Living a Spiritual Life :-
Throughout the journey from birth to death, many people choose to question life, strive for improvement, seek out knowledge, and search for the divine. Simply put, this is the essence of spirituality. One’s spiritual practice can take on many forms, because embracing the spiritual is a very personal pursuit. While many people do relate their spirituality to a God or Goddess, this quest for the divine, or oneness with the universe, always springs from within. It doesn’t matter where you find your spiritual path. We are all fundamentally spiritual beings and the essence of that lies in knowing one’s true self and finding a peace that comes from within rather than the outside world. It is in remembering this that we awaken to our personal path.
The spiritual path springs forth from a daily routine that reaffirms our personal connection with a purpose or a way of life. Practicing compassion, gratitude, appreciation, forgiveness, generosity, meditation, and taking care of one’s wellbeing can all be a part of one’s spiritual life. If you are new to exploring your personal spirituality, remember that this is a process. You may want to spend a few moments each day giving yourself a spiritual gift. Try a new form of meditation, visit a sanctuary, or explore a specific deity.
Accepting the importance of spirituality can be a healthy decision, because a spiritual practice tends to include habits that promote healthy living. Take the time to carefully determine the action, thought, and ritual that most speaks to your soul. Remember that your most profound spiritual experiences may also come from the simple intricacies that make up your life. See the interconnectedness of all things. As you explore your “inner work,” you will be walking your spiritual path and feeling your oneness with the universe.
If you’re new to yoga, here’s a way to modify the classic chair pose. Practice half-chair for a while before progressing to the more challenging full chair position. This gives you a chance to learn proper technique without developing bad habits.
Step 1 Stand with your feet together and with your hands by your sides. As you inhale, sweep your arms up and bend your knees. Sit back on your heels with your hips moving behind your heels. Grasp your forearms above your head. Drop your shoulders down and away from your ears and look forward. Make sure you keep your heels on the floor with your knees together and your abdominals pulled in. Take three to six slow full breaths. Come out of the pose by straightening your legs and lowering your arms.
Step 2 As you feel more competent and become comfortable doing the half chair, continue to squat deeper toward the floor. Straighten your arms overhead, pointing your fingertips toward the ceiling. Remember to relax your shoulders down. Sit as low as you can with your knees together and your heels on the floor. Hold for three to six full breaths.
Other names: Octacosanol, 1-Octacosanol, N-Octacosanol, Octacosyl Alcohol
Definition:
Policosanol (or polycosanol) is the generic term for a natural extract of plant waxes. It is used as a nutritional supplement to lower (bad) LDL cholesterol and increase (good) HDL cholesterol and to help prevent atherosclerosis. Independent clinical trials have failed to prove its efficacy.
Physical properties
Policosanol is a mixture of a few fatty alcohols derived from the waxes of such plants as sugar cane and yams, as well as beeswax. The most prevalent alcohol in policosanol is octacosanol, followed by triacontanol.(Formula CH3-(CH2)n-CH2OH n=24-34 )
There is a much lower concentration of several other fatty alcohols: behenyl alcohol, lignoceryl alcohol, ceryl alcohol, 1-heptacosanol, 1-nonacosanol, 1-dotriacontanol, and geddyl alcohol.
Policosanol is marketed by Cuba as a natural way to treat high cholesterol levels.
Modulation of HMG-CoA reductase and bile acid absorption inhibition have been proposed as mechanisms.
Policosanol, a dietary supplement, is a mixture of alcohols isolated from Cuban sugarcane wax. It contains about 60% octacosanol.
Because patent issue and the US trade embargo against Cuba, sugarcane policosanol is not widely available in the United States. Instead, policosanol products sold in the US are generally derived from beeswax and wheat germ.
Studies
Published studies have come to conflicting conclusions regarding the efficacy of policosanol in lowering LDL (i.e., “bad cholesterol”) or raising HDL (i.e., “good cholesterol”). Despite a number of studies funded by the Cuban government (which also produces and markets the drug), no independent clinical trials have found any evidence of the efficacy of Policosanol.
Evidence for Policosanol
Policosanol has been touted as a dietary supplement that can lower cholesterol as well as statin drugs, without the side effects. Studies indicate that it works by inhibiting cholesterol formation in the liver.
However, almost all of the 80+ double-blind studies on sugarcane policosanol were conducted by a single research group in Cuba that owns the policosanol patent.
An independent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2006 did not find any benefit of policosanol, even at high doses, on cholesterol profile. This finding has casted some doubt on the reliability of the Cuban research on policosanol.
Dosage Information
A typical dosage of policosanol used in studies has been 5 to 10 mg two times a day. Studies generally found that it can take up to two months to notice benefits.
Side Effects of Policosanol
Although the reliability of the Cuban studies has been questioned, side effects of policosanol reported in the trials have generally been mild and short-term. They have included indigestion, skin rash, headache, insomnia, and weight loss.
Possible Drug Interactions
Policosanol may increase the effect of medications that interfere with blood clotting or anti-platelet drugs, such as aspirin, warfarin (Coumadin), heparin, clopidogrel (Plavix), ticlopidine (Ticlid), or pentoxifylline (Trental), or supplements such as garlic, ginkgo, or high-dose vitamin E.
Policosanol may increase the effects and side effects of levodopa, a medication used for Parkinson’s disease.
Production
Policosanol (PPG) is produced, promoted and studied extensively in Cuba, where pharmaceutical research and sugar cane farms both exist in abundance. The supplement is used as a panacea by some Cubans.
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Gentianales Genus: Morinda Species: M. citrifolia Common Names:commonly known as great morinda, Indian mulberry, beach mulberry, Tahitian noni, cheese fruit or noni (from Hawaiian) is a tree in the family Rubiaceae. Habitat: Morinda citrifolia is native to Southeast Asia but has been extensively spread throughout the Indian subcontinent, Pacific islands, French Polynesia, and recently the Dominican Republic. Tahiti remains the most prominent growing location.
Description:
It grows to a height of up to 10 feet high, and the leaves are dark green and oval shaped. The flower heads grow to become mature yellow fruit that have a strong odor.
Click to see the picture of the fruit
Noni grows in shady forests as well as on open rocky or sandy shores. It reaches maturity in about 18 months and then yields between 4-8 kg of fruit every month throughout the year. It is tolerant of saline soils, drought conditions, and secondary soils. It is therefore found in a wide variety of habitats: volcanic terrains, lava-strewn coasts, and clearings or limestone outcrops. It can grow up to 9 m tall, and has large, simple, dark green, shiny and deeply veined leaves.
The plant flowers and fruits all year round and produces a small white flower. The fruit is a multiple fruit that has a pungent odor when ripening, and is hence also known as cheese fruit or even vomit fruit. It is oval and reaches 4-7 cm in size. At first green, the fruit turns yellow then almost white as it ripens. It contains many seeds. It is sometimes called starvation fruit. Despite its strong smell and bitter taste, the fruit is nevertheless eaten as a famine food and, in some Pacific islands, even a staple food, either raw or cooked. Southeast Asians and Australian Aborigines consume the fruit raw with salt or cook it with curry. The seeds are edible when roasted.
The noni is especially attractive to weaver ants, which make nests out of the leaves of the tree. These ants protect the plant from some plant-parasitic insects. The smell of the fruit also attracts fruit bats, which aid in dispersing the seeds.
Propagation of Noni
Noni is propagated either from seed or stem cuttings. The primary disadvantage of seed propagation is that without seed treatment, germination takes 6-12 months or more, whereas stem cuttings can be rooted in approximately 1-2 months. The disadvantage of producing plants vegetatively from cuttings is that they may not be as strong and disease-resistant as seedlings, and the trunk and branches may split and break during the first years of fruit production.
Nutrients
Nutritional information for noni fruit is reported by the College of Tropical Agriculture, University of Hawaii at Manoa who published analyses of fruit powder and pure juice.
Macronutrients
Analyzed as a whole fruit powder, noni fruit has excellent levels of carbohydrates and dietary fiber, providing 55% and 100% of the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI), respectively, in a 100 g serving. A good source of protein (12% DRI), noni pulp is low in total fats (4% DRI]).
These macronutrients evidently reside in the fruit pulp, as noni juice has sparse amounts of macronutrients.
Micronutrients
The main micronutrient features of noni pulp powder include exceptional vitamin C content (10x DRI) and substantial amounts of niacin (vitamin B3), iron and potassium. Vitamin A, calcium and sodium are present in moderate amounts.
When noni juice alone is analyzed and compared to pulp powder, only vitamin C is retained at a high level, 42% of DRI.
Nutrient analyses for a major brand of noni juice (Tahitian Noni Juice, TNJ) were published in 2002 by the Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission on Health and Consumer Protection during a test for public safety of TNJ. TNJ ingredients include noni purée and juice concentrates from grapes and blueberries.
For antimicrobial purposes, TNJ must be subjected to the high temperatures of pasteurization which essentially nullifies most of the nutrient content of the natural purée.
Excepting vitamin C content at 31% of DRI in each 100g, TNJ has limited nutritional content. 100g of juice provides 8% of the DRI for carbohydrates, only traces of other macronutrients and low or trace levels of 10 essential vitamins, 7 essential dietary minerals and 18 amino acids.
Although the most significant nutrient feature of noni pulp powder or juice is its high vitamin C content, this level in TNJ provides only about half the vitamin C of a raw navel orange. Sodium levels in TNJ (about 3% of DRI) are multiples of those in an orange. Although the potassium content appears relatively high for noni, this total is only about 3% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance and so would not be considered excessive. TNJ is otherwise similar in micronutrient content to a raw orange.
Phytochemicals
The history of published medical research on noni phytochemicals numbers only around a total of 120 reports which began appearing in the 1950s. Just since 2000, over 100 publications on noni have been published in medical literature (reviewed in August 2007), defining a relatively young research field. Noni research is at a preliminary stage, as it is mainly still in the laboratory as in vitro or basic animal experiments.
Noni fruit contains phytochemicals for which there are no established DRI values. Examples:
lignans – a group of phytoestrogens having biological activities shown by in vitro experiments. oligo- and polysaccharides – long-chain sugar molecules that serve a prebiotic function as dietary fiber fermentable by colonic bacteria, yielding short chain fatty acids with numerous potential health properties not yet defined by scientific research on noni
flavonoids – phenolic compounds such as rutin and asperulosidic acid, common in several Rubiaceae plants iridoids – secondary metabolites found in many plants
trisaccharide fatty acid esters, “noniosides” – resulting from combination of an alcohol and an acid in noni fruit
free fatty acids – most prominent in noni fruit are caprylic and hexanoic acids, responsible for unique pungent (cheese-like) aroma of ripe noni fruit. scopoletin – may have antibiotic activities; research is preliminary
catechin and epicatechin. beta-sitosterol – a plant sterol with potential for anti-cholesterol activity not yet proven in human research damnacanthal – a potentially toxic anthraquinone, putatively an inhibitor of HIV viral proteins alkaloids – naturally occurring amines from plants. Some internet references mention xeronine or proxeronine as important noni constituents. However, as no reports on either of these substances exist in published medical literature, the terms are scientifically unrecognized. Further, chemical analysis of commercially processed juice did not reveal presence of any alkaloids.
Although there is evidence from in vitro studies and laboratory models for bioactivity of each of the above phytochemicals, the research remains at best preliminary and too early to conclude anything about human health benefits provided by noni or its juice. Furthermore, these phytochemicals are not unique to noni, as nearly all exist in various plant foods.
Laboratory experiments demonstrated that dietary noni juice increased physical endurance in mice. A pilot study in distance runners showed increased endurance capacity following daily intake of noni juice over three weeks, an effect the authors attributed to increased antioxidant status.
Uses:
Although noni’s reputation for uses in folk medicine extends over centuries, no medical applications as those discussed below have been verified by modern science.
In China, Samoa, Japan, and Tahiti, various parts of the tree (leaves, flowers, fruits, bark, roots) serve as tonics and to contain fever, to treat eye and skin problems, gum and throat problems as well as constipation, stomach pain, or respiratory difficulties. In Malaysia, heated noni leaves applied to the chest are believed to relieve coughs, nausea, or colic.
The noni fruit is taken, in Indochina especially, for asthma, lumbago, and dysentery. As for external uses, unripe fruits can be pounded, then mixed with salt and applied to cut or broken bones. In Hawaii, ripe fruits are applied to draw out pus from an infected boil. The green fruit, leaves and the root/rhizome have traditionally been used to treat menstrual cramps and irregularities, among other symptoms, while the root has also been used to treat urinary difficulties.
The bark of the great morinda produces a brownish-purplish dye for batik making; on the Indonesian island of Java, the trees are cultivated for this purpose. In Hawaii, yellowish dye is extracted from its root in order to dye cloth. The fruit is used as a shampoo in Malaysia, where it is said to be helpful against head lice.
There have been recent applications also for the use of oil from noni seeds. Noni seed oil is abundant in linoleic acid that may have useful properties when applied topically on skin, e.g., anti-inflammation, acne reduction, moisture retention.
In Surinam and some other countries, the tree serves as a wind-break, as support for vines and as shade for coffee trees.
In traditional Polynesian medicine, noni (Morinda citrifolia) fruit has been used for many health conditions, such as constipation, diarrhea, skin inflammation, infection, and mouth sores. It has an unpleasant odor and taste, so it is believed to be a last resort fruit by many cultures. Manufacturers today sweeten noni juice to improve the taste.
Traditionally, the leaves of the noni tree were used topically for healing wounds.
Noni juice, like the juice of many other fruits, is a source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The antioxidants may help to prevent certain diseases and help slow age-related changes in the body.
Animal studies evaluating the effects of noni suggest that it may have anti-cancer, pain-relieving, and immune system-enhancing effects. However, these studies mostly used extremely high doses that would be difficult to obtain from taking the juice. More importantly, there’s insufficient reliable evidence about the safety or effectiveness of noni for any health condition in humans.
Noni is heavily promoted for a very wide variety of conditions, such as arthritis, atherosclerosis, bladder infections, boils, bowel conditions, burns, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, circulatory weakness, colds, cold sores, constipation, diabetes, drug addiction, eye inflammation, fever, fractures, gastric ulcers, gingivitis, headaches, heart disease, hypertension, improved digestion, immune weakness, indigestion, kidney disease, malaria, menstrual cramps, menstrual disorders, mouth sores, respiratory disorders, ringworm, sinusitis, skin inflammation, sprains, strokes, thrush, and wounds. There is no real evidence, however, that noni is effective for these conditions.
The Noni tree produces a tropical fruit that helps the body heal itself. For over 2000 years, Pacific Islanders have used the juice of the Noni fruit to improve their health in a multitude of ways. Western researchers have begun to confirm this ancient wisdom.
Safety:
There are no formally established side effects of noni juice. Due to the lack of evidence, noni should not be used by pregnant or nursing women, children, or people with liver or kManageidney disease.
Noni juice is high in potassium, so it should be avoided by people with kidney disease or those taking ,potassium-sparing diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers, because it may result in hyperkalemia, the dangerous elevation of potassium levels.
Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Q: All the people in my apartment block are afflicted by sneezing and skin allergies. Recently I discovered that a neighbour rears parrots. Could it be due to this?
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A: Parrots and other birds can cause allergies. Mites that live on the birds’ dander or feathers cause the allergies. The problem will persist as long as the parrots are there. But if they are confined to his apartment, it is unlikely that the allergens will affect all of you. So, before you blame the parrot fancier, please check if there are other allergens in the environment. Many people are allergic to incense sticks, mosquito repellents, burning camphor, or pollen.
Untreated schizophrenia:
Q: My brother has schizophrenia. My parents do not want to have him treated as they are afraid of what our relatives will say if the news leaks out. They are also afraid it will hamper my marriage prospects.
A:Mental illnesses are due to biochemical imbalances in the brain. They are chronic illnesses, like diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis. They require medication, rehabilitation and regular follow up visits to a psychiatrist. Medication is also needed for rectification. Unfortunately 75 per cent of the people do not accept this. The mentally ill are often denied treatment by their families. You need to take a firm stand in this regard and insist on treatment for your brother.
Boils on my face
Q: I get painful boils (not pimples) on my face, and my arms and legs also. After a few days they turn yellow and burst, discharging blood stained yellow pus.
A: Some people carry an organism called Staphylococcus on their skin and in their nose. The bacteria live in harmony with the person. When the skin is injured, they get access to the deeper layers of the skin. They then form these boils.
Bacteria have cell walls that can be broken by certain chemicals like trichlorocarbanilide (TCC). Some soaps like Neko and Dial contain this compound. The total fat content of these soaps is adjusted to be lethal for these bacteria. Bathe twice a day using one of these. On the appearance of a boil, apply a bactericidal ointment like mupirocin or bacitracin after a bath. Apply the same ointment to the nostrils twice a day using buds. Eventually the frequency and intensity of the attacks will reduce.
Low back pain
Q: My mother has terrible backache and the doctor says it is spondolisthesis. Is surgery essential?
A: Spondolisthesis is a term used to describe the slipping forward of the lumbar (back) vertebrae on the sacrum (tailbone). The degree of the slip is measured through CT scans. Surgery is required if it is grade 2 or higher. She can try conservative methods like physiotherapy and a lumbo-sacral support belt initially. As long as she can manage, it may be better to do so as surgery has its own inherent risks. After surgery physical rehabilitation and exercises are essential.
Missing fingers
Q: My daughter was born with the tips of two fingers of her left hand missing. The paediatrician said it is amniotic band syndrome. Will my next child also be affected?
A: The amniotic sac lines the inside of the uterus during pregnancy. The baby floats in this sac in a fluid called amniotic fluid. At times the sac ruptures in a place or two. This results in the formation of fibrous bands in the fluid. As the uterus grows the bands tighten. If it occurs around a finger, that may get severed (congenital amputation). The fingers can be reconstructed through plastic surgery. The condition is non-recurrent and your next child is unlikely to inherit it.
Reconstruction of the fingers with plastic surgery is the remedy.
Martial dad
Q: My father, 70 years, wants to join a Tai-chi class. Is that advisable? I have heard that it is a form of martial art from China which consists of hundreds of combinations of graceful and flowing movements.
A: Taught well by an expert and practised scientifically, Tai Chi improves balance, posture and strength. It provides flexibility and aligns painful arthritic and ageing joints. It also helps focus and improves concentration. Hence it has a positive effect on loss of memory, forgetfulness and mild dementia related to old age. The rhythmic breathing tones circulation, relaxes the mind, eases tension and aids restful sleep at night.
The advantages are many. In short, it is an ideal form of exercise for older people. You should be glad that your father wants to join a class.
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