The Telangana Science Journal, September 2006, Issue 105

Contents

Diet and Exercise	Miscellaneous	Recipes
Cranberries Viagra v. Cocoa Green Tea Obesity in China Seaweed for Obesity Obesity Worsens Ovarian Cancer Diabetes: the Facts Korean Pine Nut Extract for Obesity Virgin Olive Oil Early Danger Signs Steps to Good Health Mandarins for Liver Indian Turmeric Coffee	Women's Health Father's Age and Autism Waiting before using Antibiotics Weightlifting and Glaucoma First Penis Transplant Mosquito Menace Skin Lightening Products 3.3 Million-Year-Old Toddler Male Hygiene and HIV Musical Condoms for India to Prevent AIDS Smoking and ADHD in Children Financial Health 7 Money Management Skills for Kids Credit Card Debt Payoff Calculator 5 ways to monitor your credit reports Money Can't Buy Happiness	Sweet Potato Soup Coconut and Tofu Curry Maple Glazed Root Veggies Stir-fried Chinese Cabbage Easy Lentil Soup Where can I buy vegetarian ingredients in America?

Diet and Exercise

Cranberries
Compounds in cranberry juice have the ability to change E. coli bacteria, a class of microorganisms responsible for a host of human illnesses (everything from kidney infections to gastroenteritis to tooth decay), in ways that render them unable to initiate an infection. The results of this new research by scientists at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) suggest that the cranberry may provide an alternative to antibiotics, particularly for combating E. coli bacteria that have become resistant to conventional treatment. The new findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco.

Viagra v. Cocoa
The Aztecs and Mayans were the first to recognize how potent chocolate was. Montezuma himself was known to drink 60 cups of chocolate a day to better service his harem of 600 women.

The director of Nigeria's Federal Agency for Food and Medicine is advising Nigerians to forego the little, libido-boosting blue pills in favor of a measured dose of cocoa. To back up her claims made during a meeting with the vice-governor of one of Nigeria's states, she cited a recently published study extolling the libidinal qualities of cocoa beans. Viagra, she said, can have unwelcome side effects, but chocolate is all good: it is the best anti-oxidant known and, beyond its sexual virtues, can help prevent heart attacks, hypertension and diabetes.

The word chocolate is said to derive from the Mayan word xocoatl; cocoa from the Aztec word cacahuatl. The Mexican Indian word chocolat comes from a combination of the terms choco ("foam") and atl ("water"); as early chocolate was only consumed in beverage form. Chocolate has been drunk as a beverage for thousands of years. Legends from many cultures claim that consuming chocolate instills strength, health, faith and passion. In the 1500's, most chocolate was consumed, and appreciated, in liquid form. Researchers have discovered that chemicals found in chocolate are beneficial to health. Theobromine is rich in antioxidants, Stearic acid helps prevent build-up of cholesterol, lessening symptoms of high blood pressure. Phenylethylamine, (also produced in the human brain during emotional pleasure) is a scientifically proven aid in the control of human stress, believed to be responsible for the feeling we experience when in love. (http://www.tastesoftheworld.net/valentine-chocolate-press.html)

Green Tea
In a Japanese government study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers found that the study participants who drank lots of green tea were less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than people who drank much less green tea, women who drank five or more cups of green tea per day had a 31% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than women who drank less than one cup; and tea-drinking men had a 22% lower risk of dying from heart disease or stroke. The tea appears to be effective at preventing clot-related strokes.

Obesity in China
Obesity rates in city-dwelling male Chinese students between seven and 22 had increased to 11.39 percent, up 2.7 percent since 2000, while the 5.01 percent of obese female students was up 1.4 percent. The survey had also highlighted alarming increases in the rate of students with weak eyesight -- a trend blamed in part to larger study burdens and consumption of television, the Internet and computer games.

Seaweed for Obesity
Studies in animals suggest that brown seaweed, also known as wakame, commonly used to flavor Asian soups and salads, contains a compound that promotes weight loss, reported at the 232nd American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Francisco. The compound, called fucoxanthin, also has anti-diabetes effects. The studies suggest that fucoxanthin-induced expression of UCP1 in fat tissue fuels the oxidation of fatty acids and production of heat energy in fat tissue mitochondria. Mitochondria, found in every cell, convert sugar and fatty acids into energy and play a key role in regulating metabolism.

Obesity Worsens Ovarian Cancer
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 authors believe fat cells excrete a hormone or protein that makes ovarian cancer cells grow more aggressively. The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center research appeared in the journal Cancer.

Diabetes: the facts
■The more overweight an individual, the greater the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
■Weight management is the best strategy to prevent the disease; even small weight loss helps.
■Progressing to Type 2 diabetes is not inevitable, and approximately 30 per cent of individuals with IGT will return to normal glucose tolerance.
Source: International Diabetes Federation

A drug that improves the body's ability to turn sugars into fuel can substantially reduce the chances of people at risk of developing a type of diabetes, according to new research published in the British journal The Lancet.

People who develop type 2 diabetes when they're younger than 50 years of age are more likely to experience a worsening of their disease than those diagnosed at an older age, according to research presented in Copenhagen at the 42nd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

Weight loss is the key factor in reducing diabetes risk for high-risk, overweight individuals, a new study shows in Diabetes Care, September 2006.

Korean Pine Nut Extract for Obesity
The United States spending $117 billion annually in health care on obesity. New research indicates that an extract from the Korean pine nut could be effective in treating obesity by suppressing the appetite. U.S. research showed that pinolenic acid extracted from Korean pine nut could dampen the appetite.

Virgin Olive Oil
Reporting in the Annals of Internal Medicine, European researchers say virgin olive oil may be particularly effective at lowering heart disease risk because of its high level of antioxidant plant compounds.

Early Danger Signs
Obesity begins at home. That's the conclusion of nutrition experts who are sorting through a parade of studies released this summer that shows children in all age groups in the USA are gaining too much weight, even babies. Experts are laying the lion's share of the responsibility on parents, many of whom also are heavy. Children say they depend on their parents for the ABCs of good health: 71% say they get information about how to be healthy from their mothers, according to a survey conducted for the America on the Move Foundation. And Dad is the resource for 43% of the children.

Chubby toddlers are more likely to grow up to be chubby preteens. A study published in the journal Pediatrics found that kids who were overweight when they were preschool age had a five times greater risk of being overweight at age 12 than normal-weight tots.

Steps to Good Health
Being fit, living a healthy lifestyle, preventing illness through health screenings and immunizations, avoiding environmental causes of diseases, etc. are essential elements of good health. Find balance in your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual lives. Use meditation, guided imagery, yoga, and biofeedback to help relieve mental and physical suffering.
http://www.humana.com/eplanpro/2006_09/article2.asp

Mandarins for Liver
Japanese scientists found vitamin A compounds called carotenoids which give the fruit its orange colour cut the risk of developing liver cancer and other diseases. One study found eating mandarins cut the risk of liver disease, hardened arteries and insulin resistance, according to scientists at the National Institute of Fruit Tree Science. And a second found drinking the fruit's juice cut the risk of patients with chronic viral hepatitis developing liver cancer, according to a team at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine.

Indian Turmeric
Use the spices of India for any problem - that tactic has proved productive for researchers investigating turmeric, a curry spice used for centuries in Indian traditional medicine. They've found that turmeric's active ingredient, curcumin, works in the lab to fight skin, breast and other tumor cells. In fact, human clinical trials employing curcumin have already been launched.
Now, working with cell cultures in a laboratory, scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have discovered that curcumin blocks the activity of a gastrointestinal hormone implicated in the development of colorectal cancer, the country's second leading cancer killer with nearly 60,000 deaths annually. In a paper published in the current issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the UTMB researchers link the gastrointestinal hormone neurotensin, which is generated in response to fat consumption, to the production of IL-8, a potent inflammatory protein that accelerates the growth and spread of a variety of human cancer cells, including colorectal and pancreatic tumor cells.
Some Patents of Curcumin
(2006) 7,060,733 Methods for treating pancreatitis with curcumin compounds and inhibitors of reactive oxygen species
6,790,979 Curcumin analogues and uses thereof
6,673,843 Curcumin and curcuminoid inhibition of angiogenesis
6,664,272 Curcumin analogs with anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic properties
5,891,924 Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) inhibition of NF.kappa.B activation
5,679,864 Process for the synthesis of curcumin-related compounds
(1981) 4,263,333 Curcumin-metal color complexes
(1979) 4,138,212 Process for producing water and oil soluble curcumin coloring agents

Coffee
Long-term intake of caffeine, the major constituent in coffee and tea, has been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's in mice that develop the disease. In a study published online in the journal, Neuroscience, researchers at the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute in Tampa, are reporting that caffeine intake equivalent to five cups of coffee a day in humans protects Alzheimer's mice against otherwise certain memory impairment and reduces Alzheimer's pathology in their brains.

An earlier study in humans hinted that caffeine was protective against Alzheimer's disease by showing that Alzheimer's patients consumed markedly less caffeine during the 20 years preceding disease diagnosis compared with age-matched individuals without Alzheimer's disease.

Miscellaneous
Women's Health
Not having children, having too many, or too young or not spaced far enough apart could be detrimental to a woman's health later in life, researchers said. Poorer health in later life was associated with teenage births, big families of five or more children and closely spaced pregnancies of less than 18 months apart. But older mothers experienced better health in their later years, according to the research. Short birth intervals had negative health impacts on both mothers and fathers, which research suggests may be due to the physiological and psychosocial stresses of having children very close in age. The research also shows stable relationships contribute to long-term health in both sexes, although women many not always realize it.

Father's Age and Autism
It is a well-known fact that the optimum age for a woman to have kids is 25 -35. But, what is father's optimum age? Children born to fathers of advancing age are at significantly higher risk of developing autism compared to children born to younger fathers, according a comprehensive study published on September 4th in the Archives of General Psychiatry that offers surprising new insight into one of the most feared disorders of the brain. With every decade of advancing age starting with men in their teens and twenties, the new study found, older fathers pose a growing risk to their children when it comes to autism. The medical risks associated with late parenthood are not just the province of older mothers, as much previous research has suggested. When fathers are in their thirties, children have about one and a half times the risk of developing autism as children of fathers in their teens and twenties. Compared to the offspring of the youngest fathers, children of fathers in their forties have more than five times the risk of developing autism, and children of fathers in their fifties have more than nine times the risk. Autism is a developmental disorder that is often characterized by social and verbal problems. It becomes manifest early in childhood and is associated with learning deficits and other problems. Many cases are diagnosed shortly after children enter school, where differences between kids become too painfully obvious to ignore.

Waiting before using Antibiotics
U.S. doctors write 15 million antibiotic prescriptions a year for children's ear infections, though there is increasing evidence the drugs may not be necessary. Excessive antibiotic use could lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and cause drug reactions such as vomiting and diarrhea. By taking a "wait-and-see" approach where the parent is given a prescription but told to wait 48 hours to fill it, researchers at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, found fewer prescriptions were filled. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Weightlifting and Glaucoma
Holding your breath while weightlifting causes temporary increases in eye pressure that could raise the risk of developing one form of glaucoma, according to a study published in the September issue of Archives of Ophthalmology. Prolonged weightlifting could be a potential risk factor for the development or progression of glaucoma. Intermittent intraocular pressure increases during weightlifting should be suspected in patients with normal-tension glaucoma who perform such exercises. It is also more common among people who play high-resistance wind instruments or those with asthma or intestinal or urinary tract obstructions that cause them to strain in a way that increases eye pressure. The increased eye pressure that marks glaucoma damages the optic nerve leading to sight loss and possible blindness.

First Penis Transplant
Dr Weilie Hu and surgeons at Guangzhou General Hospital in China performed a complex 15-hour surgery on a 44-year old man whose penis had been damaged in a traumatic accident.
The microsurgery to attach the penis, which had been donated by the parents of a 22-year-old brain-dead man, was successful but Hu and his team removed it two weeks later. The donated penis had to be removed because of the severe psychological problems it caused to the recipient and his wife. This is the first reported case of penile transplantation in a human. There had been no signs of the 10-centimetre (4-inch) organ being rejected by the recipient's body.

Mosquito Menace
Mosquitoes' thirst for sugar could help kill the pests and eradicate the malaria they spread Jewish scientists in Israel said. Yosef Schlein and Gunter Muller of Jerusalem's Hebrew University said they wiped out virtually the entire mosquito population of a southern Israeli oasis by spraying a sugar solution mixed with "Spinosad" insecticide on acacia trees. Acacias are also common in Africa, where malaria has been on the rise due to environmental changes, drug resistance and mosquito resistance to conventional insecticides, according to the researchers' study published in scientific journals. Other blossoms in areas where acacia trees are not common could also be sprayed with a sugar solution and Spinosad, described in the study as safer than microbial and chemical insecticides currently used against mosquitoes. The planting of mosquito-attracting "floral centers" could provide a "relatively easy and cheap method that in suitable regions can supplement the limited arsenal against mosquitoes", the researchers wrote.

Skin Lightening Products
Skin-lightening creams sold over the counter (OTC) may soon require a prescription in USA. The Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban on OTC skin-bleaching products, because an ingredient in them can cause a disfiguring skin condition. Hydroquinone, an active ingredient in many skin lighteners, has been linked to ochronosis, a condition marked by darkening and thickening of the skin and tiny bumps and grayish-brown spots. The condition can appear even after short-term use, the FDA says. Hydroquinone has also been potentially linked to cancer in some animal studies. The FDA says the creams should be restricted to prescription use under medical supervision, and that all skin-bleaching products should have to win FDA approval before they can be sold.

3.3 Million-Year-Old Toddler
Scientists describe a well-preserved 3.3-million-year-old juvenile partial skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis, a girl named Salam, discovered in the Dikika research area of Ethiopia, in Nature. The skull of the approximately three-year-old presumed female shows that most features diagnostic of the species are evident even at this early stage of development. The find includes many previously unknown skeletal elements from the Pliocene hominin record, including a hyoid bone that has a typical African ape morphology. The foot and other evidence from the lower limb provide clear evidence for bipedal locomotion, but the gorilla-like scapula and long and curved manual phalanges raise new questions about the importance of arboreal behaviour in the A. afarensis locomotor repertoire. (http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060918/full/060918-5.html)

Male Hygiene and HIV
Washing the penis regularly lowers the risk of HIV infection in uncircumcised men, and even among men who are circumcised, according to two papers in the Journal of AIDS for September. The scientists theorized that the presence of "subpreputial penile wetness", a lanolin-like wetness commonly found under the foreskin in most uncircumcised men, would increase risk, and that washing to keep the area under the foreskin clean would reduce risk. HIV is spreads through sexual intercourse, expecially among those who have multiple partners.

Musical Condoms for India to Prevent AIDS
Scientist Hryhory Chausovsky developed the musical condom as a novelty, and as an aid for more pleasurable love-making. A miniature loudspeaker and motion sensor implanted in the condom's upper cuff provides a range of musical tones during sex. Chausovsky said he was looking for a financial backer to put his musical condom, currently in the experimental stage, into mass production. Condoms and other birth control devices are generally unpopular in Ukraine, a country suffering one of the highest HIV-infection rates in the world. Indian men who visit prostitutes and who have multiple sex partners are averse to the use of condoms, thereby increasing the spread of preventable AIDS disease.

Smoking and ADHD in Children
About one-third of attention deficit cases among U.S. children may be linked with tobacco smoke before birth or to lead exposure afterward, according to new research. Even levels of lead the government considers acceptable appeared to increase a child's risk of having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the study found. It builds on previous research linking attention problems, including ADHD, with childhood lead exposure and smoking during pregnancy, and offers one of the first estimates for how much those environmental factors might contribute. The study was published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes hyperactivity, impulsive behavior and attention problems. ADHD is the most common problem seen in outpatient child and adolescent mental health settings. It is estimated that ADHD affects between 4 % and 12 % of school-aged children, more often boys than girls. Studies suggest that the amount of ADHD seen in the population has risen significantly in recent years. But whether more people have the disorder or whether it is just being diagnosed more often is not clear. The specific things needed to make the diagnosis of ADHD have been more clearly defined during the past 20 years. Also, people are more aware of ADHD so the disorder may be recognized more often.

Financial Health
7 Money Management Skills for Kids
If you’re a parent, you know how important it is to not only tell your kids how to do something, but to show them how to do it as well. It’s like putting a plate of vegetables in front of your children every night – they won’t truly adopt those healthy eating habits unless they see you eating your own share of the veggies.
http://www.military.com/Finance/content/0,15356,114161,00.html?ESRC=finance.nl

Credit Card Debt Payoff Calculator
http://www.bankrate.com/mtry/calc/creditcardpay.asp

5 ways to monitor your credit reports
Identity theft can cost you thousands of dollars if it goes unnoticed, not to mention dozens of hours cleaning up your credit report and clearing debts owed. To save time and money, it makes good sense to guard -- or at least watch -- your credit reports.
http://www.bankrate.com/mtry/news/pf/20060911d1.asp

Money Can't Buy Happiness
Wise men from Brahmins to Buddhists to Aristotle to the Beatles have observed that money can't buy happiness. However, the belief that high income is associated with good mood is widespread but mostly illusory. Why? According to a June 2006 study spearheaded by Princeton economist Alan Krueger and Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, once you reach a certain income level, more money does not contribute significantly to well-being and may actually result in more stress and less bliss. According to the government statistics, men making more than $100,000 per year spend 19.9 percent of their time on passive leisure, compared to 34.7 percent for men making less than $20,000. Women making more than $100,000 spend 19.6 percent of their time on passive leisure, compared with 33.5 percent of those making less than $20,000. Despite the weak relationship between income and global life satisfaction or experienced happiness, many people are highly motivated to increase their income by spending more time on work rather than on social life.
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/15/09S18/index.xml?section=topstories

Recipes
Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients:
4 cups sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1-1/2 cups green onion, sliced
3-3/4 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons evaporated skim milk
1-1/2 cups croutons

Direction:
Peel potatoes and steam 15-20 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
Combine green onions and half the stock in saucepan over medium
heat for 10 minutes.
Transfer stock mixture to a blender. Add cooked sweet potatoes
and blend until smooth.
Return potato mixture and remaining stock to saucepan and bring
to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer
5 minutes. Serve soup warm.

Coconut and Tofu Curry
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger (about 2 slices)
5 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 stalks fresh lemongrass (optional)
3 tbsp olive oil
dash red pepper flakes
1 block tofu, drained and sliced into approx 1 inch squares
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
14 oz coconut milk
1 cup water

PREPARATION:
In a blender or food processor, process the ginger, garlic, onion and lemongrass until smooth, adding a bit of olive oil if needed. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the blended garlic mixture. Sautee this mixture for 1-3 minutes, then add the tofu and red pepper flakes, stirring gently to mix the tofu with the garlic mixture for another 3-5 minutes, adding more olive oil if needed. Reduce heat to medium low and add coconut, water, and curry, stirring well to combine. Cover the skillet and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/tofurecipes/r/coconutcurry.htm

Maple Glazed Root Veggies
Root vegetables and sweet potatoes are glazed with a maple-dijon sauce for a unique dish.
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 sweet potatoes, chopped
approx. 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
approx. 1 1/2 cups chopped parsnips

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat parsnips, potatoes and carrots with the olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking pan. Roast in oven for 15 minutes, then remove and retoss on baking sheet. Cook 15 minutes more, until all the veggies and potatoes are soft. Comine maple syrup, dijon mustard and garlic powder in a small bowl. Drizzle the maple mixture over potatoes and veggies and mix to coat well. Serve and enjoy!
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/MapleVeggies.htm?nl=1

Stir-fried Chinese Cabbage
Ingredients:
8-10 large Chinese cabbage leaves
2 tablespoons oil
125 g (4 oz) canned bamboo shoots, drained and sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 celery stick, sliced
lemon juice
slat and pepper
lemon slices, to garnish

Direction:
Cut the Chinese cabbage leaves diagonally into thin strips.
Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan or wok. Add all the vegetables and fry gently for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a little lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with lemon slices and serve. Womenfitness.net

Easy Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
1 cup green lentils
36 oz. fat-free, reduced-sodium beef broth
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 leek, trimmed and chopped*
2 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves*
Canola oil spray
1 Fuji apple, peeled and diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3-4 large pretzels, broken into small pieces,
for garnish (optional)

Direction:
Place lentils, broth, carrot, garlic, onion, thyme and bay leaf in a medium Dutch oven or large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes.
For a chunkier soup, add leek at this point. Simmer 20 minutes, then stir in Swiss chard and simmer 20 minutes more.
Meanwhile, spray a medium non-stick skillet with canola oil and heat oil on medium-high heat. Add apple and sauté until golden on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes.
When lentils are tender, stir in apple and remove bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve as is for a soup with texture. For a creamy soup, puree half in a blender and combine with remaining soup. Serve garnished with crushed pretzels, if desired. Womenfitness.net

Where can I buy vegetarian ingredients in America?
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/shoppingproducts/f/Wheretoshop.htm?nl=1

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.

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