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Low-Carb Diet Beats Low-Fat Diet

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A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style diet both helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the various weight-loss techniques.

The low-carb diet also improved cholesterol more than the other two, even though some critics had predicted the opposite result.

The two-year study was done in a controlled environment — an isolated nuclear research facility in Israel, where participants received their lunch at a cafeteria (and did not have easy access to fast-food outlets). Each of the 322 participants was assigned to one of three meal plans:

1. The low-fat diet, which restricted calories and cholesterol and focused on low-fat grains, vegetables and fruits as options.
2. The Mediterranean diet, which emphasized poultry, fish, olive oil and nuts.
3. The low-carb diet, which set limits for carbohydrates and urged dieters to choose vegetarian sources of fat and protein.
Although all three approaches achieved weight loss and improved cholesterol, the Mediterranean diet, and especially the low-carb diet, had the most beneficial effects.

Sources:
Washington Post July 17, 2008
The New England Journal of Medicine July 17, 2008, Volume 359:229-241 (Free Full-Text Article)

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Fruits & Vegetables

Amazing Effects of Bananas

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“NEVER PUT BANANA IN THE REFRIGERATOR

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose,fructose and glucose
combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant,
sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas
provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.
No wonder banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can
help us keep fit.
It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial
number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet..

Depression: According to a recent survey
undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain
tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin,known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you
feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills – eat a banana… The
vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate
the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is
extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure.
So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration
has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham
(Middlesex) school were
helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast,break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has
shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist
learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas
in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing
a hangover is to make a banana milkshake,sweetened with honey.The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect
in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between
meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect
bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swellingand irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that
help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute
of Psychology in Austria found pressure at wor k leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients,
researchers found the most obese were more
likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that,to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar
levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods
every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food
against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see
bananas as a’cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand ,for example,
pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby
is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can
help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also
help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as
the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which
helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water
balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic
rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help
of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New
England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk
of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts:
Those keen on natural alternatives swear
that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place
with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the
carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five
times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say,
‘A banana a day keeps the doctor away!’

May I add one here; want a quick shine on our
shoes??
Take the INSIDE
of the banana skin, and rub directly on the
shoe…polish with dry cloth.
An Amazing fruit ! Is’nt it?

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News on Health & Science

Clone Cell Cancer ‘Cure’ Hailed

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Scientists claim they have cured advanced skin cancer for the first time using the patient’s own cells cloned outside the body.

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Melanoma can be fatal

The 52-year-old man involved was free of melanoma two years after treatment.

US researchers, reports the New England Journal of Medicine, took cancer-fighting immune cells, made five billion copies, then put them all back.

Scientists in the UK warned that further trials would need to be done to prove how well the treatment worked.

The body’s immune system plays a significant role in the battle against cancer, and doctors have been looking for ways to boost this tumour-killing response.

The 52-year-old man had advanced melanoma which had spread to the lungs and lymph nodes.

“This is another interesting demonstration of the huge power of the immune system to fight some types of cancer”…. says Spokesman, Cancer Research UK

Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle concentrated on a type of white blood cell called a CD4+ T cell.

From a sample of the man’s white blood cells, they were able to select CD4+ T cells which had been specifically primed to attack a chemical found on the surface of melanoma cells.

These were then multiplied in the laboratory, and put back in their billions to see if they could mount an effective attack on the tumours.

Two months later, scans showed the tumours had disappeared, and after two years, the man remained disease-free.

The new cells persisted in the body for months after the treatment.

‘Immune power’
While claiming this as a world first, the study authors pointed out that their technique applied only to a patient with a particular type of immune system and tumour type, and could work for only a small percentage of people with advanced skin cancer.

Dr Cassian Yee, who led the project, said: “For this patient we were successful, but we would need to confirm the effectiveness of therapy in a larger study.”

A spokesman for Cancer Research UK also said more research would be needed, adding: “This is another interesting demonstration of the huge power of the immune system to fight some types of cancer.

“Although the technique is complex and difficult to use for all but a few patients, the principle that someone’s own immune cells can be expanded and made to work in this way is very encouraging for the work that ourselves and others are carrying out in this field.

You may click to see:->Cancer vaccine target pinpointed

>Hope for tailored cancer vaccine

>Cord blood cancer therapy boost

Sources: BBC NEWS :June 16, 2008

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Ailmemts & Remedies Pediatric

Oh, that earache!

Ear infections frequently develop in children and is one of the commonest infections in childhood. A staggering 75 per cent of children have at least one episode of ear pain and infection by the time they reach the age of three.

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Most ear infections occur when the weather changes or if there is an infection going around in school.
Most ear infections are acute and are accompanied by excruciating pain, and occur when the weather changes or if there is an infection “going around” in school. Although the child may not to be able to accurately express or localise the discomfort, most parents suspect there is an earache because the child has fever and pulls or tugs at the ear. Sometimes, however, it manifests itself only with unexplained irritability or continuous nerve-wracking screaming. Hapless parents cannot localise the symptoms and are forced to seek emergency medical care.

Most ear infections start innocuously as a viral infection with fever, a runny nose and irritability. There is a three-pronged connection among the nose, throat and the middle ear. As long as all the connections are open, there is very little chance of an ear infection despite an upper respiratory infection. If any connection is blocked, pressure and secretions build up behind the ear drum, causing pain. Later, these secretions can remain stagnant in the middle ear and lead to an infection.

Ear infections often settle by themselves with symptomatic treatment. Frequent (two-hourly) administration of saline nose drops unblocks the nose. Paracetamol administered as dispersible tablets, drops or suspension (10-15mg/kg/dose) every four to six hours reduces the pain and fever. A mild anti-histamine syrup dries up the secretions. Sometimes, anaesthetic (not antibiotic) eardrops may be required to ease the pain. But the technique of administration is very important for the drops to be effective. The child should be placed on a flat surface, not on a pillow or on the lap. The affected ear should face upwards. The outer ear should then be gently pulled upwards and the drops administered. This will not help with the infection but will definitely ease the pain.

About 80 per cent of the antibiotics used worldwide are prescribed for “colds, coughs and ear infections”. They do not work against viral infections, nor do they shorten the course of the disease or prevent progress to a bacterial infection. A wait and watch policy for viral ear infections helps avoid the unnecessary use of antibiotics.

It is advisable, however, to consult a paediatrician immediately if the child is less than six months old, or has some other complicating illness.

If the pain and fever persist even after 72 hours, a secondary bacterial infection may have occurred. This needs appropriate antibiotics in the correct dose and duration. The medication should not be stopped just because the child looks better. Nor should the same antibiotic be purchased OTC (over the counter) and be self administered for a subsequent infection.

Children are more likely to develop recurrent ear infection

* If the early feeding is improper. Breast milk protects from infection, especially during the first six months of life.

* If the head is not raised while feeding. A prone position or placing a bottle of milk in a sleeping baby’s mouth may lead to an ear infection.

* If solids are force fed to an uncooperative child while lying down.

There is also a marked increase in the number of ear infections in children exposed to cigarette smoke. Most ear infections subside with no sequalae.

Certain cases of acute infection require urgent attention —

* When there is a suspicion of short-term mild hearing loss. This can persist if the fluid in the ear does not clear.

* If the infection becomes chronic, leading to damage to the bones and other structures in the middle ear. This can lead to permanent hearing loss.

* If the infection spreads to the mastoid, a bone behind the ear.

* Eventually, pus may extend into the brain and cause abscesses.

Surgery may have to be considered if the infection becomes chronic, with persistent effusions from both ears for three months or from one ear for six months. There are two procedures — myringectomy or tympanostomy, whereby a tube may have to be inserted into the ear drum.

A hole in the ear drum may need to be closed with a skin patch. Eventually, the tonsils and adenoids may need to be removed.

Two of the common bacteria causing ear infections belong to the Pneumococcal and H Influenzae groups. The Hib and pneumococcal vaccines, if administered to children, reduce the incidence of ear infections.

This is because the vaccine incidentally lends immunity against 55 per cent of the organisms that cause an ear infection. These vaccines also have a multiplier effect — they increase herd immunity, that is, they protect other children and elders in the community against bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections caused by these common organisms.

From: Dr Gita Mathai’s writing (Telegraph ,Kolkata,India)

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