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Boosting Immune System

Meditation slows AIDS progression

Washington: Meditation may slow the worsening of AIDS in just a few weeks, perhaps by affecting the immune system, US researchers reported.

If the findings are borne out in larger studies, it could offer a cheap and pleasant way to help people battle the incurable and often fatal condition, the team at the University of California Los Angeles said on Thursday.

They tested a stress-lowering program called mindfulness meditation, defined as practicing an open and receptive awareness of the present moment, avoiding thinking of the past or worrying about the future. The more often the volunteers meditated, the higher their CD4 T-cell counts — a standard measure of how well the immune system is fighting the AIDS virus. The CD4 counts were measured before and after the two-month program.

“This study provides the first indication that mindfulness meditation stress-management training can have a direct impact on slowing HIV disease progression,” said David Creswell, who led the study.

His team tested 67 HIV-positive adults from the Los Angeles area, 48 of whom did some or all of the meditation. Most were likely to have highly stressful lives, Creswell said.

“The average participant in the study was male, African American, homosexual, unemployed and not on ARV (antiretroviral) medication,” they wrote in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

The meditation classes included eight weekly two-hour sessions, a day-long retreat and daily home practice. “The people that were in this class really responded and just really enjoyed the program,” Creswell said. “The mindfulness program is a group-based and lowcost treatment, and if this initial finding is replicated in larger samples, it’s possible that such training can be used as a powerful complementary treatment for HIV disease, alongside medications,” he added.

He said it was unclear how the stress-reducing effects of meditation work. It may directly boost CD4 T-cell levels, or suppress the virus, he said.

Drug cocktail adds 13 yrs to life of HIV+

Washington: Cocktails of HIV drugs help patients live an average of 13 years longer — if they are lucky enough to get them, researchers reported.

A person who started taking the drugs at age 20 could, on average, expect to live another 43 years, the researchers report in the Lancet medical journal on Thursday.

They looked at several studies of patients living in the US, Canada and several European countries who received drug combinations known as highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART. Robert Hogg of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, Canada and colleagues looked at 43,000 patients in 14 different studies.

Put the squeeze on health

Why would you voluntarily drink up a blended bitter gourd? Norbert Rego asks around and comes up with some tasty pointers

SO, do you really enjoy that blended bottle gourd or bitter gourd first thing in the morning? Well, a lot of people surprisingly do. And what’s more, juice bars are not just mushrooming all around town, but are becoming popular hot spots too. Health aficionados across age groups are flocking to freshly made juices that are even quickly replacing those from tetra packs.

Tarana Masand, fashion designer, takes a combination of vegetable juices everyday. “I take any three different juices. It makes me feel better and keeps me full. Vegetable juices make you feel active, lighter, your skin and hair feel better,” she says.

Karnvir Bohra, film personality, feels juices should not be kept for more than half an hour. “Every morning, my wife and I drink spinach and tomato juice, which is good for our eyes and complexion. Amla juice is good for our hair,” he says.

What’s the fuss about juices anyway? Well, firstly, many people eat the same vegetables everyday. This violates the principle of regular food rotation and increases your chances of developing an allergy to a certain food. But with juicing, you can have a wide variety of vegetables that you may not normally eat. Vegetable juices cannot be made from every vegetable, unlike fruit juices. They help you absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables and allow you to consume an optimal amount of vegetables in an efficient manner. Juices in short, are almost a one-stop dose of everything your body needs.

“It is water, flavours, pigments, enzymes, vitamins, minerals and nutrients working synergistically to give your body the materials that promote healing, energy and protection from disease. But there is still a mystery left undefined. There is a miracle of energy supplied by live plants and fruits that comes from nothing else,” says Dr Ashwani Chopra, Delhi-based physician and gastroenterologist.

But there are still rules that you must follow while juicing. The juice must be prepared fresh and consumed soon after, or else it will lead to loss of essential vitamins and antioxidants. Vegetables must be washed thoroughly before preparing the juice. Avoid straining/discarding the pulp of the vegetables, as it will lead to loss of fibre. Use a pinch of rock salt instead of adding sugar. Limejuice enhances iron absorption, and ginger, garlic and cardamom add not just flavour but also aid digestion. Mix it up — use different vegetables every day. Avoid consuming any food an hour before or after a glass of juice for enhanced nutrient absorption. If you must buy, choose juices without preservatives or added sugar. Dudhi, amla, mix-vegetables, tomato, cabbage, spinach, karela and wheat grass are healthier options for diabetics and people on weight loss. And don’t try juices of vegetables you are allergic to.

“Juices should be a part of your diet but they should be of high quality and junk-free. Besides nutrients, there are certain things called ‘helper nutrients’ and these are all found in raw fruits and vegetables. Drinking raw vegetable or fruit juice is basically eating food the way God made it,” adds Dr Chopra.

Juice bars have now become new health hotspots. Amorettos, a juice bar chain, has positioned itself as a health and fitness brand with outlets in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. Juice Zone, North America’s juice brand, has set shop in Gurgaon and New Delhi with franchisees in Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Faridabad, Pune and Mumbai. HAS Juice Bar in Mumbai offers you a vast range of vegetable juices.

“Vegetable juices are good for all age groups. However, at no cost should they replace your daily katori of vegetables. When it is a choice between bowls of raw and home-cooked vegetables, then vegetables win hands down as compared to juices. Vegetable juices are a good way to meet the recommended allowances for the vegetable group. An average Indian adult is recommended 5-6 servings of vegetables per day. At least one third of this requirement can be met with a glass of juice,” says Dr Richa Anand, executive dietician, Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, Mumbai.

JUICING FOR LIFE

l Cabbage juice has ulcer-healing capabilities, but should be used in conjunction with a doctor’s prescribed therapy. However, patients with gas trouble should avoid it. l Cucumber juice cleanses your kidneys, lowers high blood pressure and improves skin problems. l Beet juice cleanses the blood and strengthens the gall bladder and liver. l Carrot juice is an excellent source of betacarotene, potassium, trace minerals, and anticancer nutrients, including phthalide and glutathione (antioxidants). l Celery juice contains the anti-cancer nutrients phthalide and polyacetylene (antioxidants). It is rich in potassium and sodium and helps lower BP.

l Garlic acts as a natural antibiotic

and blood thinner and can reduce cholesterol levels. Add a clove to your vegetable mix. l Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties and will also protect the stomach from irritation. Migraines and motion sickness can also be relieved by ginger juice. l Wheat grass juice is used as an enema. It helps detoxify the walls of the piles. It can be mixed with spinach and lime. l Bitter gourd juice is used as an anti-diabetic medicine. It also helps in purifying the blood. l Bottle gourd juice is used in the treatment of stomach acidity, indigestion, ulcers, epilepsy and other nervous diseases.

Diet for diabetics

A balanced prudent diet coupled with an active lifestyle is the best way to keep the sugar level in control, says Nita Mehta

Obesity is a great risk factor for diabetes. Omentum fat (belly fat) contributes to diabetes by making it difficult to get glucose inside the cell and let insulin do what it does best — deliver glucose to the cells for absorption. Simply being over weight, especially having a waist greater then 37″ for women and 40″ for men, makes your body less sensitive to insulin, leaving the glucose to float around in your blood. Omentum fat is also selfish, it uses up the insulin so it can’t do its job. A study shows that omentum fat sucks up a quarter of the insulin that passes through the blood supply. For a diabetic person it is important to know how much and what kind of carbohydrate is eaten in a meal. Carbohydrates are the first to get converted into glucose. There are some carbohydrates which instantly get converted to glucose and suddenly raise the blood sugar level. These are bad carbohydrates and include sugar and refined cereals like maida and white bread and polished white rice. Since refined food contains no fibre which means the calories are released easily and blood sugar level rises swiftly, excess intake of refined carbohydrates can cause diabetes. There are good carbohydrates too which are absorbed slowly into the blood stream and get converted to glucose and give rise to a gradual rise in blood sugar levels, making it easier for diabetics to adjust to the changes in blood glucose levels. Good carbohydrates are rich in fibre and include whole grain cereals like whole wheat flour (atta), wheat porridge (dalia) Lots of people tend to think that abstinence from certain food is the best way to deal with diabetes. Diabetics need to be aware of the kind of sugar present in different food and manage their intake judiciously.

Courtesy : Times of India

Health Tips

Dairy products such as cream, milk, cottage cheese and whole cheese need to be consumed in low fat versions. Sandwich meats, margarine, nuts, sauces and butter need to be taken in small portions. Majority of them are available in the lower versions of fat such as mayonnaise, fat free cheeses and substitute butter.

Another important factor that needs to be considered while embarking on health care is to quit smoking. It is four decade since smoking was considered as harmful for the health. Since then, most people  have reduced the tobacco intake. Currently, the world is witnessing an increasing trend of excessive smoking amongst the teens and the adolescents.

Stress has become the major decisive factor in workplace environment. Stress busters come in numerous forms. One such technique that would help in such situations is to embark on positive thinking. Individuals need to spend 30 minutes of their time doing something which they like. This includes visiting a friend, reading a good book, playing with the dog, watching a funny movie and listening to a soothing music. Meditation has also proved advantages in easing stress and calming the nerves.

Other important Tips

Healthy foods also play a vital role in regulating the health of individuals. A good protein rich supplement would be the perfect option. Also, drinking fruit juices both in the morning and evening would fulfill the daily vitamin requirement of the body. Vitamins are known to be good stress busters.

Excessive drinking of alcohol would be detrimental to the health of the person. While current studies have indicated that a glass of wine or drink each day can help prevent heart disease, excessive intake could lead to other health ailments such as cancer, kidney disease and liver disease.

Proper disciplinary following of health tips would make a person as fit as a fiddle.

Courtesy : http://www.allhealthonline.com

AllHealthOnline.com Redesigned

The current world population as of the beginning of 2008 has already reached above the 6.6 billion mark. Of this number, a significant percentage belongs to countries where there is little or no access to the proper medical help to maintain the health of its citizens. In this regard, you can probably already understand how essential living healthy can be.

Living healthy not only insures the absence of diseases, but it also allows a person to live longer, recover from environmental stresses faster, and to have an overall happier disposition in life. In short, if you live a life of health, you can enjoy it more with the people you love.

All Health Online aims to provide you with pertinent and updated medical information on several health issues that are a big concern today. Currently, government organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration are continually performing studies and trials to determine the best options for the prevention and treatment of diseases and other health conditions. You will find several useful pieces of information from the many articles posted on this site, including data from other organizations such as the American Cancer Society, and also medical publications.

It is true that one of the first things to do when attempting to overcome a disease is to know all there is to know about it. Knowledge can be a powerful thing, and reading up on causes, statistics, symptoms, and treatment options can be an effective tool in battling many health complications, as well as preventing them from happening in the first place. Both mental disorders and physical conditions are rampant, and they can happen to almost anyone, and often without warning.

It is well known that children are more susceptible to disease as compared to adults, which is why preventive medicine should be of high priority. As you go through the causes and symptoms of many health conditions, you better understand ways of dealing with it, whether or not it happens to you, or to someone in your family. Note that children require different forms of treatment and types of medication depending on their condition. A lot more on this can be found from the health articles on All Health Online.

Also, keep in mind how to perform maintenance on the body, especially following a medical condition or some form of medical treatment. Families should begin to establish healthy routines, such as exercise and the proper diet. One can not stress enough why health is wealth.

Hopefully, the articles provided for you by All Health Online will be more than just informative or entertaining. You might be surprised at how some symptoms can be indicators of more than just one condition, so it pays to be in the know. Learning about several treatment options can also assist you in determining a method for dealing with a condition. Furthermore, because of the advances in the field of medicine, more promising solutions to severe conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and other diseases are being found.

Visit http://www.allhealthonline.com

Which hair colour suits your skin tone?

Hair experts advise that an individual must keep their skin tone in mind before going in for a hair colour. Here are a few tips: For dark skin: It is important to respect the nature of the hair. Colours recommended include dark brown, reddish brown and warm brown. For tanned skin: Go for cinnamon, tobacco, cashew nuts, gold blond or cold blonde. Both fit well. You can even go for an orange or red tone. Fair skin: It is important to avoid red tones or shades, instead go for some warm shades of brown.
With inputs from Jerome Oberhauser, colour bar specialist

Drunken driving may prove fatal

Alcohol impairs almost every aspect of the brain’s information and thus alcohol-impaired drivers require more time to read street signs or respond to traffic signals, says Dr H S Chhabra

It is established that alcohol impairs one’s ability to drive safely. At a blood alcohol concentration of .08%, drivers are 11 times more likely to have a crash than drivers under no influence of alcohol. Road accidents under influence of alcohol kill someone every 31 minutes and injure someone every two minutes in US. In India, alcohol abuse contributes to 30-50% of road accidents. Alcohol affects several skills necessary for driving. It only takes low to moderate blood alcohol concentrations (.03 to .05%) to interfere with voluntary eye movements and impairs the eyes’ ability to rapidly track a moving target. It also affects eye-tohand reaction time, affecting steering skills. Alcohol impairs almost every aspect of the brain’s informationprocessing ability. The permitted blood alcohol level in India is 0.03%. Though the number of drinks consumed is a poor measure of intoxication, generally the consumption of two standard drinks of alcohol (containing a total of 20g) by an average person will increase blood alcohol concentration roughly by 0.05%. The most common method of determining alcohol concentration is by measuring alcohol in an exhaled sample of breath. As per National Committee on Injury Prevention and Control, blood alcohol testing when crashes result in injury is mandatory. Alcohol affects people differently. Some people can experience signs of impairment at 0.02%, whereas others may not experience it until 0.05%. The only safe driving limit is 0%.

Home remedies for nausea

You can use a fresh piece of ginger in your tea for relief.
A simple and the best way to ease nausea is to vomit.
Morning sickness is a very common feature among pregnant women. To avoid morning sickness, mix one tablespoon apple cider vinegar with one tablespoon honey. Mix it in cold water and have it before going to bed.
Carbonated beverages such as soda are frequently used to suppress morning sickness or nausea associated with stomach flu. It is important to take small sips in order to avoid further upsetting the stomach.
Having few teaspoons of wheatgerm mixed with milk every hour may help you bid farewell to the nausea from morning sickness.
After boiling 1/2 cup of rice in one cup of water for 10-20 minutes, consume the rice water after draining the rice from it.
You should consume 1/2 teaspoon grounded cumin seeds to get relief.
Peppermint or camomile tea is capable of getting rid of the nauseating feeling.
You can have a mild tea or gingerale to help soothe your stomach. You can also have slippery elm, red raspberry as well as herbal candies.
Consume 1-2 tablespoon of any non-carbonated syrup will help bring relief to your system. These syrup formulas contain carbohydrates that help cool down the stomach.
You can treat it by having two capsules of gingerroot. It will give you quick relief, depending how severe your nausea is.

Its not just about looks anymore

An upcoming social event, emulating your favourite star, being able to fit into the latest fashion-wear; all used to be the main (well let’s be honest, most times the only) motivating factors that could make one exercise.

Well, not anymore it seems. In recent times, it’s becoming alarmingly common to hear of a relative, friend, colleague who has had a health breakdown as a result of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and acute depression to severe cases of collapses due to a heart attack. The really worrying factor? Many of these individuals are only in their 30s and 40s.

Our current lifestyles, more often than not, leave us feeling exhausted with tight muscles and an aching back along with a stressed state of mind. Now, compare that to the energised sensation that you are left with after a walk in the park, a swim, a game of tennis, a workout in the gym or a dance class. These activities leave you feeling good about yourself. And therein lies the underlying new-age reason to exercise.

Increasingly, people are looking towards exercise to provide them with not just the traditional benefits of weight-loss and/or muscle gain, but also as a means to de-stress and enjoy themselves. Making (any form of) exercise a part of your day can get you through the day more productively while feeling less stressed.

Even a daily short bout of 20-to-30 minutes can have a beneficial effect on your heart and help control lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. Back and neck problems can be taken care of with exercise programs such as yoga, pilates, tai chi.
There are varied dance-based fitness programmes from classical to contemporary to salsa, Bollywood and belly dancing to hip hop, that can provide a fun and interesting way to get your exercise. Unfortunately, we still manage to find excuses not to exercise.

I ENJOY THE WORKOUTS BUT JUST DON’T HAVE THE TIME:

You really don’t need to block off one or more hours to get your exercise in. Whether it’s just a 20-minute session or walking a couple of blocks, or taking the stairs at work, it all adds to your daily exercise and that’s where you can start.

I DON’T LIKE WORKING OUT IN GYMS WITH MACHINES, ETC:

If you find that you do not enjoy working out indoors or find gyms intimidating, there are various other options. Go for a
walk, swim or play a game of tennis or badminton. Try out a dance or yoga class. Pilates workouts are unlike typical gym workouts and have a strong mindbody focus.

I’VE NEVER EXERCISED BEFORE AND MAY LAND UP HURTING MYSELF:

Not having exercised before is not a reason to not start now. In fact, this is the very reason to start exercising program. Get your doctor’s approval and when you start your exercise, do so slowly and under the guidance of a trained professional who will be able to tailor a fitness program based on your needs and fitness levels while monitoring your progress.

SOME REASONS TO EXERCISE

• Helps lose weight and reduce body fat
• Increases muscular strength and tones general appearance
• Increases stamina
• De-stresses; improves sleep
• Improves functional fitness
• Reduces health risks
• Improves fitness levels
• Reduces injury
• Increases body’s immunity