Contents:
Healthy Indian Food
Andhra Pradesh v. Hong Kong
Depression and Heart
Disease
Snoozing
Exercise and Erectile
Dysfunction
Vegetables and Fruits
Family Planning
Yoga for Men also!
Smoking
Vitamin C from fruits
and vegetables
----------------------------------------------------------
Depression and Heart Disease
Depression in the elderly is a common but often untreated condition that
increases the risk of coronary heart disease and death in this age group.
Depressive symptoms, which include feelings of fear or loneliness, irritability,
lack of concentration, and sleeplessness, occur in 19 to 30 percent of
people age 65 years or older - about 5 million Americans. Yet only one
percent of those affected receive treatment, according to the study authors
writing for the Cardiovascular Health Study Collaborative Research Group.
In a multicenter, six-year study of people age 65 or over who were initially
free of heart disease, researchers found that those who reported feeling
symptoms of depression most often were 40 percent more likely to develop
heart disease than those who reported feeling depressed the least often,
according to an article in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Snoozing
Studies on Japanese rail travelers indicate that an afternoon snooze can
result in higher productivity over the next several hours. Those who had
napped scored about 10 percent higher than those who hadn't when tested
for alertness. They also continued to perform better in follow-up
tests over the next couple of hours. Further research also found that those
who dozed in a sitting position became clearheaded more quickly after waking
than those who lay stretched out flat for a 20- to 30-minute nap. To make
sure you wake up refreshed, Mitsuo Hayashi, an assistant professor at Hiroshima
University, recommends a cup of strong coffee or any caffeine-rich beverage
right before your nap.
Exercise and Erectile Dysfunction
A study published in the journal Urology finds that men who burn 200 calories
or more a day in physical activity have a significantly lower risk for
impotence. Researchers from the New England Research Institutes looked
at data on 593 men aged 40 to 70 who were participating in the Massachusetts
Male Aging Study. At the start of the study, none of the men reported
erectile dysfunction. At the end of the study nine years later, 17%
reported sexual dysfunction. The researchers found that the men who
exercised most had the lowest risk of erectile dysfunction, while sedentary
men had the highest risk.
Vegetables and Fruits
A study published in the journal Pediatrics finds that consuming more folic
acid during pregnancy can significantly reduce the risk that a baby will
have birth defects affecting the brain and spinal cord. The study
examined
the results of a campaign to get mothers-to-be in South Carolina to
increase their intake offolic acid, a vitamin found in leafy vegetables
and orange juice .
Family Planning
The Food and Drug Administration approved on 6th a new form of birth control,
Lunelle, made by Pharmacia Corp. of Peapack, N.J. Lunelle is more than
99 percent effective when women get the shot once every month, according
to company studies. Lunelle is an alternative to another injectable
contraceptive called Depo-Provera that lasts three months. Like many
birth control pills, it works through a combination of the hormones progestin
and estrogen. Lunelle should be on the market by the end of the year, and
cost $30 to $37 a shot, Pharmacia spokeswoman Kristin Elliott said. Lunelle
was approved based on data from a clinical study of 1,103 women at 42 sites
in the United States. The study compared patients taking Lunelle to those
on Ortho-Novum 7/7/7, a common birth control pill.
Last month, The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the
abortion pill RU-486 (mifepristone), a major victory for those who
battled for 12 years to bring the early-abortion method to US. This
pill has been used by millions of women in 13 countries. RU-486 could transform
abortion in the United States by making it more accessible and more private.
But it can be used only in the earliest days of pregnancy, only within
49 days of the beginning of the woman's last menstrual period. The woman
takes three mifepristone pills. Two days later, she returns to the doctor
to swallow a second drug, misoprostol, that causes uterine contractions
to expel the embryo. She returns for a follow-up visit within two weeks
to make sure the abortion is complete. Studies show mifepristone is 92
percent to 95 percent effective in causing early abortion, by blocking
action of a hormone essential for maintaining pregnancy. Without that hormone,
progesterone, the uterine lining thins so an embryo cannot remain implanted
and grow.
Yoga for Men also!
Yoga's reputation as a New Age feminine haven is being challenged
by an influx of middle-age male enthusiasts. Younger men who are more open
to oriental pursuits, are crediting yoga with giving them the agility and
strength to improve their overall athletic life and a more relaxed
mindset. Perhaps men noticed that celebrities like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
John McEnroe and Sting were doing it, or perhaps it's because more mainstream
health clubs staaaarted offering Yoga without some of the chanting and
incense-burning or whatever yoga is showing a more masculine side
these days. Men almost equal women in some classes. Strenuous forms of
yoga, often called Power Yoga (Sanskrit name, Ashtanga Yoga), are
soaring in popularity, reports The Boston Globe.
Smoking
Cigarette smokers inhale over 400 toxins and 43 known carcinogens in a
single puff. These toxins have easy access to the bloodstream through lungs,
which allows them to circulate throughout the body. Everyone knows that
smoking causes lung cancer, emphysema and coronary artery disease. Recent
studies have shown that smokers have decreased gastric motility while smoking,
which can cause less efficient digestion. Smoking also can cause a weakening
of the lower esophageal sphincter, increased stomach acid secretion and
reduced pancreatic bicarbonate production. Liver function is also compromised
and may accelerate alcohol-induced liver disease. Smoking affects every
part of the body.
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is an established risk
factor for lung cancer, acute respiratory disorders and heart disease.
However, the good news is that among the 669 women who died of breast cancer
there was no statistical suggestion that ETS increased the risk for women
who lived with smokers. In a study, 146,488 women who had never smoked
were interviewed in 1982. Those who lived with spouses who smoked were
identified. After 12 years, the breast cancer death rate among women married
to men who smoked was compared to the rate among women whose spouses never
smoked. Daniel Wartenberg of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey, first author of the study in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute, said the study does not mean that the health risks of ETS can
be ignored.
Vitamin C from fruits and vegetables
A long-term (20-year) study of more than 2,000 people found that stroke
risk is inversely related to the amount of vitamin C in the bloodstream,
according to the Medical Research Institute of Tokyo Medical and Dental
University in Japan. Patients all received their vitamin C from fruits
and vegetables. The vitamin C reduced the risk for cerebral infarctions,
in which blood flow to the brain is blocked, and hemorrhagic strokes, which
occur when an artery in the brain bursts.
Healthy Indian Food
Indian vegetarian cuisine is traditionally considered a prime example of
the plant-based diet recommended by the American Institute for Cancer Research
to help prevent cancer. It includes lots of vegetables, many vegetarian
dishes based on beans or lentils. Commonly used vegetables include kale,
cauliflower, egg plants, tomatoes and garlic, which are full of natural
phytochemicals that help to detoxify carcinogens before they can even begin
the cancer process. Unfortunately, some restaurants ``Americanize''
Indian dishes by increasing meat and reducing vegetable portions. Avoid
dishes that have large amounts of ghee (clarified butter) and/or cream.
Tandoori (oven roasted) dishes are usually low in fat. Choose baked breads
such as chapati and naan (North Indian) and steam cooked Idlis (South Indian)
instead of deep-fried poori or dosa.
Andhra Pradesh v. Hong Kong
Chief Minister Narra Chandrababu Naidu said:
NSDP of Andhra Pradesh (a nationality) is $18 billion and Hong Kong
(a City) is $160 billion
The population of the former is 76.7 million (close to German population)
and latter is 6.7 million.
The total investment of Hong Kong in India is $621 million. (Nothing
in the reverse direction?)
While, M Vijay Kumar, director of Software Technology Park of India
said:
India needs more than 2.2 million workers in software and related areas
to achieve
the target of $50 billion software exports by 2008. (In 1996-97, the
total exports of software from India amounted to $1billion (0.2%), in the
world market of worth $500 billion. See: http://members.iquest.net/~vepachedu/Analysis.htm)
(Parenthetical comments are editor's)
Sreenivasarao Vepachedu, 10/28.2000
Back to The Telangana Science Journal
Back to Vepachedu Home Page