Reduce risk of diabetes by making small lifestyle changes...

A recent trial by researchers at University of Edinburgh specifically focusing on individuals of South Asian descent, has shown that even small changes in lifestyle can lead to weight loss and significantly reduce the risk of type 2 Diabetes. It has been seen that men of Pakistani and Indian descent are three times more likely to develop diabetes as compared to men from the general population with similar body mass indexes.

This trial titled "Culturally adapting the prevention of diabetes and obesity in South Asians (PODOSA) trial", included 171 individuals of Pakistani and Indian descent living in Scotland with impaired glycemia thus at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

As most South Asian cultural activities and traditions revolve around family and food. Participants were given detailed dietary advice by dieticians and provided culturally relevant lifestyle change plans and resources. The trials made use of professional translators and multilingual professionals for communicating instructions to participants. Also many of the manual and pamphlets were translated into participants' preferred languages, such as Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi. In contrast, the control group was given basic instructions on weight control and management, it was not culturally specific.

According to Professor Raj Bhopal of Edinburgh University's Population Health Sciences Center 'These differing approaches show us that a more family-centred strategy, with culturally tailored lifestyle advice, can produce significant benefits to people's health through weight loss.'

 Although trials in Europe and North America have not so far reported on the impact on South Asian populations separately or provided the details of their cross-cultural adaptation processes. But there might be a more positive outcome of such efforts when instructions and advice are culture specific.



P.S: Small Lifestyle changes 'lower type 2 diabetes risk' (BBC World: Health)

Welcome to MINDbank a new resource for mental health information.

On December 10th 2013, the WHO released its gigantic online database by the name of MINDbank. This database contains information on mental health, substance abuse, disability, human rights and the different policies, strategies, laws and service standards being implemented in different countries. One can also find key international documents and treaties in the MINDbank.

Because mental health is still a topic shunned and avoided in many countries all over the world, it can often be difficult to find out information on resources pertaining to mental health. The MINDbank is the only single point globally to access all comprehensive information related to to mental health, substance abuse, disability, general health, human rights and development.

WHO announcement for the media says;

Launched on Human Rights Day, the platform is part of WHO’s QualityRights initiative, aiming to end human rights violations against people with mental health conditions.

“People with mental disabilities still face discrimination, violence and abuse in all countries,” says Dr Michelle Funk, from WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. “The easy-to-use platform was established as a tool to facilitate debate, dialogue, advocacy and research on mental health, to improve care and to promote human rights across the globe.”

The care available in mental health facilities may often not only be of poor quality but can also hinder recovery. It can still be common in some countries for people to be locked away in small, prison-like cells with no human contact or to be chained to their beds, unable to move. The MiNDbank will help decision makers to address these issues, support reform efforts and ultimately improve the lives of people with mental health conditions in line with the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2013.

“If a government, for example, wishes to develop a new mental health policy in line with international human rights standards it can - on the new platform - quickly get an overview about the policies of other countries and benefit from their experiences and an array of international guidance tools and resources,“ explains Nathalie Drew, WHO Technical Officer working on mental health and human rights. So far, already more than 160 countries are sharing key mental health information through the MiNDbank and updates will be provided on a regular basis.

The MINDbank is meant to be the go-to site for everyone, from clinicians, health policy makers, legislators, academics research professionals to educationists and anyone anywhere in the world interested in finding reliable information on mental health and related topics. 

PS:  MINDbank Website
WHO launches MINDbank News

Heart Attacks, Strokes and Apples

We all heard our parents encouraging us to eat fresh fruit and vegetable, specially apples, and all of them used the old Victorian saying " An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away" to further motivate us. Well, more then a century later it still holds true, especially for the above 50 population.
According to an article published in the christmas edition of the British Medical Journal, a research study led by Dr Adam Briggs of the BHF Health Promotion Research Group at Oxford University came to the conclusion that about 8500 deaths from heart attacks and strokes could be averted if all adults of 50 years and above were prescribed an a apple a day. The significance of this outcome is more apparent when compared to another recent study that showed that if adults 50 and above not already on it, were prescribed statins, it could prevent about 9400 deaths from heart diseases. 
Dr. Adam Briggs says 'It just shows how effective small changes in diet can be, and that both drugs and healthier living can make a real difference in preventing heart disease and stroke.' But the researchers stress that this does not encourage individuals already on statins to stop taking them, just try adding apples to your daily diet.
Although apples appear to be exceptionally good for maintaining a healthy heart, it is clearly essential to eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetable on a daily basis to stay healthy.





P.S:
An Apple A Day Keeps The Heart Doctor Away (University of Oxford)
Apple Nutrition and Composition Facts(USDA Database)

What are the real benefits of antibacterial soaps, if any?

Probably because of my medical background I have always worried about the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, which can consequently create antibiotic-resistant bacteria called 'Super Bacteria'. Treating the infections caused by these super bacteria can be a nightmare, often leading to disastrous outcomes, even death.

It is in the same vein, I have always been a bit skeptical of the antibacterial soaps sold to consumers. Since antibacterial soaps are supposed to be killing everyday bacteria we end up collecting on our hands, they are also indirectly creating super bacteria. And besides that these antibacterial soaps are also killing off the normal bacterial flora on our hands. 

What is normal bacterial flora on our hands?

According to the 'WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care: First Global Patient Safety Challenge Clean Care Is Safer Care.' and Medical Microbiology. 4th edition :
The bacteria found on our hands can be divided into two types; namely resident and transient. The resident bacteria being the ones normally residing on our hands, these predominantly include Gram-positive organisms (e.g., staphylococci, micrococci, diphtheroids). The resident flora primarily plays a protective role by providing microbial antagonism and the competition for nutrients in the ecosystem. Hence the resident flora rarely causes infections.
The transient bacteria are the one we acquire through contact with infected individuals or surfaces. These can lead to infections and spread from person to person. This transfer of bacteria through direct contact is highest in health care workers. In fact their hands may constantly become colonized by some pathogenic flora such as Staphylococcus Aureus and Gram-negative bacilli.

The main bacteria killing ingredient in majority antibacterial soaps is Triclosan. Although Triclosan is meant to rid our hands of the transient kind of bacteria, over time it indiscriminately also kills the resident kind. 

What is Triclosan?

According to the FDA Consumer Update on Triclosan:

'Triclosan is an ingredient added to many consumer products to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination. It may be found in products such as clothing, kitchenware, furniture, and toys. It also may be added to antibacterial soaps and body washes, toothpastes, and some cosmetics—products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).'

'Triclosan is not currently known to be hazardous to humans. But several scientific studies have come out since the last time FDA reviewed this ingredient that merit further review.

Concerns about Triclosan:

According to the FDA Consumer Update on Triclosan:

'Animal studies have shown that triclosan alters hormone regulation. However, data showing effects in animals don’t always predict effects in humans. Other studies in bacteria have raised the possibility that triclosan contributes to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

In light of these studies, FDA is engaged in an ongoing scientific and regulatory review of this ingredient. FDA does not have sufficient safety evidence to recommend changing consumer use of products that contain triclosan at this time.

For some consumer products, there is clear evidence that triclosan provides a benefit. In 1997, FDA reviewed extensive effectiveness data on triclosan in Colgate Total toothpaste. The evidence showed that triclosan in this product was effective in preventing gingivitis. 

For other consumer products, FDA has not received evidence that the triclosan provides an extra benefit to health. At this time, the agency does not have evidence that triclosan in antibacterial soaps and body washes provides any benefit over washing with regular soap and water.

We are engaged in a comprehensive scientific and regulatory review of all the available safety and effectiveness data. This includes data relevant to the emerging safety issues of bacterial resistance and endocrine disruption due to triclosan in FDA-regulated products.'

On December 16  2013, FDA finally came out with the verdict FDA Taking Closer Look at 'Antibacterial' Soap.  Colleen Rogers, Ph.D., a lead microbiologist at FDA stated that "there currently is no evidence that over-the-counter (OTC) antibacterial soap products are any more effective at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water." She goes on to say "New data suggest that the risks associated with long-term, daily use of antibacterial soaps may outweigh the benefits."

The update states "In light of these data, the agency issued a proposed rule on Dec. 16, 2013 that would require manufacturers to provide more substantial data to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of antibacterial soaps. The proposed rule covers only those consumer antibacterial soaps and body washes that are used with water. It does not apply to hand sanitizers, hand wipes or antibacterial soaps that are used in health care settings such as hospitals.

According to Rogers, the laboratory tests that have historically been used to evaluate the effectiveness of antibacterial soaps do not directly test the effect of a product on infection rates. That would change with FDA's current proposal, which would require studies that directly test the ability of an antibacterial soap to provide a clinical benefit over washing with non-antibacterial soap, Rogers says."

In the end, it seems to be wise to continue washing our hands with just plain ol' soap and water, and postpone the use of these fancy antibacterial soaps till further notice. 



References:
Dangers of Antibiotic Resistance
WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care: First Global Patient Safety Challenge Clean Care Is Safer Care.
Medical Microbiology. 4th edition 
FDA Consumer Update on Triclosan
FDA Taking Closer Look at 'Antibacterial' Soap. 

Frankenstein may not be just fiction anymore....

Some recent headlines in the world of medicine have been unusual and a little unsettling, they sound like sci-fi more then actual reality.

One of them was in September ' Doctors grow nose on man's forehead' on ABC News Medicine Unit. Yes it is exactly what it says. A young man Xiaolian 22, in China, injured his nose in a traffic accident in 2012, subsequent infections lead to the corrosion of the damaged cartilage in the nose. Doctors could no longer fix it, hence they decided to grow him a new one at the Fuzhou hospital in China. Now that the nose is grown, doctors can transplant it to his face successfully.

Then yesterday read this headline ' Severed hand kept alive on man's ankle ' on BBC World News. Xiao Wei in China severed his right hand in an accident at work, his arm extremity was in such a bad shape that surgeons could not re-attach the hand immediately. To keep the hand healthy and alive, the surgeons then grafted the hand to his  left ankle and supplied it with a steady blood supply. After about a month the surgeons successfully reattached the hand to his right arm. According to latest reports from his doctors Xiao Wei will need several surgeries before he can regain full function of his hand, which is highly likely.

But the most disturbing one was in July 2013 'Human Head Transplants Could Become Reality' on ABC News Medicine Unit. Here is part of the report;
' In the journal Surgical Neurology International, Canavero outlined a procedure for taking the head of one person and transplanting it onto the body of another. It involves inducing hypothermia and cutting the spinal cord with an “ultra-sharp blade” so it can be fused with the donor’s spinal cord.
“This is, of course, totally different from what happens in clinical spinal cord injury, where gross damage and scarring hinder regeneration,” Canavero wrote.
He outlined a hypothetical scenario in which the body donor is a brain dead patient. He said the recipient could be anyone dying of cancer or anything else  that leaves the brain intact.
For the head transplant to work, two surgeries would have to take place in the same operating room in which both spinal cords would be severed simultaneously but only after all other cuts had been made. Then, the donor body’s spinal cord would be “chemofused” to the recipient head’s spinal cord using a substance called polyethylene glycol, or PEG. Canavero called his surgery the Heaven surgery, for “head anastomosis venture.” '
Heaven! Really? I would think more like Hell! This is not an issue of it being scientifically possible or not, to me it is a matter of whether it is ethical or not. Who gets a transplant? Whose body and whose head? Do we honestly want Frankensteins to be a reality? 
Mankind loves to challenge nature and overcome it's limitations, but trying to make this happen would not be wise, there is just so much meddling nature can take. Let's keep this one limited to our scifi books and movies... 

Legalization of recreational marijuana, is that a good idea?

After seeing Colorado join Washington state in making the recreational use of marijuana legal, as a mother of three, I am wondering 'Is that really a good idea?' If under age youngsters easily get their hands on alcohol and cigarettes, won't legalizing pot make it highly likely to be used by more youngsters now?

Last time I checked the National Institute on Drug Abuse website, Marijuana is still an addictive drug, it still poses some very serious physical and mental side effects and can lead to significant damage to personal and social life. So why is it suddenly ok to sell and buy it for fun?

Here are some basics information as given on the NIDA website;

Marijuana:

Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used in the United States. After a period of decline in the last decade, its use has generally increased among young people since 2007, corresponding to a diminishing perception of the drug’s risks. More teenagers are now current (past-month) smokers of marijuana than of cigarettes, according to annual survey data.

How it works:
When marijuana is smoked, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. It is absorbed more slowly when ingested in food or drink.
The highest density of cannabinoid receptors is found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. Marijuana overactivates the endocannabinoid system, causing the high and other effects that users experience. These include distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and disrupted learning and memory.
How it affects health:
Research has shown that, in chronic users, marijuana's adverse impact on learning and memory persists after the acute effects of the drug wear off; when marijuana use begins in adolescence, the effects may persist for many years. Research from different areas is converging on the fact that regular marijuana use by young people can have long-lasting negative impact on the structure and function of their brains.
A recent study of marijuana users who began using in adolescence revealed a profound deficit in connections between brain areas responsible for learning and memory. And a large prospective study (following individuals across time) showed that people who began smoking marijuana heavily in their teens lost as much as 8 points in IQ between age 13 and age 38; importantly, the lost cognitive abilities were not restored in those who quit smoking marijuana as adults. (Individuals who started smoking marijuana in adulthood did not show significant IQ declines.)
Marijuana use can have a variety of adverse, short- and long-term effects, especially on cardiopulmonary and mental health.
Addiction:
Contrary to common belief, marijuana is addictive. Estimates from research suggest that about 9 percent of users become addicted to marijuana; this number increases among those who start young (to about 17 percent, or 1 in 6) and among daily users (to 25-50 percent). Thus, many of the nearly 7 percent of high-school seniors who (according to annual survey data) report smoking marijuana daily or almost daily are well on their way to addiction, if not already addicted (besides functioning at a sub-optimal level all of the time).
The amount of THC in marijuana samples confiscated by police has been increasing steadily over the past few decades. In 2012, THC concentrations in marijuana averaged nearly 15 percent, compared to around 4 percent in the 1980s. For a new user, this may mean exposure to higher concentrations of THC, with a greater chance of an adverse or unpredictable reaction. Increases in potency may account for the rise in emergency department visits involving marijuana use." 

After reading the above, can you really argue that it is safe and acceptable to make marijuana more  accessible to our children?



P.S:
National Institute on Drug Abuse: Marijuana page 
In 2 states, corner cannabis store nears reality (CNBC December 14  2013)

When should I discard these condiments?

It can be tricky to decide when to discard those condiments in our fridge. All items have expiry dates for when to throw them unused and unopened. The confusion is when they are opened, being used and being refrigerated, how long can we keep them and use them then?
Click on the following link to find a very simple list on the WebMD site of how long common condiments and other items in our refrigerators can be safely used;
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/healthtool-condiments-table

School children need more physical activity!

Every child needs plenty of physically activity both for healthy growth and maintenance of good physical and mental health. Unfortunately it is being seen that our children are getting less and less physically active. In addition to the overuse of TVs, computers, Nintendos, Playstations and X boxes as a major cause of reduced outdoor activities in children, there is also a significant dearth of physical education in school all over the country. Less then half even have a PE more then once of twice a week. But now concerned schools are coming up with new ways to keep children active.

Maanvi Singh writes on the subject on NPR Public Health page;

    To Get Kids Exercising, Schools Are Becoming Creative

Avery Stackhouse, age 7, of Lafayette, Calif., says he wishes he had more time for phys ed.

"We just have it one day a week — on Monday." There's always lunch and recess, he says. "We play a couple of games, like football and soccer," he tells Shots.

But at Happy Valley Elementary, where he goes to school, recess last only 15 minutes and lunch is 45. Between eating and mingling, he says, "there's only a few minutes left where we play games and all that."

Fifty-six percent of parents say their elementary school kids are getting just one or two days of physical education a week, according to a poll NPR conducted in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.

Fewer than 1 in 5 parents with children in kindergarten through fifth grade said their kids were getting physical education daily.

Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that K-5 students get at least 150 minutes a week. Physical activity has a lot of benefits, from reducing obesity to helping kids do better academically.

Louisiana State University's Russ Carson, an exercise researcher, tells Shots the poll results don't surprise him. "This has been going on for years, unfortunately," he says. School administrators can only fit so many things into a day, and often, he says, "testing and other aspects of education take precedence over physical education."

(Continue Reading)

Exercise is good.....at any age!

Many who never exercise when young think it futile to try starting in senior years of life. But a recent study has proven that multiple benefits of regular exercise can be gained even if after being inactive for decades a person took up exercising.

Here is a Reuters Health report on the study:

Exercise later in life tied to healthy aging

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It's never too late to start exercising, according to a new study that found formerly inactive seniors who took up exercise still experienced health benefits.

The study sheds light on the question of whether the slower mental and physical decline seen among active seniors extends to former couch potatoes who begin exercising later in life.

"Regular physical activity in older age is important to remain healthy. However, taking up physical activity at old age is also beneficial," Mark Hamer told Reuters Health in an email. He led the study at University College London.

These findings "underscore the importance of prevention as well as rehabilitation," said Ursula M. Staudinger, who directs the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center in New York City.

"When you start later in life you can still get gains," Staudinger, who was not part of the research team, said.

For their study, Hamer and his coauthors analyzed information on 3,454 healthy seniors involved in the ongoing English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Participants reported how much they exercised at the start of the study, in 2002 to 2003. Researchers then followed them through regular health surveys for the next eight years.

At follow-up, 19 percent of the seniors were considered to be aging healthily. That is, they had not developed any major chronic diseases or depression and had not experienced any deterioration in their physical or mental status during the study period.

Seniors who were active at least once a week at the start of the study and remained active were the most likely to experience healthy aging. But those who started exercising during the study period benefited as well, Hamer and his colleagues reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

People who remained active during all eight years were over seven times more likely to experience healthy aging than inactive seniors. Those who became active after the study started were three times more likely than inactive adults to age well.

(Complete Report)

Time to regulate energy drinks with high caffeine content.

This fad and hype of energy drinks has made everyone including responsible adults overlook what really these energy drink really have in them. Most of them have caffeine in them and some have extremely high amounts of it. These are sold without any regulation to both adults and kids.
But now a major supermarket chain Morrisons has taken notice and decided to take steps the UK's govt. hasn't. They have announced that they will not sell highly caffeinated drinks such as Monster, Relentless and Red Bull to children under 16 years of age. Bravo!! I just hope someone in the US will also wake up and follow suit. Here is the news piece about it on BCC World News by Emma Brant;

Supermarket energy drink ban for under 16s

Morrisons supermarket has banned children under the age of 16 from buying high caffeine energy drinks.

The staff at some of the supermarket branches will challenge customers to prove their age.

The ban has been brought in because of health fears about extreme-caffeine intake by children with energy drinks.

The restrictions apply to certain brands with more than 150mg of caffeine per litre.

It will affect Red Bull which has 320mg, Monster (338mg) and Relentless (320mg).

Morrisons is the first major UK retailer to ban the drinks.

Spokeswoman Claire Johnson said: "We understand the concern over the potential impact of high-caffeine energy drinks on young people and are taking steps to address this."

The supermarket is trialling the ban in stores in Glasgow, Dorset, Leeds, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Suffolk with a view to rolling it out further.

Earlier this month, a campaign to encourage major retailers to crack down on the sales of energy drinks to children was launched in Edinburgh.

The sale and promotion of high caffeine drinks such as Red Bull is already banned in schools there, under the Schools: Health Promotion and ­Nutrition Act Scotland 2007.

But children can still ­easily purchase them from retailers despite warnings on the cans stating that they are not advised for children. (Complete News Report)

P.S: Want to know how much Caffeine is in your drink? Check here

There is more to fiber then you would know..

All physicians as a matter of habit suggest eating high fiber diets, whether to lose weight, lower cholesterol, improve digestion, have a healthy heart, name it and high fiber diet will be recommended. So what is so special about fiber?

Lisa Collier Cool has written a very informative piece on Yahoo Health on the subject and discusses a recent study on the link between fiber in the diet and heart disease.. Here are excerpts;

' If a miracle ingredient found in many tasty, inexpensive foods helped you lose weight, live longer, and avoid dangerous diseases, wouldn’t you eat it every day?

Actually, there is such a food ingredient—dietary fiber—and most of us eat too little of it, putting ourselves at increased risk for heart problems and other health woes, according to a new study published in the December issue of The American Journal of Medicine (AJM).

What’s the link between fiber and heart disease risk?

The researchers reported that previous studies suggest that dietary fiber protects against heart disease by reducing blood pressure, cholesterol, and biomarkers of inflammation, all of which play a major role in the development of heart disease, the leading killer of Americans. 

What are the other health benefits of fiber?

In a 2011 study of nearly 400,000 older adults, conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and American Association of Retired People (AARP), those who ate a fiber-rich diet had the lowest death rates during the 9-year study.

The study found that men ages 50 or older who ate the most fiber had an up to 56 percent lower risk for dying from cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, or infectious diseases, compared to men who ate the least fiber. In women ages 50 and up, a high-fiber diet reduced fatalities from those conditions by up to 59 percent. ' (Complete Article)

P.S: Here are links to studies mentioned above;

Dietary Fiber Intake and Mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study

Dietary Fiber Intake and Cardiometabolic Risks among US Adults, NHANES 1999-2010

To be overweight or not to be overweight should not even be a question!

After reading the conflicting news on Obesity in 2013 alone, I am mystified and dumbfounded. Why are we even asking if obesity is healthy or not? If you have ever seen a real human heart or a real human liver or spleen, you would know they were never meant to support gigantic amounts of fat. It is is clearly another attempt by the processed food industry and the GMO industry to avoid being looked at as a potential source of all the weight woes.

On January 2, 2013 CNN actually reported that if you are overweight you will live longer, the headline was 'Being overweight linked to lower risk of mortality' Then the next day read another shocking CNN headline  'Big deal: You can be fat and fit'. Really??!!

If we start justifying being fat and deceive ourselves into believing we can be fat and fit, then we probably will end up like the morbidly obese people from that animated movie "Wall-E (2008)", who are shown to be totally dependent on automated systems from feeding themselves to washing themselves, they actually never get off their high-tech seats that not only take them everywhere but also convert into beds at night. As a result the individuals never do much muscular movement, and hence don't develop the muscle strength to even walk.

The scary part is we already have people in the US who are so morbidly obese that they can't carry their own weight anymore and need motorized chairs to move around a grocery store or a mall. Some might have valid medical reasons for the weight gain but a huge majority do not. The major reason for them being overweight is poor food choices and too big portions. The fact that every American restaurant and specially fast food restaurant serves unhealthily large servings of unhealthy foods does not help.

There is also a huge lobby promoting the use of synthetic ingredients in our foods, such as trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, etc.... Whereas the Agriculture industry is pushing the use on GMOs on farmers everywhere and growing more and more bioengineered foods. Unfortunately very little legislation controls or oversees the use of these genetically manufactured seeds. And then the media furthers the public ignorance of what is really making them obese and sick by spreading news such as "Fat is fun and healthy".

Amongst this media madness it was a relief to see reports of the latest study on obesity that dispelled the myth that you can be fat and healthy. Here is an excerpt from the story on BBC World (Dec.3rd, 2013);

The idea of "healthy obesity" is a myth, research suggests.

Excess fat still carries health risks even when cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels are normal, according to a study of more than 60,000 people.

It has been argued that being overweight does not necessarily imply health risks if individuals remain healthy in other ways.

The research, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, contradicts this idea.

The study looked at findings from published studies tracking heart health and weight in more than 60,000 adults.

Researchers from the Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, found there was no healthy pattern of increased weight when heart health was monitored for more than 10 years.

They argue that people who are metabolically healthy but overweight probably have underlying risk factors that worsen over time.

Study leader Dr Ravi Retnakaran told BBC News: "This really casts doubt on the existence of healthy obesity.

"This data is suggesting that both patients who are obese who are metabolically unhealthy and patients who are obese who are metabolically healthy are both at increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, such that benign obesity may indeed be a myth."

(Complete Story)

I do realize some individuals will find my point of view mean and unsympathetic, but often the truth hurts and isn't well received even if coming from our well-wishers. I write about this only to remind us that our bodies are not meant to be obese, and expecting them to keep functioning normally when overworked and overburdened is unreasonable. Most of the reasons besides actual medical and physiological causes of being morbidly overweight, have a solution. Trying to make being fat fun isn't one of them!

We need to address this problem head on as a nation and refuse to feed ourselves and our children these man made artificial items they like to sell as food. We have to look at what we eat and how much we eat. We need to regulate what the Food and Beverage Industry can put into our foods and drinks. We need to regulate the unnecessary use of GMOs, bioengineering and chemical fertilizers by the Agriculture Industry.
And last but not least we need to stop finding excuses for our own neglect. We alone are guilty of reckless behavior when it comes to benign obesity and therefore we need to accept responsibility for our own health.

Moms, we've got to get moving!

I am guilty of this too, I watch far too much TV. Yes, and that automatically reduced the amount of physical activity I get. That in turn plays an important role in leading to unwanted weight gain.
Not only is this lack of physical activity bad for the moms, it is setting a poor example for our kids, who too spend far too much time in front of TVs and Computer screens. If not for ourselves, let us change that for our sons and daughters and lets get moving!!

Here is the report on the subject on MedicineNet.com;

Less Physical Activity, More TV for Today's Moms, Study Finds
American mothers watch more TV and get less physical activity today than mothers did four decades ago, a new study finds.
"With each passing generation, mothers have become increasingly physically inactive, sedentary and obese, thereby potentially predisposing children to an increased risk of inactivity, adiposity [body fat] and chronic non-communicable diseases," said study leader Edward Archer, an exercise scientist and epidemiologist at the University of South Carolina.

"Given that physical activity is an absolute prerequisite for health and wellness, it is not surprising that inactivity is now a leading cause of death and disease in developed nations," Archer noted in a university news release. The analysis of 45 years of national data focused on two groups of mothers: those with children 5 years or younger, and those with children aged 6 to 18. The researchers assessed physical activity related to cooking, cleaning and exercising. (Continued)

The advantage of being bilingual and mulitlingual

A recent extensive study on the relationship of bilingualism and dementia has provided further evidence and support to the belief that bilingual individuals show a delay in onset of dementia in old age. 

Sue Hughes reports in the Medscape Neurology section;

' More evidence that speaking a second language may protect against dementia has come from a study conducted in India.

The study, published online November 6 in Neurology, was conducted by a team led by Suvarna Alladi, DM, from Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, India.

"This study provides the strongest evidence yet that speaking more than 1 language delays the development of dementia," coauthor Thomas H. Bak, MD, from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, commented to Medscape Medical News. "We can't say we have proven the effect, but this is the largest and most thorough study conducted on the subject in the most appropriate population. It would be extremely surprising if the results were not real."

He explained that 2 previous studies, both conducted in Toronto, Canada, have suggested that bilingualism might postpone dementia. However, most of the bilingual participants were immigrants with very different cultural backgrounds than members of the monolingual group, which introduced a high degree of confounding.

The study involved 648 patients with dementia diagnosed at a specialist clinic, 391 of whom were bilingual. The age at onset of first symptoms was compared between monolingual and bilingual groups.

Results showed that overall, bilingual patients developed dementia 4.5 years later than those who spoke only 1 language. The effect was consistent across the different types of dementia and was also independent of other potential confounding factors such as education, sex, occupation, and urban vs rural dwelling of participants.'

The fact that the new study was conducted in Hyderabad, India with a mostly bilingual population has been described as a stroke of genius. The majority Hindu population speaks Telugu, whereas the Muslim minority speaks Dakkhini. Besides these languages most Hyderabadis learn English and Hindi in school and use them in formal context. Hence it is likely for a Hyderabad resident to be fluent in 2-3 languages. 

Barbara J. King reports in the NPR Science blog;

' The patients who contributed data to the study, then, are surrounded by multiple languages in everyday life, not primarily as a result of moving from one location to another. This turns out to be an important factor, as the authors explain:

"In contrast to previous studies, the bilingual group was drawn from the same environment as the monolingual one and the results were therefore free from the confounding effects of immigration. The bilingual effect on age at dementia onset was shown independently of other potential confounding factors, such as education, sex, occupation, cardiovascular risk factors, and urban vs rural dwelling, of subjects with dementia."

What exactly is it about the ability to speak in two languages that seems to provide this protective effect? Alladi and co-authors explain:

"The constant need in a bilingual person to selectively activate one language and suppress the other is thought to lead to a better development of executive functions and attentional tasks with cognitive advantages being best documented in attentional control, inhibition, and conflict resolution."

Intriguingly, when a patient speaks three (or more) languages, no extra benefits accrue neurologically. Speaking a single language beyond one's native tongue is enough to do the trick.'

Therefore not only should we try to learn more then one language whenever the opportunity arises, but we should also make an effort to make our children at least bilingual if not multilingual.  

P.S:

New Study Shows Brain Benefits Of Bilingualism (Link to Full Article)
More Evidence Bilingualism Delays Dementia ( Link to Full Article)

Resurgence of Measles : A cause for concern

Recent statistics have shown that the number of cases of measles has tripled in the US in 2013. Most likely culprit is the refusal by parents to get their children vaccinated. This trend has been seen primarily in Europe but is gaining popularity in the US too.

What exactly is Measles? 

According to the CDC; Measles is a respiratory disease caused by a virus. The disease of measles and the virus that causes it share the same name. The disease is also called rubeola. Measles virus normally grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and lungs.

Most common symptoms are fever, runny nose, cough and a rash all over the body. But complications in children may often include ear infections and pneumonia. A more serious consequence may be meningitis which may lead to death in children.

While measles is almost gone from the United States, it still kills an estimated 164,000 people each year around the world. Measles can also make a pregnant woman have a miscarriage or give birth prematurely. Measles is mostly spread by breathing, coughing and sneezing. It is so contagious that any child exposed to it and is not immune to it, will most likely get it.

But today AFP reported;

'Europe is big threat to resurgence of Measles in US'

After a decade of near total US elimination of measles due in large part to blanket immunizations of children, a surge of 175 cases have been documented so far this year, experts say.

That number is almost triple the average 60 cases of US measles per year over the last decade, said findings of a government study published in the Journal of American Medical Association.

And Europe was the source of almost half (25) of the 52 measles cases that are classed as direct importations from abroad this year, a CDC spokesman told AFP. (Complete Story)

Something must be changed....

When I read headline like " More Than 6 Percent of U.S. Teens Take Psychiatric Meds: Survey ADHD, depression most common conditions reported by those on medication", my first thought is this should not be an acceptable situation.
How can we just read this and be ok with it? Why are so many teenagers taking such medications? Are our health professionals are being too quick in prescribing these? Or are US teenagers missing some essential element in their upbringing and lives that is leading to a rise in need for treatment.We need to ask ourselves these pointed questions as the parents and do whatever needs to be done.

Here is an excerpt of the article on WebMD from HealthDay News; 

'Slightly more than 6 percent of U.S. teens take prescription medications for a mental health condition such as depression or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new survey shows. The survey also revealed a wide gap in psychiatric drug use across ethnic and racial groups. Earlier studies have documented a rise in the use of these medications among teens, but they mainly looked at high-risk groups such as children who have been hospitalized for psychiatric problems. 

The new survey provides a snapshot of the number of adolescents in the general population who took a psychiatric drug in the past month from 2005 to 2010.Teens aged 12 to 19 typically took drugs to treat depression or ADHD, the two most common mental health disorders in that age group. About 4 percent of kids aged 12 to 17 have experienced a bout of depression, the study found.Meanwhile, 9 percent of children aged 5 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, a behavioral disorder marked by difficulty paying attention and impulsive behavior. 

Males were more likely to be taking medication to treat ADHD, while females were more commonly taking medication to treat depression. This follows patterns seen in the diagnosis of these conditions across genders. Exactly what is driving the new numbers is not clear, but "in my opinion, it's an increase in the diagnosis of various conditions that these medications can be prescribed for," said study author Bruce Jonas. He is an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). But these are stressful times and it is also possible that children are becoming more vulnerable to these conditions as a result. "The recession and various world events might be a contributing factor," Jonas speculated. (Full Article)

Memories in our DNA?

Like me I am sure you have known people with traits, habits, and behaviors that you notice in other members of their families. We are all guilty of statements like "Their whole family is paranoid and strange" or " He isn't the only one in his family with this habit" Well recent animal studies seem to support the idea that some memories are actually passed on from generation to generation through a part of DNA. Here is the report on the subject on BBC World News;

'Memories' pass between generations

Behaviour can be affected by events in previous generations which have been passed on through a form of genetic memory, animal studies suggest.

Experiments showed that a traumatic event could affect the DNA in sperm and alter the brains and behaviour of subsequent generations. A Nature Neuroscience study shows mice trained to avoid a smell passed their aversion on to their "grandchildren". Experts said the results were important for phobia and anxiety research. The animals were trained to fear a smell similar to cherry blossom.

The team at the Emory University School of Medicine, in the US, then looked at what was happening inside the sperm. (Continue..)

The relationship between cholesterol treatment and muscle aches

I know many people who take medications for lowering their cholesterol. Some of them complain of a non specific muscle aches. Now there seems to be a definite proof that these muscle pains may be caused by the interaction of Statins (a class of cholesterol lowering drugs) with other medications a person might be taking. Here is an article on that subject published in a New York Times' Well blog recently;

 People who use statin drugs to lower their cholesterol sometimes complain of muscle pain and soreness. But a new study suggests that in some cases these side effects may be a result of combining statins with other medications.
The research found that people taking statins had double the risk of muscle pain when they were prescribed various other drugs, and often these side effects were what prompted people to stop taking statins. People in the study who quit using statins because they could not tolerate them were, on average, taking as many as three other drugs that could increase the risk of side effects.
Statins are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world and used by roughly 20 million Americans to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke. But the new research suggests that doctors and pharmacists may need to do a better job of managing the medications that are prescribed in combination with them. (Complete Article)

Exercise.....the way to so many good things!

We all know exercise is good for the body, the soul and the mind. But now there is clear proof that exercise can help improve our thinking ability and hence our mental capabilities.

Exercise 'is good dementia therapy'

"People with dementia who exercise improve their thinking abilities and everyday life, a body of medical research concludes.
The Cochrane Collaboration carried out a systematic review of eight exercise trials involving more than 300 patients living at home or in care.
Exercise did little for patients' moods, the research concluded.But it did help them carry out daily activities such as rising from a chair, and boosted their cognitive skills." (Full Article)