Month: May 2010

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Healthy Tips

‘Green’ Exercise Quickly ‘Boosts Mental Health’

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Just five minutes of exercise in a “green space” such as a park can boost mental health, researchers claim.

There is growing evidence that combining activities such as walking or cycling with nature boosts well-being.

In the latest analysis, UK researchers looked at evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem.

The study in the Environmental Science and Technology journal suggested the strongest impact was on young people.

The research looked at many different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail.

The biggest effect was seen within just five minutes.

With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were clearly apparent but were of a smaller magnitude, the study found.

Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes – physical and mental – were particularly strong in the young and the mentally-ill.

Green and blue

A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water – such as a lake or river.

Study leader Jules Pretty, a researcher at the University of Essex, said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from “green exercise”.

“We would like to see all doctors considering exercise as a treatment where appropriate”… says
Paul Farmer, Mind.

“Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health.”

He also said exercise programmes outdoors could benefit youth offenders.

“A challenge for policy makers is that policy recommendations on physical activity are easily stated but rarely adopted widely.”

Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said the research is yet further evidence that even a short period of green exercise can provide a low cost and drug-free therapy to help improve mental wellbeing.

“It’s important that people experiencing depression can be given the option of a range of treatments, and we would like to see all doctors considering exercise as a treatment where appropriate.”

Mind runs a grant scheme for local environmental projects to help people with mental illness get involved in outdoor activities.

You may click to see :->
Green spaces ‘improve health’
Green spaces ‘reduce health gap’
Tree-lined streets ‘cut asthma’
Putting a spring in your step
Urban planning needs green rethink


Source BBC NEWS: May 1st. 2010

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Health Quaries

Some Health Quaries & Answers

No saccharin, please :
___________________
Q: I am diabetic and use a branded sugar substitute in coffee, milk and juices. I am breast feeding and want to know if it is safe for my baby.

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A: Any medication or chemicals that you consume crosses over into the breast milk and reaches the baby. Common artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame are classified by the US Food and Drug Administration as class “C”. This means they should not be used during pregnancy or lactation unless they are absolutely essential to the health and survival of the mother. This is not the case with artificial sweeteners. Human beings are very adaptable. You may try unsweetened coffee, tea and juice. That is healthier for you as well as the baby.

Thyroid pill :-
____________
Q: I was not conceiving and then was diagnosed as having hypothyroidism. Once I started taking Eltroxin, I became pregnant. Do I need to continue the medicine?

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A: Eltroxin needs to be continued all your life as your thyroid gland is not producing enough eltroxin for your own needs. The blood hormonal levels need to be monitored during pregnancy. Eltroxin can cross the placenta to the baby. Too little will affect you adversely and too much will be harmful to the baby. Your baby needs to have a thyroid test soon after birth. The eltroxin you are taking will not affect the baby’s test results.

My feet burn :-
______________
Q: The soles of my feet burn every night. I leave them uncovered but that does not help much. My sleep is disturbed and I am left feeling irritable all day.

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A: Diabetes can cause burning feet. So can a disease in the blood vessels, kidney or liver failure, vitamin deficiency or alcoholism. Remove your shoes and socks as soon as you return from work and soak your feet in tepid water. Take calcium and vitamin supplements. If there is no improvement in a week, consult a physician.

Hearing loss
______________
Q: I feel that my son is becoming deaf. He does not respond when he is called. He seems to live in a world of his own. The problem started after we bought him a new mobile phone.

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A: The new mobile phone may have an MP3 player which might be the reason your son is glued to it. If he has been using “in-ear” earphones at a high volume for long periods of time, it is possible he has developed some hearing loss. The condition can be evaluated.

Your son may become socially withdrawn as he has his music and SMS friends. This is now an international social problem. Encourage him to be more physically active. Also, you can consider spending more time talking to him and listening to what he has to say.

Obstetric care :-
_____________
Q: My wife is pregnant with our first child and I am at a loss as to how to deal with things. I want a good hospital so that the mother and child are safe.

A: Before choosing a hospital (and an obstetrician) you need to scout a few places to see where you are likely to receive the best care. Preferably, there should be several duty doctors following a “shift” system. A single doctor, however good, cannot be “on call” night and day. If he or she is tired or busy, you might wind up with an unnecessary Caesarian section. Also check if the hospital has a paediatrician.

Ear block :-
___________

Q: My left ear gets blocked whenever I swim. I have had the ear checked and there is no wax blocking it.

A: After getting out of the pool, tilt your head to the left and hop on the left leg a few times. This usually does the trick. If that doesn’t work, hold your nose, close your mouth and breathe out through the nose.

Fractured collar bone:-
___________________
Q: My four-year-old grandson fell down a couple of stairs and fractured his collar bone. The doctor says it will heal and gave him just a cloth sling. Is this enough?

A: Collar bone fractures are common in babies, children and adolescents. The only treatment is rest, a figure-of-eight bandage, a sling and analgesics for the pain. Healing usually takes around 12 weeks but a painless bump may persist for many months.

Active brain :-
_____________
Q: Is there any way I can keep my brain active? I am scared of dementia.

A: Several studies show that memory games, memorising poetry and regularly doing Sudoku puzzles keep the mind active and prevent deterioration of the grey matter. Most newspapers regularly feature puzzles. You can also access them on the Internet.

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Indian Spinach (Basella alba)

Botanical Name :Basella alba
Family : Basellaceae
Genus : Basella
Synonyms :   Basella rubra – L.

Common Names:   Malabar spinach, white stem Malabar spinach, Ceylon spinach, Indian spinach, white vine spinach, vine spinach, Malabar nightshade, country spinach, bertalha vermelha, Malabarspinat, basela branca, bertalha branca, basela vermelha, melao de soldado, sabao de soldado.
Vernacular Names:
English: Malabar-, Malabar climbing-, Ceylon-, Indian-, East-Indian-, Surinam-, Chinese-, Vietnamese- or buffalo spinach (although it is not closely related to spinach), as well as Malabar nightshade or broad bologi.
Bengali: Pui shak
Oriya: Poi saaga
Konkani: Valchi bhaji
Kannada: Basale soppu
Telugu: Bachhali
Tamil: Kodip pasaLi .
Marathi: Mayalu
Filipino: Alugbati
Vietnamese: Mong toi
Other: Poi baagi, calaloo, alugbati

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Species: B. alba


Habitat : Range E. Asia. Africa.   Moist places in hedges to elevations of about 500 metres in Nepal .Cultivated Beds;

Description:

A coarse, trailing or twining vine with short-petioled, cordate, and succulent leaves. It has black berries. USES Boiled as a green vegetable. The berries are dried, the pulp ground and used as food coloring.It is a  Short-lived fast-growing, soft-stemmed  Perennial  vine , reaching 10 m in length. Its thick, semi-succulent, heart-shaped leaves have a mild flavour and mucilaginous texture. The stem of the cultivar Basella alba ‘Rubra’ is reddish-purple. it is widely used as a leaf vegetable. Harvest period 55-180 days after transplanting.

click to see the pictures…>…..(01)….(1)……..(2)..…….(3).…..(4)…....(5)..….……

It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in flower from May to September, and the seeds ripen from July to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Cultivation :
Requires a well-drained moisture-retentive soil rich in organic matter and a warm sunny sheltered position. Prefers a sandy loam. Tolerates fairly poor soils but does much better in rich soils. Tolerates high rainfall. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.3 to 7. A frost-tender perennial, it is not hardy outdoors in Britain but can be grown as a spring-sown annual.   A fast growing plant, capable of producing a crop within 70 days from seed in a warm climate, though it requires a minimum daytime temperature of 15°c if it is to keep growing vigorously so it seldom does well outdoors in Britain. It does tolerate low light levels plus night temperatures occasionally falling below 10°c, and so can do well in a cold greenhouse. Plants do not flower if the length of daylight is more than 13 hours per day.   Widely cultivated for its edible leaves in the tropics, there are some named varieties. It is an excellent hot weather substitute for spinach. Some authorities recognize three different species, B. alba, B. rubra and B. cordifolia, they are all treated here as being part of one species.

Propagation
Seed – sow March or April in a warm greenhouse. The seed requires a minimum temperature of 18 – 21°c in order to germinate, it germinates within 10 – 21 days at 20°c, pre-soaking the seed for 24 hours in warm water shortens the germination time. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots of fairly rich compost and grow them on fast, planting them out after the last expected frosts. Stem cuttings.  These can be taken in the late summer, overwintered in a greenhouse and then be planted out in late spring or early summer.

Cultivars
‘Eclipse’
Producing a crop in 55 – 60 days in warm areas, this is a very early cultivar producing small and compact plants that can be planted close together. The leaves are thick and medium to deep green in colour.   Yields very well under warm humid conditions.
‘Red’
The leaves, stems and flowers are tinged with red. The colour is lost when the plant is cooked and so it is best used in salads.

Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Leaves.

Edible Uses: Colouring; Tea.

Leaves and stem tips – raw or cooked. A pleasant mild spinach flavour, the leaves can be used as a spinach or added to salads. Do not overcook the leaves or they will become slimy. The mucilaginous qualities of the plant make it an excellent thickening agent in soups, stews etc where it can be used as a substitute for okra, Abelmoschatus esculentus. A nutritional analysis of the leaves is available. An infusion of the leaves is a tea substitute. The purplish sap from the fruit is used as a food colouring in pastries and sweets. The colour is enhanced by adding some lemon juice.

Typical of leaf vegetables, Malabar spinach is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium. It is low in calories by volume, but high in protein per calorie. The succulent mucilage is a particularly rich source of soluble fiber. Among many other possibilities, Malabar spinach may be used to thicken soups or stir-fries with garlic and chili peppers.

In Bangladesh it is widely used to cook with Hilsa fish.

The vegetable is used in Chinese cuisine. Its many names include flowing water vegetable.

In Vietnam, particularly the north, it is cooked with crab meat, luffa and jute to make soup.

In Orissa, India, it is used to make Curries and Saaga (Any type of dish made from green leafy vegetables is called as Saaga in Orissa). In Maharashtra, India, it is used to make bhaji.

In Africa, the mucilaginous cooked shoots are most commonly used.

Malabar spinach can be found at many Chinese/Vietnamese/Korean/Indian grocery stores, as well as farmers’ markets

Constituents:
Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.

Leaves (Dry weight)
275 Calories per 100g
Water: 0%
Protein: 20g; Fat: 3.5g; Carbohydrate: 54g; Fibre: 9g; Ash: 19g;
Minerals – Calcium: 3000mg; Phosphorus: 0mg; Iron: 0mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
Vitamins – A: 50mg; Thiamine (B1): 0.7mg; Riboflavin (B2): 1.8mg; Niacin: 7.5mg; B6: 0mg; C: 1200mg;
:
Medicinal Actions &  Uses
Antidote; Aperient; Astringent; Demulcent; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Laxative; Rubefacient.

Astringent – the cooked roots are used in the treatment of diarrhoea. Laxative – the cooked leaves and stems are used. The flowers are used as an antidote to poisons . A paste of the root is applied to swellings and is also used as a rubefacient. The plant is febrifuge, its juice is a safe aperient for pregnant women and a decoction has been used to alleviate labour. The leaf juice is a demulcent, used in cases of dysentery. It is also diuretic, febrifuge and laxative. The leaf juice is used in Nepal to treat catarrh. A paste of the leaves is applied externally to treat boils.

Other Uses
Dye.

A red dye is obtained from the juice of the fruits. It has been used as a rouge and also as a dye for official seals.

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

Resources:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Basella+alba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basella_alba
http://www.greenchem.biz/Images/ProductImages/pageproducts.php?no=17
http://www.friendsschoolplantsale.com/archives/date/2009/03/

http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/cropView?id=504

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News on Health & Science

Hair-Raising Tale

Scientists have discovered that activating a gene can trigger hair growth.
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This must be music to the ears of the millions of men and women who fret day in and day out about hair loss. The findings of a team of researchers from Sweden’s Umeå University that appeared recently in the journal PLoS Genetics offers a strand of hope for balding people in the not-so-distant future. The team found that activating a gene called Lhx2 can lead to increased hair growth.

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“I think that our study can have practical implications in the future since we know a way of inducing hair growth,” Leif Carlsson, the Umeå molecular medicine scientist who led the study,  .

Hair is formed in hair follicles — complex mini organs in the skin that specialise in the task of hair formation. The follicles normally form when the child is in the mother’s womb. To ensure the continuous generation of hair, each hair follicle goes through three cyclical phases: recession, rest and growth. The length of the growth phase determines the length of the hair. For instance, the growth phase for scalp hair lasts for a number of years, while that for eyebrows lasts for only a few months.

Hair formation ceases after the growth phase. This is the recession phase when the rate of growth of hair reduces, finally entering a period of rest. After the rest period, a new growth period begins and the old hair is ejected from the body and lost. The reason for this complex system has still not been understood, but it has also been seen that hair growth adjusts itself to seasons.

In the present study, Carlsson’s team found that protein expressed by the gene Lhx2 plays an important role in regulating hair formation. The Lhx2 gene is active only during the growth phase and is turned off during the rest period. The studies, conducted on mice, showed that when the Lhx2 gene was switched off, the hair follicles could not produce hair. They also demonstrated that once the gene was switched on, the growth phase was activated and this, in turn, triggered the formation of hair.

Another significant, and perhaps more useful, finding from the studies was that the expression of the Lhx2 gene can be manipulated even after birth, and that it is sufficient to activate the growth phase and stimulate hair growth.

To be sure, this is not the first time that scientists have busted the myth that hair follicles can be formed only during the development of an embryo. Scientists led by dermatologist George Cotsarelis, at the Pennsylvania University School of Medicine in the US, had put to rest that half-a-century-old belief by making mice, with deep cuts in the their skin, grow hair. Their study, which was reported in the journal Nature in 2007, showed that new hair follicles are formed in a mouse when it is wounded deep enough (nearly five millimetres).

But, importantly, the new follicles were slightly different from the ones that develop during the embryo stage. In embryos, follicles are produced by skin stem cells, which had very little to do with follicular development in the wounded mouse. Instead, the epidermal cells — that give rise to the outermost layer of the skin — were reprogrammed to make hair follicles. The instructions for this, they found, came from a class of proteins called “wnts”. The wnts proteins are known to play a role in hair follicle development in an embryo.

Regarding the latest study Carlsson said, “We have to find clinically acceptable ways to turn this gene on. But finding such drugs may take many years. Our next goal is to systematically screen for compounds that will do this trick.”

That trick will be a blessing for the estimated half the world population which experiences hair thinning by the age of 50.

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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Herbs & Plants

Wild Indigo (Baptisia lactea)

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Botanical Name : Baptisia lactea
Family :               Leguminosae
Genus : Baptisia
Synonyms : Baptisia alba macrophylla – (Larisey.)Isely., Baptisia leucantha – Torr.&A.Gray.

Habitat: Range South-eastern N. America .   Sandy pine woods, prairies and river banks.

Description:
It is a Perennial  upright bushy plant with attractive foliage. White blossoms are arranged in long erect plumes. Seed heads turn a deep indigo color providing winter interest.

Upright bushy plants with attractive foliage. White blossoms are arranged in long erect plumes. Seed heads turn a deep indigo color providing winter interest.

Height: 2-4′

Color: Flowers white with purple splotches

Flowering Time: June

Habitat: Moderate light. Mesic to moist soils.

Rate of Spread: Slow Propagation:

Seed: Collect Sept.-Oct. Clean seeds to avoid insect damage. 3-month stratification, scarification increases germination. Darker seeds germinate better than yellow seeds. Plant spring.

Vegetative: Division in fall, but difficult. Transplant seedlings at two years in spring.

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Miscellaneous: Formerly Baptisia leucantha
It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower in May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)It can fix Nitrogen.
The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Cultivation :
Prefers a deep, well-drained neutral to slightly acid soil in full sun[188, 200]. Grows freely in a loamy soil[1]. Plants are hardy to about -20°c. Some modern works treat this species as a variety of B. alba, naming it Baptisia alba macrophylla. Somewhat shy flowering in British gardens. Plants have a very deep root system and dislike root disturbance, they should be left alone once they are established. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Propagation:

Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed should be pre-soaked for 24 hours in warm water and then sown in a cold frame in late winter or early spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer or following spring. Division in spring[188]. Larger divisions can be planted straight into their permanent positions whilst smaller clumps are best potted up and kept in a cold frame until they are growing away well.

Medicinal Actions &  Uses
Cathartic; Emetic; Laxative.

Known Hazards : The plant is potentially toxic.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Baptisia+lactea
http://www.webresults.net/gardener/index.htm
http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/animals_plants/plants/ilgallery/ThePlants/BGenera/BapLac/BapLac.htmlhttp://www.stonesiloprairie.com/catalog/i74.html

http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/animals_plants/plants/ilgallery/ThePlants/BGenera/BapLac/BapLac.html

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