/wad/2003/Epiupdate2003 _en/Epi03_08_en.htm#P210_61335). This low incidence of AIDS may be attributed to the Islamic Shariat which provides stiff penalties for prostitution and adultery, rather than to circumcission.  Death by stoning mostly applies to cases of adultery, prostitution and homosexuality. The legitimacy of stoning as a form of punishment is derived from the hadith, sayings and written records of the prophet Muhammad. Men are buried up to their waste, women up to their chest (Art. 102, Iranian Penal Code) for stoning. Article 104 of the Iranian Penal Code prescribes the size of the stones, which must not be too large as to kill the person immediately, but not too small either. Sharia tends to be at least partly in force, wherever Islam is the official state religion of a specific country or where the majority of the population is Muslim, including the Indian Union. However, in India Shariat is applicable to only in the matters of family relations such as marriage, guardianship, maintanance, inheritance and intestate succession, property transfer, adoption, and wills and legacies.  Adultery and prostitution are dealt with under criminal procedure code of India.

Another problem with the study reported in the Lancet is that the adult rate of AIDS in India is 0.8% which is very close to the rate in America which is 0.6%, according to the "Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic 2002."  In America two-thirds of the population is circumcised, whereas in India two-thirds of the population is not circumcised.  In addition, national adult HIV prevalence is still under 1% in the majority of Asia Pacific region's countries.  The countries of this region include China and the Indian Union, where more than a billion uncircumcised non-Muslim men live.  Also, it should be noted that AIDS spreads not only through unprotected sexual intercourse outside marriage, but also through the use of unclean syringes and blood transfusion (See a comparison between sexually transmitted AIDS and syringe transmitted AIDS at: http://www.unaids.org/wad/2003/Epiupdate2003_en/Epi03_06_en.htm#P145_38679).  Needle-sharing is the most common mode of transmission of H.I.V. in Russia and Eastern Europe.  Needle sharing among Pakistani injection drug users increased more than three-fold after the start of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan in 2001, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, reported in the July 2003, issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. According to UNAIDS (www.unaids.org), in Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam and some provinces of China the rates of infection among injecting drug users is extremely high. According to some estimates, there are 3 million drug users in China. Needle sharing appears common, with more than 45 percent of injectors sharing needles. HIV infection is reported among injecting drug users from 25 provinces. In both China and Vietnam 65 to 70 percent of detected HIV infections have been among injectors.

The virus that causes AIDS is being spread through India's general population mainly by married men, who have unprotected sex with prostitutes, according to a study released on November 13, 2003.  The study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  The study, citing India's National Aids Control Organization, found that more than 85 percent of India's HIV cases are caused by unsafe sex with prostitutes without using condoms. Another 3 percent contract it through their mother's milk and another 3 percent by using contaminated syringes.  Promiscuous truck drivers and sex workers spread HIV in India, to a large extent.  Sex workers' clients, particularly married males, act as the bridge groups aiding the spread into the general population.   The first case of HIV infection in India was diagnosed among commercial sex workers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1986.  The State of Andhra Pradesh has one of the fastest increasing HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in India.  In 2002 the ANC prevalence rate was 1.25% and NACO has estimated that more than 400,000 people are living with HIV in Andhra Pradesh, the second highest number after Maharashtra state. This is 10% of the total HIV cases in India and ninety percent of the infections in the state occur through sexual transmission, according to a report by Shafeeq M.,  'Andra Pradesh's Promiscuity Alarms Health Workers', Indo-Asian News Service (2003). Indians must be educated about how AIDS spreads to erase myths, including that the disease can be contracted through mosquito bites or new myths such as that circumcission would prevent contracting AIDS from unprotected sex with prostitues or other sex workers. Circumcission may only delay the AIDS transmission.  Condoms provide better protection against AIDS than circumcission does.

Before you get circumcised and visit sex workers with AIDS to have unprotected sex, consider the above and the following. The foreskin in the adult male either partially or completely covers the glans penis. The foreskin protects the glans penis from friction and from dryness. The foreskin maintains the sub-preputial space in a state of wetness with prostatic, vesicular and urethral secretions. The glans penis is covered with mucosa, not skin, so the wetness is essential for optimum health. Women are more likely to experience vaginal dryness during sex with a circumcised partner. The unnatural dryness may make coitus painful and result in abrasions and the vaginal dryness may be mistakenly attributed to female arousal disorder. (http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/).  Also visit, http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/ and for arguments in favor of circumcision at http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/2754/.
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Nurture
The more parents nurture their offspring, the more likely the children are to remain emotionally and physically healthy through old age, reports a team of researchers from the University of Albany and the University of Michigan, published in the March issue of Psychology and Aging.

Recipes
Rice Pancake
Ingredients:
500 g rice flour, 500 ml water, salt to taste, 1 tsp chilli power, a pinch of asafetida, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 100 ml vegetable oil.
Directions:
Boil the water in a pan add the salt, chilli powder, asafetida and cumin seeds. Add 10 ml of the oil and the rice flour and mix well. Remove from heat, cool and knead the dough till soft. Divide the dough into soft. Divide the dough into small balls and roll each out like a pancake. Cook on a hot griddle on both sides till done. Drizzle with oil and serve hot.

APPLE GINGER UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoon Butter, 1/4 cup Sugar Brown, 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon, 1-1/3 cups Apple, sliced w/o skin, 1/3 cup Raisins, 1/3 cup Pecans, 1/4 cup Butter, 1/3 cup Sugar, 3 large Eggs/egg substitute, 1/3 cup Molasses light, 1-1/2 cups All purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda, 1-1/3 teaspoons Baking Powder, 1/3 teaspoon Salt, 2/3 teaspoon Ginger, ground, 2/3 teaspoon Cinnamon, 2/3 cup Buttermilk.
Directions:
Combine 3 tablespoons melted butter, brown sugar and
cinnamon; spread over bottom of buttered 8-inch square pan.
Cover with apple slices. Sprinkle with raisins and pecans. Beat 1/3 cup softened butter and granulated sugar together until
creamy and fluffy. Beat in egg-substitute, then molasses. Add sifted dry
ingredients alternately with buttermilk, mixing well after each
addition. Pour batter over fruit mixture. Bake in preheated 350 degree F.
oven for 50 minutes or until done. Let stand 5 minutes; invert onto serving plate. Serve warm.
Womenfitness.net

SPINACH AND COTTAGE CHEESE TIMBALE
Ingredients:
100 gms. Spinach, 50 gms. cottage cheese, 5 ml. olive oil, 5 gms. Garlic, salt to taste, 1 gm. nutmeg powder, 1 egg-substitute or egg white, 75 gms. canned peach (drained)
Directions:
Blanch the spinach in boiling water, drain and allow it to cool. Chop the spinach finely and mix with grated cottage cheese. Heat oil in a shallow pan and sauté the garlic. And the chopped spinach mixture and stir for some more time. Add nutmeg and salt to taste. Keep aside to cool. Beat the egg-substitute thoroughly and fold into the spinach mixture. Grease a timbale mould and transfer the mixture to it. Steam on medium heat for 15 minutes. Puree the canned peaches and pour on the serving plate. Invert the timbale on it and serve hot. womenfitness.net


ROAST TOMATO AND CHICKPEA SOUP
Ingredients: 6 large plum tomatoes, 1 medium onion, halved, 2 garlic cloves, 300 ml cups vegetable stock, 430 g can chickpeas, drained, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, salt and black pepper.
Directions: Preheat the oven to 200oC . Place the whole tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes until tender and lightly browned. Place in a food processor with the vegetable stock and half the chickpeas, and blend until smooth. Press through a sieve. Return to the pan, add the tomato puree, the remaining chickpeas, and the coriander. Bring to the boil and serve hot.
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Source: The primary sources cited above,  New York Times (NYT), Washington Post (WP), Mercury News, Bayarea.com, USA Today, Intellihealthnews, Deccan Chronicle (DC), the Hindu, Hindustan Times, Times of India, AP, Reuters, AFP, womenfitness.net etc.




Copyright ©1998-2004
Vepachedu Educational Foundation, Inc
Copyright Vepachedu Educational Foundation Inc., 2004.  All rights reserved.  All information is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for special medical conditions or any specific health issues or starting a new fitness regimen. Please read disclaimer.





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