ACID AND ALKALINE

If you feel unwell and you are also acidic the obvious remedy is make yourself more alkaline.
Most Acid-Forming

Alcohol (most forms), artificial sweeteners, beef, beer, bread (made from whole or refined wheat), carbonated soft drinks, cereals (refined), chocolate, cigarettes and other tobacco products, coffee, cranberries, cream of wheat (unrefined), custard (made with white sugar), drugs, fish, flour (refined wheat), fruit juices with sugar, ice cream, jams, jellies, lamb, maple syrup (processed), molasses (sulphured), pasta (white), pastries (made with white flour and/or sugar), peanuts, pickles (commercial), pork, poultry, rice (white), salt (refined and iodized), seafood, sugar, walnuts, white vinegar (processed), wine, yogurt(sweetened).

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Mobile radiation is dangerous

The speculative fears of mobile phones being a danger to health in the long run, seem to be coming true. A latest government study talks about the harmful effects of not just using mobile phones but also the radiation from mobile phone towers.

A Times of India report states that –
Radiation from mobile phones and towers poses serious health risks, including loss of memory, lack of concentration, disturbance in the digestive system and sleep disturbances, according to an inter-ministerial committee formed by the ministry of communications and information technology to study the hazards posed by mobile phones.

One India also reported that the damages may not be lethal for humans, but they worse for birds and insects as well. The committee has attributed the radiation effects to the disappearance of butterflies, bees, insects and sparrows.

The government report also says that mobile towers should not be installed near high density residential areas, schools, playgrounds and hospitals. “The localized SAR value as per the Indian guidelines standard is 2 watt per kg, averaged over a six minute period and using a 10 gram average mass. With higher SAR values of mobile handsets the public could potentially receive much higher radiofrequency exposure. We have recommended that SAR levels to be lowered down to 1.6 watt/kg, as prescribed by the Federal Communication Commission of US,” said a member.

The eight-member committee, which included representatives from the health ministry, department of biotechnology and member secretary, DoT, has recommended that mobile phones not adhering to standard levels of specific absorption rate (SAR) – a measure of the amount of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body while using a phone — should be barred.

Member scientist, ICMR R S Sharma said that compared to Europeans, Indian cellphone users are more at risk for adverse affect of radiation due the country’s hot tropical climate, low body mass index, and low fat content. “We have recommended amendment in the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and rules so that only mobile handsets satisfying radiation standards should be permitted in the country,” he said.

In another report, citizens are scared of the radiation from mobile tower in Andheri.
In the past five years, more than 15 housewives living in Sher-e-Punjab colony in Andheri (East) have suffered from various forms of cancer. Although there is no proof of a direct link, residents are drawing parallels between the appearance of the first cancer case and the installation of the first mobile phone tower in the society nearly seven years ago.
Based on a Hindustan Times report.

Neha Kumar, who has been studying the biological effects of mobile phone towers, said, All these women dont have any family history of cancer. Plus, all of them are within a certain radius of those mobile towers. All this is not a coincidence.

So how do we minimise the damage in view of such grave consequences.

The report adds –
While talking on mobile, keep calls short or send a text message (SMS). This advice should be especially relevant keeping in mind the children, adolescents and pregnant women said the report. The advice should be printed in the user manual by handset manufacturers.

Whenever possible, use cellphone when the signal quality is good. People having active medical implants should keep their cellphone at least 30 cm away from the implant said the report.

Many a times we find ourselves complaining of bad network in certain areas. Mobile companies raise towers at every nook and corner to beat each other at network coverage. Are we compromising our health for better mobile connections?

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Marrow transplant improves rare epidermolysis bullosa

http://urdutahzeeb.net/health/articles/marrow-transplant-improves-rare-epidermolysis-bullosa-2

S A Sagar
Results of a small study show that bone-marrow transplantation may help fight the rare, genetic skin disease recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. But, due to risk factors, the treatment is probably appropriate only for the most severe cases, researchers reports.

Epidermolysis bullosa is an inherited connective tissue disease causing blisters in the skin and mucosal membranes, with an incidence of 1/50,000. Its severity ranges from mild to lethal. It is caused by a mutation in the keratin or collagen gene.

As a result, the skin is extremely fragile. Minor mechanical friction or trauma will separate the layers of the skin and form blisters. People with this condition have an increased risk of cancers of the skin, and many will eventually be diagnosed with it as a complication of the chronic damage done to the skin.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota found that among seven young patients with the disease, the six who received allogeneic stem-cell transplantation from bone marrow displayed improved wound healing and a reduction in blister formation.

One of the children with the incurable, often fatal, disease died during preparation for the transplant. Of the remaining transplant patients, one experienced a severe, regimen-related cutaneous toxicity, and another died 183 days after the procedure from graft rejection and infection.

The authors wrote, “Despite the potential benefits of marrow transplantation, it is a high-risk therapeutic approach that could shorten the expected survival of patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, particularly those with less severe clinical manifestations.”

They add, however, that the study’s results warrant further research into stem cell-based approaches for patients with the severest forms of the disease. The study appeared in the Aug. 12 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Vitamin B May Help Prevent Mental Decline

S A Sagar

Elderly people with mild memory problems may benefit from taking very high daily doses of vitamin B to slow the rate of brain shrinkage, say researchers.

A new study suggests high doses of B vitamins may halve the rate of brain shrinkage in older people experiencing some of the warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

Brain shrinkage is one of the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment, which often leads to dementia.

Researchers say this could be the first step towards finding a way to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Experts said the findings were important but more research was needed.

The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, looked at 168 elderly people experiencing levels of mental decline known as mild cognitive impairment.

This condition, marked by mild memory lapses and language problems, is beyond what can be explained by normal ageing and can be a precursor to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Half of the volunteers were given a daily tablet containing levels of the B vitamins folate, B6 and B12 well above the recommended daily amount. The other half were given a placebo.

After two years, the rate at which their brains had shrunk was measured.

The average brain shrinks at a rate of 0.5% a year after the age of 60. The brains of those with mild cognitive impairment shrink twice as fast. Alzheimer’s patients have brain shrinkage of 2.5% a year.

The team, from the Oxford Project to investigate Memory and Ageing (Optima), found that on average, in those taking vitamin supplements, brain shrinkage slowed by 30%.

AdvertisementJohn Hough: “You become more forgetful and annoyed with yourself”

In some cases it slowed by more than 50%, making their brain atrophy no worse than that of people without cognitive impairment.

‘Protecting’ the brain

Certain B vitamins – folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 – control levels of a substance known as homocysteine in the blood. High levels of homocysteine are associated with faster brain shrinkage and Alzheimer’s disease.

The study authors believe it was the B vitamins’ effect on levels of homocysteine that helped slow the rate of brain shrinkage.

The study author, Professor David Smith, said the results were more significant than he had expected.

“It’s a bigger effect than anyone could have predicted,” he said, “and it’s telling us something biological.

“These vitamins are doing something to the brain structure – they’re protecting it, and that’s very important because we need to protect the brain to prevent Alzheimer’s.”

He said more research was now needed to see whether high doses of B vitamins actually prevented the development of Alzheimer’s in people with mild cognitive impairment.

The Alzheimer’s Research Trust, which co-funded the study, also called for further investigation.

“These are very important results, with B vitamins now showing a prospect of protecting some people from Alzheimer’s in old age,” said chief executive Rebecca Wood.

“The strong findings must inspire an expanded trial to follow people expected to develop Alzheimer’s.”

B vitamins are found naturally in many foods, including meat, fish, eggs and green vegetables.

Experts are warning people not to start taking very high levels of vitamin supplements without medical advice.

Chris Kennard, chair of the Medical Research Council’s Neurosciences and Mental Health Board, said: “We must be cautious when recommending supplements like vitamin B as there are separate health risks if taken in too high doses.

“Further research is required before we can recommend the supplement as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.”

The UK’s Food Standards Agency says taking more than 200 milligrams a day of vitamin B6 can lead to a loss of feeling in the arms and legs, but these symptoms are reversible once someone stops taking the supplements.

It adds that taking 2mg or less of vitamin B12 supplements a day is unlikely to cause harm, but that there is not enough evidence to know what the effects of taking more than that would be.

Taking too much folic acid – over 1mg a day – can mask signs of vitamin B12 deficiency. An early symptom of B12 deficiency is anaemia, but taking large amounts of folic acid treats the anaemia without treating the B12 deficiency.

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sagar@urdutahzeeb.net
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Super bug vs. superbug

http://urdutahzeeb.net/health/articles/super-bug-vs-superbug-2

S A Sagar
One of the hardiest insects around, the cockroach, may hold the key to next-generation antibiotics, British scientists hope.

The brain and nervous system of the cockroach and the locust hold nine molecules that are toxic to superbugs which are becoming resistant to mainstream drugs, Nottingham University, central England, said in a press release on Monday.

Scientists at Nottingham University found that the insects, which are widely reviled for their dirty image, could actually be more of a health benefit than a health risk.

They have identified up to nine different molecules in the tissues of cockroaches and locusts that are toxic to bacteria and they hope will pave the way for new treatments for multi-drug resistant bacterial infections.

The tissues of the brain and nervous system of the insects were able to kill more than 90% of MRSA and E.coli bacteria, without harming human cells.

Simon Lee, a postgraduate researcher who is presenting his work at the Society for General Microbiology’s autumn meeting in Nottingham, said: “We hope that these molecules could eventually be developed into treatments for E. coli and MRSA infections that are increasingly resistant to current drugs.

“Also, these new antibiotics could potentially provide alternatives to currently available drugs that may be effective but have serious and unwanted side effects,” he said.
The research is still at a very early phase. Many years of testing lie ahead if the promise continues to hold true.

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A Single-Dose Drug For Malaria

S A Sagar

http://urdutahzeeb.net/health/articles/a-single-dose-drug-for-malaria-3

US National Institutes of Health (NIH) are reported to have discovered a new experimental drug capable of curing malaria with one, single dose,

NIH is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. It consists of 27 separate institutes and offices which includes the Office of the Director. Francis S. Collins is the current Director.

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes biting people at night to feed on their blood and infecting them with the parasite. However, NITD609, a new drug discovered by an international team of scientists, has been found to be an effective treatment against two of the most common parasites responsible for malaria.

In their study on mice, they found the drug to target a different parasite protein than other anti-malarial drugs, requiring only one oral dose to clear the tropical disease.

A single dose cure addresses the unmet medical need for malaria, with researchers looking forward to seeing how this compound performed in clinical trials.

NITD609 has certain properties that allow it to be manufactured in pill form in large number of quantities.
Researchers say if NITD609 is found to behave similarly in humans as it did on the mice, it would make it possible to develop it into a drug to be taken just once. The malaria drugs available now have to be taken between one and four times a day for an entire week.

According to the study published in the journal Science, the new drug found to be effective when tested on a small number of mice, could see human trials backed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG, begin later this year.

The malaria parasite causes fever, joint pain and death. According to the WHO, last year, there were an estimated 240 million cases of malaria, and of total deaths, 91% occurred in Africa, 85% of which were children under five.

In 2009, malaria deaths world-wide fell to 836,000 from over one million a few years earlier, including declines in Eritrea, Rwanda, Zambia and Zanzibar. Over the past decade, malaria cases has fallen in nine countries in Africa and 29 other countries.

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A Single-Dose Drug For Malaria

S A Sagar

http://urdutahzeeb.net/health/articles/a-single-dose-drug-for-malaria-3

A Single-Dose Drug For MalariaUS National Institutes of Health (NIH) are reported to have discovered a new experimental drug capable of curing malaria with one, single dose,

NIH is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. It consists of 27 separate institutes and offices which includes the Office of the Director. Francis S. Collins is the current Director.

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes biting people at night to feed on their blood and infecting them with the parasite. However, NITD609, a new drug discovered by an international team of scientists, has been found to be an effective treatment against two of the most common parasites responsible for malaria.

In their study on mice, they found the drug to target a different parasite protein than other anti-malarial drugs, requiring only one oral dose to clear the tropical disease.

A single dose cure addresses the unmet medical need for malaria, with researchers looking forward to seeing how this compound performed in clinical trials.

NITD609 has certain properties that allow it to be manufactured in pill form in large number of quantities.
Researchers say if NITD609 is found to behave similarly in humans as it did on the mice, it would make it possible to develop it into a drug to be taken just once. The malaria drugs available now have to be taken between one and four times a day for an entire week.

According to the study published in the journal Science, the new drug found to be effective when tested on a small number of mice, could see human trials backed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG, begin later this year.

The malaria parasite causes fever, joint pain and death. According to the WHO, last year, there were an estimated 240 million cases of malaria, and of total deaths, 91% occurred in Africa, 85% of which were children under five.

In 2009, malaria deaths world-wide fell to 836,000 from over one million a few years earlier, including declines in Eritrea, Rwanda, Zambia and Zanzibar. Over the past decade, malaria cases has fallen in nine countries in Africa and 29 other countriesا

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How to Care for Your Eyes

S A  Sagar

http://urdutahzeeb.net/health/articles/how-to-care-for-your-eyes

Although we use our eyes everyday, we rarely pay attention to them until there is some serious problem. You can maintain perfect eyesight for most of your life by following some simple remedies.

William Blake described the eyes as the “windows of the soul.” Practically speaking, our eyes are the windows through which we view the world around us. Either way, there’s no question that we place great value on our eyes and our vision. Surveys have shown that of the five senses, sight is the one that people fear losing the most.

Given the important function our eyes perform for us, it would seem to follow that we’d give them the best care possible, but sometimes we get too busy or we forget to do a few simple things that can keep our eyes healthy. Well, in this article, we will give you all the eye care tips you need over the course of the following sections:

* Protecting Your Eyes
The first part of taking care of your eyes is to make sure they do not get injured in the first place. First, we will show you how proper nutrition will keep your eyes strong and healthy. Remember when you were a kid and your mom told you that carrots would improve your eyesight? Well, she might be right. Next, we tell you how to prevent eye injuries whether you’re playing sports or doing household chores. We will also tell you when to wear safety glasses and what kinds will work best for you.

* Preventing Eye Problems
Your daily habits could be seriously injuring your eyes. Without you knowing or feeling it, your eyes could be slowly deteriorating from abuse. First, we will tell you about ultraviolet light, the damage it can cause, and why you need the UV protection from your sunglasses. We will also tell you about eyestrain and whether or not it’s true that sitting too close to the TV will harm your eyesight. We will also give you special eye care tips for diabetics and tell you why you should be diligent about your eye doctor appointments.

* Congenital Eye Disorders
In a certain sense, some people are just born with defective eyes. Like other congenital disorders, there are many eye problems that are encoded into the individual’s genetics.  There disorders can include fairly simple problems like near sightedness or far sightedness, or they can be debilitating problems like glaucoma. In this section, we will tell you the symptoms of these disorders and the available treatments. We will also let you know what over-the-counter help you can get for failing vision.

* Temporary Eye Conditions
Even with the best care, eye problems will eventually crop up. Whether it is just a pesky infection, or blurriness caused by overuse, there are many temporary eye conditions that can be quite frightening.  In this section, we will cover all the major eye problems like pinkeye, dry eyes, red eyes, and sties. We will also let you know about the danger of babies and pinkeye and give a guide for how and when to buy eyedrops.

An Important Aspect of Health

If you were asked, “Do you take care of your eyes once a week or at least once a month?”, the most common reply would probably be in the negative. The eyes are considered to tbe the most important organ in ourt body and yet, people neglect to care for them.

Although we use our eyes everyday, we rarely pay attention until there is some serious problem. Ayurveda advises to take care of health while in a healthy state. You can maintain perfect eyesight for most part of your life by following some simple remedies.

* • Every morning after waking up, fill your mouth with water, close the eyes and sprinkle water on them about 10-15 times. Be sure, as Ayurveda advises, to wake up before sunrise. Do not use hot water to wash the eyes.

* • Do not wash the eyes or face when the body is sweating, especially after hard physical exercise or after being exposed to heat and sun.

* • Do not stare continuously, specially while looking at long distance objects. Blinking or giving rest to the eyes is good. Do not look at the objects in bright sunlight for a long time. Avoid reading, writing or working with eyes in improper light, or when the light is not sufficient. Take a break and give rest to the eyes if you feel heaviness or tiredness in the eyes.

* • Staying up late in the night and sleeping after sunrise is harmful for the eyes. In case of staying up late, drink a cup of water after each hour or half hour.
* • Protect your eyes from dust, smoke, strong sunlight and strong wind. Avoid staying long in such conditions. In case you have to stay, blink often and massage the closed eyes gently with your palms.

* • Try to maintain regular and clean bowel movements. Constipation weakens the eyesight. In addition; too much anxiety, mental stress, grief, anger and worry are harmful for the eyes.

* • Regular eye exercise maintains perfect eyesight. One simple method of exercise is moving the eyeball – right and left; upwards and downwards and rotating it in the clockwise and anti-clockwise directions.

* • Another simple way of protecting of eyes is through ‘palming’. Rub the palms of both hands for about 30 seconds, close the eyes and gently place the warm palms over the eyes.

* • Eating cabbage and carrots is very beneficial for the eyes. These should be eaten raw. It is all right to drink cabbage and carrot juice mixed together or separately.

* • If Triphala (an Ayurvedic preparation) is available, you can wash the eyes with ‘Triphala water’. Put a teaspoonful of Triphala powder in a glass of water, and let it stay overnight. Strain the water and wash the eyes with it.

* • Putting one drop of honey in each eye once a week is also beneficial to the eyes. It causes a bit of irritation, but cleans the eyes.

Try these remedies and keep your eyes healthy and beautiful. These remedies can be used by everyone, including those having weak eyesight. Through these methods, one can even improve one’s weak eyesight and maybe even give up the use of spectacles forever.
This information is solely for informational purposes.
IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE.
E.mail: <sa.sagar7@gmail.com, sagar@urdutahzeeb.com

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