njections are the most popular anti-aging treatments, and in the next few years we can expect to see new dermal fillers hitting the market.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Beauty & Skin Care
njections are the most popular anti-aging treatments, and in the next few years we can expect to see new dermal fillers hitting the market.
Health and Wellness: Access to Wellbeing
Overview
The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Eating right, exercising, and sleeping well play an equal role in the prevention of infections and diseases. However, a good sense of self, a loving support network, and the potential for continued personal growth is also important to our overall wellbeing.
Many of us are not in control of the factors that cause us to become ill whether they be genetic, environmental, or something else entirely. There are many avenues we can take to improving our health, which include the use of traditional and modern medicines when we are ill.
Almonds curb diabetes, heart disease
LAHORE: A new study conducted at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has suggested that eating almonds can help prevent diabetes and heart disease.Scientists discovered that including the nuts into our diets could help treat type 2 diabetes. As well as combating the condition, linked to obesity and physical inactivity, it could tackle cardiovascular disease, they said.
Diabetics have a shortage of insulin or a decreased ability to use the hormone that allows glucose to enter cells and be converted to energy.
When diabetes is not controlled, glucose and fats remain in the blood and over time, damage vital organs.
The latest study showed that a diet rich in almonds may help to improve insulin sensitivity and decrease LDL-cholesterol levels in those with pre- diabetes, a condition in which people have blood glucose levels higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes, Scientists added.
Honey, secret of energy booster
 KARACHI: Did you know that the athletes in Ancient Greece relies on intake of honey to improve their performance in the face of Olympic sport?Honey made their secret recipes as they contain glucose and fructose which are capable of producing supplies of glycogen in the liver. For that, it’s no wonder that eating one tablespoon of honey before bed can also increase fingsi brain. Because fructose is stored as energy reserves in the liver and the brain will be working at night. In addition, honey can boost the immune system and has antibacterial effects both internally and externally so that helps speed up recovery of the body. |
47pc Pakistanis claim to be aware of their blood group
 ISLAMABAD: Almost half of all Pakistanis across the country (47pc) claim that they are aware of their blood group. When asked if they have ever donated blood, 20pc replied in affirmative.According to a Gilani Research Foundation survey carried out by Gallup Pakistan, these figures have dropped in the last few years as the corresponding values in 2007 were 61pc for blood group awareness and 25pc for donating blood. The data on claimed awareness shows wide fluctuation over less than five years. It would be interesting to probe this issue and investigate causes underlying wide fluctuation in awareness about blood group. A nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country were asked the following question: ôDo you know what is your blood group? In 2011 47pc replied in affirmative as opposed to 53pc who said they donÎt know. In 2007 61pc replied positively and 39pc did not. A detailed analysis of the recent survey revealed that relatively more urbanites (61pc) are informed of their blood group compared to the rural dwellers (40pc). This awareness is relatively greater in men (56pc) than women (37pc). | ||
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Health risks of radiation depend on dose, duration
Concern is mounting about potential health risks of radiation from the crippled nuclear reactors in Japan. How much radiation you get depends on the dose, duration and method of exposure. Some types of radioactive particles are more dangerous or longer lasting than others.Some basics:
Q. How are people exposed to radiation?
A. Radioactive particles in fallout can be inhaled into the lungs, fall on the skin or be ingested through contaminated food or water. The level can vary greatly even between short distances, said Dr. Fred Mettler, a University of New Mexico radiologist who led an international study of health effects after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
"You can come around a corner and the dose rate can be very high, and you get back behind a column and the dose rate is much lower," depending on what type of particles are in the fallout, whether you're standing under a roof where they've accumulated or shielded you from them, etc., he said.
Q. How does radiation harm?
A. In the short term, radiation damages rapidly dividing cells - hair, the stomach lining, bone marrow. That can cause nausea, vomiting, fatigue, loss of infection-fighting blood cells and clotting problems. Children are most at risk because they have so many rapidly dividing cells.
One type of radiation, radioactive iodine, is taken up by the thyroid gland and can lead to thyroid cancer if pills are not taken right away to prevent this uptake. Long term, radiation can damage DNA and raise the risk of many types of cancer years down the road.
Q. How much radiation is unsafe?
A. Most people get around three-tenths of a rem (a measurement unit of dose) each year from radiation in the environment, mostly from radon gas in the soil. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says doses of less than 10 rems over a long time period are not a health concern.
Q. When does it threaten health?
A. Symptoms of radiation sickness - nausea, vomiting and hair loss - can occur at exposures of 50 to 100 rems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Death within two months becomes a possible risk at around 400 rems; within two weeks at 1,000 rems, the EPA says.
Q. What about medical radiation?
A. A chest X-ray delivers about one-tenth of a rem of radiation; a CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis is 1.4 rems. A person's dose accumulates over time, which is why medical experts say we should avoid unnecessary tests that involve radiation.
Q. What's the antidote once there is radioactive fallout?
A. Potassium iodide pills can block uptake of radioactive iodine and protect the thyroid gland, but they must be used quickly. "Ideally, you'd give it before they're exposed or at the time" of exposure, Mettler said. "After 12 hours, it's hardly useful" unless exposure is continuing.
Q. If fallout is occurring, should people flee or stay?
A. Each situation is different and can change rapidly. Japanese officials urged tens of thousands of people to evacuate from a 12-mile zone, but now have told many more in a broader region, about 20 miles from the troubled plant, to seal themselves indoors.
Q. Is this like Chernobyl?
A. No. That Russian plant had no containment vessel around its reactor, so when an explosion occurred, large chunks of radioactive fuel from the core spewed out. That fuel contained cesium, a longer-lasting and more hazardous radioactive material than the shorter-lived radioactive iodine that has mostly been released in Japan. Still, there have been reports of some cesium release in Japan, prompting worries that a meltdown may be occurring.
Frits, 69, model for youth
AMSTERDAM: Frits Mansvelt Beck is a 69 year old badass, who has been involved in some form of recreational or high level movement / training for half a century.In his twenties, he rowed competitively and participated in alpine climbing and rock climbing at an advanced level. In his thirties, he took up running as a weekend warrior.
His fourties consisted of circuit training with weights, x-country skiing and rowing. He continued running and took up speed skating in fifties.
In his sixties, he started rock climbing, x-country skiing and race rowing again. At the spry age of 68, he began practicing hand balancing and working out on gymnastics rings, putting men 1/4 his age to shame. His arsenal of bodyweight skills include slow muscle ups, elbow levers, planches, front levers and freestanding handstands for 40+ seconds.
He said ‘I do not follow any special diet, but I am very conscious of what I eat. No junk food. I do not eat much meat; maybe once a week. More fish. A lot of nuts. I don't use vitamin supplements, except some fish oil’.
Japan to start screening food for radioactivity
TOKYO: Japan instructed local authorities to start screening food for radioactivity after accidents at an earthquake-hit nuclear power plant sparked fears of wider contamination.It is the first time Japan has set radiation limits on domestically produced food, a health ministry official said.
The limits are in line with an anti-disaster programme prepared in advance by the government's atomic power safety commission, said the official.
Limits vary depending on the type of foodstuff but have been set in consultation with internationally accepted levels and average intake in the Japanese diet.
Radioactivity leaked into the air after explosions at the Fukushima No.1 plant, where last week's quake and tsunami knocked out the reactor cooling systems.
Several Asian nations have said they will screen food imported from Japan for radiation while the European Union has called for similar checks.
Coffee lowers stroke risk in women: Study
LONDON: Drinking a cup or more of coffee each day may help women reduce their risk of stroke by as much as 25 percent.Researchers from Sweden have discovered that not only could the consumption of at least one cup of coffee daily lower a woman's stroke risk, but also found that women who don't partake in a regular cup of coffee could actually be increasing their chances of stroke.
“Women showed that consumption of 1 to 5 cups of coffee per day was associated with a 22 to 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared with consumption of less than 1 cup a day," according to lead researcher Susanna Larsson, of the National Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Larsson also noted that small amounts of coffee may also provide some benefit in the reduction of stroke risk.
For their analysis the researchers monitored the health of 34,670 women ranging in age from 49 to 83 for an average of 10 years. All of the women were participants in the Swedish Mammography Cohort, a long-term investigation of the association between diet, lifestyle and disease development.
During the period between 1998 and 2008, a total of 1,680 women suffered a stroke. However, the researchers found that those women who drank coffee were 22 percent to 25 percent less likely to have a stroke. The benefits seen were similar whether the women reported consuming 1-2 cups each day, 3-4 cups a day, or 5 or more cups daily in comparison to women who consumed less than a cup on a daily basis.
It must be noted that the women in the study were not asked to report whether or not they consumed decaffeinated coffee. However, Larsson pointed out that the majority of Swedes drink coffee containing caffeine.
