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," )

Chief Editor: Dr. Sreenivasarao Vepachedu


Associate Editior: Dr. Venktaeswarrao Karuparthy 

Issue 104

5107 Kali Era , Vyaya Year, Shravana/Bhadrapada month
2063 Vikramarka Era, Vyaya Year,  Shravana/Bhadrapada month
1927 Salivahana Era ,
Vyaya Year, Shravana/Bhadrapada month
 2006 AD, August

Contents

Diet and Exercise
Miscellaneous 
Recipes
Risks of being Overweight
Successful Losers
Yoga
Apple Cider
Berry, Berry Good
Coffee


Super Bugs in USA
Scorpion Venom
Dangers of Sun Screen Lotion
Hypnosis for Hair Loss
Smoking Causes Breast Cancer
Lucky Tall
Low Testosterone Kills
Female Condom 2
Bright and Smart are Friendly
Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Diet and Exercise
Risks of being Overweight
Two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who are carrying just a few extra pounds are more likely to die prematurely than people at a healthy weight. The first study, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, found underweight people and obese people were more likely to die prematurely than normal-weight. However, when the researchers looked at a sub-group of healthy people who had never smoked, they found that people who were overweight had a 20% to 40% greater risk of death compared to normal-weight people. Obese people's risk of death was two to three times higher than normal-weight people. In the second study, by Korean researchers, among the non-smokers, those who were overweight had a 10% to 50% higher risk of dying from heart disease or cancer than normal-weight people. Baby boomers who were even just a tad pudgy were more likely to die prematurely than those who were at a healthy weight, U.S. researchers reported. Overall, baby boomers who were underweight or obese had an increased risk of death compared with normal-weight people. The risk was particularly high for Hispanics, Asians, East Indians and American Indians than for whites and blacks.

Women who are obese get more aggressive ovarian cancers and are more likely to die from the disease, US scientists have found. Experts already know obesity ups the risk of developing some cancers, but this study suggests fat tissue might also affect how a tumour progresses. The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center research appears in the journal Cancer. Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best ways to reduce the chances of getting cancer.

Your health is your responsibility, even if you believe the story that the obesity epidemic is caused by a “poisoned” food supply that is altering people’s biochemistry and driving them to eat more and move less, according to a hypothesis proposed by a University of California-San Francisco doctor, and breaking the pattern of sugary, fatty and junk food consumption, a pattern that  comparable to nicotine addiction, is more than just a matter of willpower.

Maintaining a healthy weight and preventing weight gain at all ages is important to maintaining good health and longevity. To lose weight you need to increase activity and decrease calories. Exercise and diet changes help. Constant vigilance is key to successful and healthy weight maintenance.

Successful Losers
Losing weight is easy compared with keeping it off.  People who have lost weight and kept it off are more likely to weigh themselves daily and do at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day than other dieters, a government analysis reported in the online version of the International Journal of Behavior, Nutrition and Physical Activity. This confirms other research that points to the importance of physical activity and regular monitoring for long-term weight control. Another large study from Brown University found that the "safety zone" for weight maintenance is about 5pounds. That is, if dieters regain 5 pounds, they need to put on the brakes immediately by following a better eating and exercise plan. Successful people are highly disciplined about this. Someone who eats a salad every day, but longs for a cheeseburger, at some point will give up and eat the burger. In contrast, people who permanently lose weight and keep it off successfully, often say they don't do anything special to keep it off because they have made a permanent change in how they think about food.  A national study has pinpointed the habits that help successful weight losers to keep off the weight for a long time.

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that eating one meal high in saturated fat could increase inflammation in the arteries and reduce the effects of good cholesterol. On the other hand, the polyunsaturated-fat meal appeared to reduce inflammation in the participants' arteries and enhance the beneficial effects of good cholesterol.

A Harvard study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that sugary beverages have been a major contributor to the rising obesity rates in the United States. In the study, researchers reviewed 40 years' worth of nutritional research, and found strong evidence of a causal relationship between highly sweetened drinks and expanding waistlines in the United States. Not only do these drinks contribute a significant amount of the carbohydrate calories in the American diet, but the high-fructose corn syrup often used to sweeten them does not trigger production of insulin or appetite-regulating hormones that would lead people to moderate their intake. The researchers say their findings suggest that sugary drinks should be strongly discouraged.

Children can pick up unhealthy attitudes about eating and weight from their mothers. Recent studies suggest that kids learn about diet and self-image from observing adults -- including obsessive calorie counting, fad dieting, and poor body image. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that 5-year-old girls whose mothers dieted were twice as likely to be aware of weight-loss strategies as girls whose mothers didn't diet.

The grocery shopping list for the far-reaching Women, Infants and Children program is getting its first significant update since the 1970s. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are being added to the program, which helps feed more than half the babies born in the U.S. To cover the cost, WIC will cut down juice, eggs, cheese and milk that have been staples of the program. The revisions follow the advice of the federally chartered Institute of Medicine, which said the WIC program needs to reflect changes in science and society since it was created three decades ago. Adding fruits, vegetables and whole grain products follows changes last year to the government's dietary guidelines.

Apple Cider
It is an alcoholic drink made from apples which are first crushed and then fermented. In the USA and some some parts of Canada it is known as 'hard cider' - in those parts, the term 'cider' can often mean non-alcoholic apple juice. In the rest of the English-speaking world 'cider' refers only to the alcoholic drink.  Hard cider usually has an alcoholic content of 5% or more and is generally stronger than beer. The British are the greatest cider drinkers in the world. In the UK it is available in many forms, such as sweet, medium or dry.  

'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'.  It seems that cider may offer consumers health benefits, say researchers from Glasgow, Scotland. English cider apples have particularly high levels of phenolic antioxidants. Phenolic antioxidants are closely associated with cancer and stroke protection.  A further study is underway to see how humans absorb phenolics from cider.



Yoga
A few minutes of slow breathing per day appears to help lower blood pressure. Now, research is underway to find out why. Previous studies have shown that people who use a slow-breathing device for 15 minutes a day, in addition to diet, exercise and medication, can lower their blood pressure by 10 to 15 points. A new study at the National Institutes of Health is testing the theory that deeper breath helps the body get rid of the excess sodium that can lead to high blood pressure. The researchers say that when people are under stress, they take shallow breaths and hold them. This "under-breathing" can affect blood chemistry, making the kidneys less effective at excreting sodium, animal studies have found.

One of the eight limbs of yoga is pranayama, the science of breath. Prana means breath, respiration, life, vitality, wind, energy or strength. This limb is about control and extension of inhalation, exhalation and retention. To the yoga practitioners, the breath is life itself. Many other healing arts, such as tai chi and qi cung, also emphasize "correct" breathing.
In this aspect, American medicine agrees. The American Society of Hypertension advocates slow breathing exercises for fifteen minutes a day, three to four days a week to lower blood pressure  and to prevent heart disease. For musicians, deep breathing before and during performance calms the nerves, enabling them to concentrate and immerse themselves in the music.
Berry, Berry Good
Diets rich in berries may help the aging brain stay sharp, Tuft University researchers write in the online edition of the journal Neurobiology of Aging. The researchers found improvement in the health of the brain of the rats that had eaten berries.


Coffee
Coffee is addictive. Howver, coffee in moderation could slow the loss of mental function in men, says a European study.  The results appear in line with a growing body of evidence linking coffee consumption to improved cognitive function, and follow a recent report from Austria that “showed” how caffeine boosts brain function through its effects on distinct areas of the brain.  The Austrian results, presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in December, were said to be the first to demonstrate a visible impact on the brain from caffeine.  The new results, published on-line ahead of print in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, now suggest that older men may also benefit mentally from regular and moderate coffee consumption.


 Miscellaneous
Super Bugs in USA

More than half of the skin infections treated in U.S. hospitals are now caused by drug-resistant superbug. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers analyzed all skin infections among adults treated in emergency rooms in 11 U.S. cities. They found that overall, 59% of the infections were caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a bacterial strain that is impervious to antibiotics in the penicillin family. The infections may be treated with other types of antibiotics. However, the researchers say their findings indicate that doctors need to test skin infections for MRSA and to treat all serious infections as if they are caused by MRSA until they find out otherwise. To prevent skin infection in the first place, you should wash your hands thoroughly and often; keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered; avoid contact with other people's wounds or bandages; avoid sharing personal items that touch the skin, such as towels and razors; wipe down gym equipment with antiseptic after each use; and consult a doctor for treatment if you have a sore or boil.

Scorpion Venom
A toxin used by a scorpion to paralyze its prey may be a potent weapon against deadly human brain tumors. The toxin is developed from a protein in the venom of the giant yellow Israeli scorpion.  Other scientists found the protein has a unique affinity for malignant cells and stays clear of normal tissue.


Dangers of Sun Screen Lotion
A research team led by UC Riverside chemists reports that unless people out in the sun apply sunscreen often, the sunscreen itself can become harmful to the skin.  When skin is exposed to sunlight, ultraviolet radiation (UV) is absorbed by skin molecules that then can generate harmful compounds, called reactive oxygen species or ROS, which are highly reactive molecules that can cause "oxidative damage." For example, ROS can react with cellular components like cell walls, lipid membranes, mitochondria and DNA, leading to skin damage and increasing the visible signs of aging. When sunscreen is applied on the skin, however, special molecules – called UV filters – contained in the sunscreen, cut down the amount of UV radiation that can penetrate the skin. Over time, though, these filters penetrate into the skin below the surface of the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, leaving the body vulnerable to UV radiation.  UV filters (octylmethoxycinnamate, benzophenone-3 and octocrylene) widely used in sunscreens generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in skin when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, augmenting the ROS that is naturally produced.

Led by Kerry M. Hanson, a senior research scientist in the Department of Chemistry at UCR, the researchers report that three UV filters (octylmethoxycinnamate, benzophenone-3 and octocrylene), which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and widely used in sunscreens, generate ROS in skin themselves when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, thus augmenting the ROS that is naturally produced. The researchers note that the additional ROS are generated only when the UV filters have penetrated into the skin and, at the same time, sunscreen has not been reapplied to prevent ultraviolet radiation from reaching these filters.  Study results will appear in an upcoming issue of Free Radical Biology & Medicine. An advance copy of the paper is available online on the journal's Website.

Hypnosis for Hair Loss
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease characterized by sudden, recurrent hair loss in round spots from the scalp or any part of the body that has hair. Psychological factors, such as stressful events and psychotrauma have also been reported to play a role in the onset of the condition, but few studies have looked at the efficacy of psychological treatments. Hypnotherapy may enhance the mental well-being of patients with alopecia areata and it may improve clinical outcome," Dr. Ria Willemsen, of Free University in Brussels, and colleagues write in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, August 2006.

Smoking Causes Breast Cancer
Smoking causes normal breast cells to become cancerous by impairing their ability to repair their damaged DNA, U.S. researchers report in the current issue of Oncogene, if you didn't know it already. DNA repair in the breast cells appears to be blocked when chemical components of the smoke activate a particular gene. This gene activity, in turn, interferes with an enzyme that plays a critical role in repairing damage to a cell's DNA, the study said. If cells with damaged DNA survive long enough to divide and multiply, they can pass along their mutations to new cells, which can then become cancerous.


Lucky Tall
For both men and women in the United States and the United Kingdom, a height advantage of four inches equated with a 10 percent increase in wages on average. But the researchers said the differences in performance crop up long before the tall people enter the job force. Prenatal care and the time between birth and the age of 3 are critical periods for determining future cognitive ability and height. While researchers have long shown that tall people earn more than their shorter counterparts, it's not only social discrimination that accounts for this inequality; tall people are just smarter than their height-challenged peers, a new study by Princeton University in a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Low Testosterone Kills
The male sex hormone, testosterone, is associated with virility and energy. Low levels of testosterone may also indicate if a man will die soon, a study said.  Men in the lowest of three categories of testosterone levels were at least 68 percent more likely to die in the following 4-1/2 years than those in the "normal" category, the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine said.

Female Condom 2
The Female Health Company received notice from the World Health Organization (WHO) that after a stringent technical review process regarding design, product characteristics, quality control and manufacturing technology, the Female Condom 2 (FC2) was in principle being manufactured to at least the same standard as the polyurethane female condom FC1. In addition, the design and physical characteristics of FC2, supported by the clinical data, suggest that the two devices are functionally equivalent, when used correctly. Based on this assessment WHO has stated that FC2 product is acceptable for bulk procurement by UN Agencies subject to the standard quality assurance measures being applied prior to procurement.

The completion of WHO's review coincided with the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto whose theme is the feminization of AIDS and which focuses on strengthening women's rights, curbing gender discrimination and violence against women, and empowering women to use prevention methods and negotiate safer sex with husbands, lovers and partners. The number of women with HIV is growing in part because women are twice as likely as men to contract HIV from an infected partner during unprotected heterosexual intercourse. In addition, women's biological susceptibility to HIV is compounded by gender inequality, which limits the power of women to negotiate safer sex with husbands, lovers and partners.

Bill and Melinda Gates today called upon world leaders to "put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women" by accelerating the search for microbicides and other new HIV prevention tools. Bill Gates said he thought the discovery of an effective microbicide or oral prevention drug to reduce HIV transmission could be "the next big breakthrough in the fight against AIDS." They also called for increased global access to HIV prevention and treatment, and greater advocacy to break the stigma of AIDS.  Mr. and Mrs. Gates, co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, addressed the opening ceremony of the 16th International AIDS Conference, a gathering of more than 24,000 scientists, advocates, and health workers from around the world.  Melinda Gates noted that "we all have a role to play" in advancing the development of new HIV prevention tools.

Bright and Smart are Friendly
Grumpy and brainy may go together in older folks; but young people tend to be more open and friendly if they're bright, researchers report.  Neuroticism didn't appear linked to intelligence test scores at any age. But, among younger subjects (19-60), openness and extroversion, or friendliness, were tied to higher intelligence scores.  This was not so for the older group (61-89). Instead, a lack of agreeableness was a predictor for the highest test scores in those over 60.  The study looking at the connection between personality and intelligence was presented at the American Psychological Association's 2006 convention in New Orleans. The study doesn't mean grumpiness makes people smart as they age, or that all open-minded young extroverts are brilliant, or friendly, upbeat elders and disagreeable youths are dumb.


Recipes 
Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Who would believe you can make a hearty shepherd’s pie without meat and gravy?

1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 package Betty Crocker® four cheese mashed potatoes
3 cups frozen vegetables, any variety, thawed and drained
1 can (11 ounces) condensed Cheddar cheese or cream of mushroom soup
1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can (2.8 ounces) French-fried onions

 
 1 .   Heat oven to 350ºF. Heat hot water, milk and butter to a rapid boil in 2-quart saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 pouch Potatoes and 1 pouch Seasoning just until moistened. Let stand about 1 minute or until liquid is absorbed. Whip with fork until smooth; set aside. 
2 .   Stir remaining ingredients except onions in large bowl. Pour vegetable mixture into ungreased 1 1/2-quart casserole; sprinkle with half of the onions. Spread potatoes over onions.
3 .   Bake uncovered 25 minutes; sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake 3 to 5 minutes longer or until mixture is hot and onions are brown.
 From Betty Crocker


This material contains only general descriptions and is not a solicitation to sell any insurance product or security, nor is it intended as any financial, tax, medical or health care advice. For information about specific needs or situations, contact your financial agent or physician.
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Source: The primary sources cited above,  New York Times (NYT), Washington Post (WP), Mercury News, Bayarea.com, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Intellihealthnews, Deccan Chronicle (DC), the Hindu, Hindustan Times, Times of India, AP, Reuters, AFP, womenfitness.net etc.




Copyright ©1998-2006
Vepachedu Educational Foundation, Inc
Copyright Vepachedu Educational Foundation Inc., 2006.  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.





Om! Asatoma Sadgamaya, Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya, Mrityorma Amritamgamaya, Om Shantih, Shantih, Shantih!
(Om! Lead the world from wrong path to the right path, from ignorance to knowledge, from mortality to immortality and peace!)
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