wellness WATCH

Achilles' HEEL

You may need to check whether high heels are right for you

A COLLEAGUE recently narrated an interesting tale about how her doctor had traced high heels as the reason behind her back pain. Now, most of us know that stilettos and style make most women go tip-toe and maintaining equilibrium with elan is more of an art than science for them. But before you shop for that show-stealer pair, do you spare a thought for the hazards of high heels? 

    Let's understand why your style statement may come at a high price? In fact, doctors feel that the current craze for superhigh heels with very narrow toes create problems for the feet. Round-toes shoes with five or even seven-inch heels, in vogue now, are hardly better. As for the popular thongs — they expose feet and cause frequent accidents. They suggest that the best shoes for healthy feet mimic the foot's natural shape, while offering support to the arch and a flexible sole underneath the toes. 
    Says Dr Sanjay Swarup, senior consultant, orthopaedics, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital & Max Healthcare: "There are some major health problems with high heels. First, owing to the position of the feet, the big toe starts deviating outside. This condition is called Hallux Valgux and leads to the formation of bunions — a swelling and redness at the base of the toe." According to Dr Swarup, the second problem pencil-heels can lead to relates pain in the heels. Since the body weight is transferred to a small surface area, the heels get stiff, causing constant pain in the heels. And third, if you stand or walk for a long time wearing high heels, there are definite chances of getting low back or neck pain or even disc prolapse in a severe case. This happens because a woman wearing high heels tends to bend backwards to maintain the centre of gravity. This long wrong posture maintained for long hours can lead to back pain. Also, high heels can lead to calf muscle and knee joint pains, making the wearer more prone to spraining an ankle, Dr Swarup adds. 
    There are other reasons as well. An elevated heel lifts the foot out of its natural position and shortens the Achilles' tendon. Such shoes also 
pitch the weight of the body forward disproportionately onto the ball of the foot, which in turn upsets the stabilising mechanism of the foot. Besides, fashionable shoes that try to convert the foot into an ideal form, with the toes narrowed or tapered to a point, often require cramming the foot into less space than it would normally occupy. These can impede the foot's mechanical function by limiting toe and ankle flexibility. 
    Regular tight shoes put pressure on nerves and even damage them, and also contribute in the long run to arthritis, say doctors. In the worst case, they add, tight shoes can also produce foot deformities. 
    That's said, experts say all this is relative. Women who are strong and exercise regularly often don't have any complications, although they acknowledge that pencil heels, due to their awkward shape, can cause stress to the leg, heels and back muscles. 
    So what's to be done? At a time when fashion is getting to dizzy heights, it's obvious that sheer health rhetoric won't work. But paying attention to what's best for an individual may go a long way in removing the odd problems. Dr Swarup advises that women should choose the right shoes for their feet type and their activity. For instance, women with 
high arches may need more cushioning, and people with relatively flat feet may need more arch support. 
    So, the next time you jump suddenly from stilettos to flats, or from daily flip-flops to high heels, don't forget that the best way to allow your tissues to adapt is to make no rapid changes. Changes in footwear and training should always be gradual — evolutionary, not revolutionary, say experts. 
PRECARIOUSLY BALANCED 
If you stand or walk for a long time wearing high heels, there are definite chances of getting low back or neck pain. This happens because a woman wearing high heels tends to bend backwards to maintain the centre of gravity. If stretched for long hours, this wrong posture can lead to back pain 
Owing to the position of the feet when wearing high heels, the big toe starts deviating outside. This leads to the formation of a bunion, which is swelling and redness at the base of the toe Since the body weight is transferred to a small surface area, the heel gets stiff, causing constant pain in the heels

A. P. Herbert  - "A high-brow is someone who looks at a sausage and thinks of Picasso."

INFORM ALL YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY MEMBERS

Please Read Very Carefully - INFORM ALL YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY MEMBERS . 

India has become a dumping ground for banned drugs;also the business for production of banned drugs is booming. Plz make sure that u buy drugs only if prescribed by a doctor (Also, ask which company manufactures it, this would help to ensure that u get what is prescribed at the Drug Store) and that also from a reputed drug store. Not many people know about these banned drugs and consume them causing a lot of damage to themselves. We forward Jokes and other junk all the time. This is far more important. 

Please Make sure uforward it everyone u know.


DANGEROUS DRUGS HAVE BEEN GLOBALLY DISCARDED BUT ARE AVAILABLE IN INDIA . The most common ones are D cold, action 500 & Nimulid. 


ANALGIN: 
This is a pain-killer. Reason for ban: Bone marrow depression. 
Brand name : Novalgin 
___________________________________________________________ 
CISAPRIDE:
Acidity, constipation. Reason for ban : irregular heartbeat 
Brand name : Ciza, Syspride 
____________________________________________________________ 
DROPERIDOL:
Anti-depressant. Reason for ban : Irregular heartbeat. 
Brand name : Droperol 
______________________________________________________________ 
FURAZOLIDONE:
Antidiarrhoeal.. Reason for ban : Cancer.
Brand name : Furoxone, Lomofen 


_____________________________________________________________ 
NIMESULIDE: 
Painkiller, fever. Reason for ban : Liver failure. 
Brand name : Nise, Nimulid 
________________________________________________________________________ 

NITROFURAZONE: 
Antibacterial cream. 

Reason for ban : 

Cancer.. 
Brand name : Furacin 
________________________________________________________________________ 

PHENOLPHTHALEIN: 
Laxative. Reason for ban : Cancer. 
Brand name : Agarol 
________________________________________________________________________ 
PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE: 
cold and cough. Reason for ban : stroke.
Brand name : D'cold, Vicks Action-500 
________________________________________________________________________ 
OXYPHENBUTAZONE: 
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Reason for ban : Bone marrow depression. 
Brand name : Sioril 
_______________________________________________________________________ 
PIPERAZINE: 
Anti-worms. Reason for ban : Nerve damage. 
Brand name : Piperazine 
________________________________________________________________________ 
QUINIODOCHLOR:
Anti-diarrhoeal. Reason for ban : Damage to sight.
Brand name : Enteroquinol 


-- 
Dr. Kaiser Jamil
Research Director
Indo American Cancer Institute & Research Centre
Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500034, A.P. India
--
Akbar Jiwani
9867700066
9323500008
Adrienne Gusoff  - "Opportunity knocked. My doorman threw him out."

Almost half in U.S. will get knee arthritis: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly half of U.S. adults will develop painful arthritis of the knee, a leading cause of disability, and hospitalizations for the condition are soaring, researchers reported on Wednesday.

During their lifetimes, an estimated 45 percent of Americans will develop knee osteoarthritis, a common kind of arthritis that wears away cartilage cushioning the knee joint, according to a study in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and University of North Carolina researchers based the findings on data from 3,068 people age 45 and older in North Carolina.

Obese people had a higher risk, with the extra weight putting additional stress on the knee joint. While 35 percent of normal-weight people got osteoarthritis of the knee, 65 percent of obese people developed it, along with 44 percent of overweight people, the researchers said.

"Simply put, people who keep their weight within the normal range are much less likely to develop symptomatic knee osteoarthritis as they get older, and thus much less likely to face the need for major surgical procedures such as knee replacement surgery," Dr. Joanne Jordan of the University of North Carolina, one of the researchers, said in a statement.

There were no significant differences in risk associated with sex, race or education level, the researchers said.

The people in the study were interviewed and were given an exam that included X-ray images of their knees.

In addition, a report by an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed that hospitalizations due to osteoarthritis rose to 735,000 in 2006 from 322,000 in 1993, mostly due to an increase in knee replacement operations.

From 2000 to 2006, knee replacement surgery rates rose 65 percent, while hip replacement surgery rates rose 21 percent, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, is the most common type of arthritis. It can affect any joint but most often affects the hands, hips, knees and spine.

It worsens over time and there is no cure. The pain can be disabling and doctors may recommend joint replacement surgery.

(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Maggie Fox and John O'Callaghan)

John Belushi  - "I owe it all to little chocolate donuts."

OUR MOST SPECIAL GRATITUDE AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR THE SUPPORT

Perniagaan tanpa risiko yang besar

Lihat bagaimana permulaan modal yang kecil membantu anda agar wang pelaburan tidak dibazirkan begitu sahaja.

a. Permulaan modal mampu

b. Kualiti produk yang dipercayai beribu tahun lamanya

c. Sumber pemakanan sunnah Nabi SAW

d. Tidak terikat dengan pembelian wajib bulanan serta sistem MLM yang memeritkan

e. Anda sendiri memilih untuk menjadikan madu sebagai sumber pendapatan utama atau sampingan tanpa paksaan!

Petikan berita dari Utusan Malaysia:

PNS disaran Hentikan biaya francais

KUALA LUMPUR 8 Sept. 2009 - Perbadanan Nasional Bhd. (PNS) diminta memberhentikan pembiayaan bagi beberapa sistem francais di bawah kelolaannya kerana didapati tidak mendatangkan keuntungan langsung kepada francaisi.

Ia berikutan terdapatnya keadaan seolah-olah francaisor menjadikan francaisi umpan untuk mendapatkan dana kerajaan dengan mudah.

Kebimbangan itu disuarakan oleh lebih 30 usahawan yang kini bimbang kemungkinan diistiharkan muflis berikutan kegagalan mereka meneruskan perniagaan yang disertai.

Bekas francaisi Marrybrown, Jukebox, Watershop, VV Shop, Camps Apparel, Sinma dan Kwikstop berharap pendedahan yang dibuat akan membuka mata pihak berkaitan untuk mencari jalan penyelesaian.

Setiap usahawan kini menanggung hutang sekitar RM100,000 hingga RM450,000 setelah didakwa terdapat penindasan dan ketidakadilan yang dilakukan oleh syarikat induk atau francaisor itu.

"Sepatutnya, di dalam perniagaan francais mestilah wujud keadaan menang-menang tetapi dalam keadaan ini keuntungan lebih memihak kepada francaisor," dakwa bekas francaisi Jukebox, Hapsah Jaafar kepada wartawan hari ini.

Katanya, para francaisi kerap menghadapi kerugian yang tidak munasabah dan kurang jelas seolah-olah "dicipta" oleh francaisor.

"Antaranya, francaisi akan berhutang belian stok kerana ia tidak dibenarkan memilih dan mengawal stok sendiri. Sebaliknya ia dikawal dan ditentukan oleh francaisor.

"Had belian stok yang tidak dikawal dan dipantau serta penghantaran stok hampir setiap hari telah menyebabkan belian melebihi jualan. Akhirnya francaisi berhutang dengan francaisor."

Beliau amat berharap PNS tidak lagi meneruskan sistem francais yang membabitkan syarikat-syarikat induk tersebut supaya lebih ramai lagi bakal francaisi akan terselamat.

Hapsah yang terpaksa menutup perniagaan selepas setahun beroperasi berkata, bagi sistem francais Jukebox, katanya, PNS membiayai 11 peserta di mana kini lapan telah menutup perniagaan.

"Tiga lagi rakan kami sedang "nyawa-nyawa ikan" dan akan berakhir dengan nasib yang sama." Francaisor bagi Jukebox adalah Harian Shoes Sdn. Bhd., yang menjual kasut lelaki, wanita dan kanak-kanak serta aksesori.

Peserta PNS pula rata-rata merupakan bekas siswa dan siswazah.

"Bayangkan pada usia yang muda, kami kini telah dibebankan dengan hutang yang tidak sepatutnya," kata bekas francaisi Marrybrown Restaurant, Md Hizal Mustafa.

Katanya, kini terdapat lapan buah outlet Marrybrown yang terpaksa ditutup walau pun kurang dua tahun beroperasi berikutan menghadapi masalah yang hampir serupa dengan francaisornya.

"Jika kami dikatakan tidak mampu untuk menjalankan perniagaan, bagaimana PNS boleh yakin kepada kami dan meluluskan pinjaman kami." "Malah sebahagian daripada kami menggunakan wang poket sendiri bagi memulakan perniagaan sebelum pinjaman PNS diperolehi," katanya.

"Bayangkan berapa banyak wang pelaburan kerajaan untuk PNS terbuang tanpa hasil. Jika francais berjaya dan kami mampu membayar balik pinjaman, bukankan ia menguntungkan semua pihak."

Md Hizal berkata, terdapat juga francaisi bukan di bawah kelolaan PNS menghadapi masalah yang sama.

Sementara itu, Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) yang menganjurkan sidang akhbar pada hari ini berharap pihak kementerian yang berkaitan dapat menyelesaikan kemelut francais dan francaisor ini.

"Pihak pembiaya umpamanya perlu melihat semula sistem francais secara keseluruhannya. Mereka perlu sekurang-kurangnya gariskan tahap kejayaan francaisi itu, adakah ia berjaya setakat pinjaman berjaya diperolehi atau bagaimana?," kata Setiausaha Kerja PPIM, Datuk Nadzim Johan.

PNS sebelum ini katanya, telah memberi pemahaman kepada peserta bahawa mereka akan mendapat bimbingan dan bantuan daripada PNS serta syarikat induk yang dipilih."

Namun dengan situasi buntu ketika ini melihatkan pihak terbabit termasuk kementerian berkaitan, dan PFM seperti melepaskan tangan, katanya.

Bekas usahawan yang terlibat telah mengajukan permasalahan mereka kepada PNS, PFM malah kementerian terbabit, tetapi tiada sebarang tindakan di ambil.

"Mungkin akta francais perlu diubah," kata Nadzim. - Bernama

Sumber dari:

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0909&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Ekonomi&pg=ek_01.htm

Penggunaan madu Yaman dalam perubatan silam menjangkau usia ribuan tahun lamanya

Sumber ihsan dari seorang rakan perubatan di Calgary University of Canada,

Arabic Medical Manuscripts Of The Wellcome Library: A Descriptive Catalogue Of The Haddad Collection (Wms Arabic 401-487)

Learning About Heart Failure

Learning to live with heart failure may be easier if you understand what's happening inside the body. This section explains what happens when someone develops heart failure.

Heart failure can involve the heart's left side, right side or both sides. However, it usually affects the left side first. Each side is made up of two chambers: the atrium, or upper chamber; and the ventricle, or lower chamber. The atrium receives blood into the heart, and the ventricle pumps it where it needs to go. Heart failure occurs when any of these chambers lose their ability to keep up with the amount of blood flow.

What is left-sided heart failure?

Left-sided or left ventricular (LV) heart failure involves the heart's left ventricle (lower chamber). Oxygen-rich blood travels from the lungs to the left atrium, then on to the left ventricle, which pumps it to the rest of the body. Because this chamber supplies most of the heart's pumping power, it's larger than the others and essential for normal function.

If the left ventricle loses its ability to contract normally (called systolic failure), the heart can't pump with enough force to push enough blood into circulation. If the ventricle loses its ability to relax normally (diastolic failure) because the muscle has become stiff, the heart can't properly fill with blood during the resting period between each beat. This is an important distinction because the drug treatments for each type of failure are different.

In either case, blood coming into the left chamber from the lungs may "back up," causing fluid to leak into the lungs. (The technical term for this is pulmonary edema.) Also, as the heart's ability to pump decreases, blood flow slows down, causing fluid to build up in tissues throughout the body (edema). This excess fluid or congestion explains the term congestive heart failure, which you've probably heard before.

What is right-sided heart failure?

The right atrium receives the "used" blood that returns to the heart through the veins; then the right ventricle pumps it into the lungs to be replenished with oxygen. Right-sided or right ventricular (RV) heart failure usually occurs as a result of left-sided failure. When the left ventricle fails, increased fluid pressure is, in effect, transferred back through the lungs, ultimately damaging the heart's right side. When the right side loses pumping power, blood backs up in the body's veins. This usually causes swelling in the legs and ankles.

How quickly does heart failure develop?

Heart failure is usually a chronic disease. That means it's a long-term condition that tends to gradually become worse. By the time someone is diagnosed, chances are that the heart has been losing pumping capacity little by little for quite a while. At first the heart tries to make up for this by:

• Enlarging. When the heart chamber enlarges, it stretches more and can contract more strongly, so it pumps more blood.
• Developing more muscle mass. The increase in muscle mass occurs because the contracting cells of the heart get bigger. This lets the heart pump more strongly, at least initially.
• Pumping faster. This helps to increase the heart's output.

The body also tries to compensate in other ways. The blood vessels narrow to keep blood pressure up, trying to make up for the heart's loss of power. The body diverts blood away from less important tissues and organs to maintain flow to the most vital organs, the heart and brain. These temporary measures mask the problem of heart failure, but they don't solve it. This helps explain why some people may not become aware of their condition until years after their heart begins its decline. (It's also a good reason to have a regular checkup with your doctor.) Eventually the heart and body just can't keep up, and the person experiences the fatigue, breathing problems or other symptoms that usually prompt a trip to the doctor.

A genetic way to live 125 years

Imagine living to a healthy 125 years. Well, your imagination might someday turn into reality, thanks to scientists who have made a genetic breakthrough that they claim can prolong human life and remove cancer threat.

A team at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid has based its conclusion on tests on rodents, which made them live nearly 45 per cent longer and also left them free from tumours.

According to the scientists, if the experiments on the mice can be replicated in people, human lifespan could also be extended as the genes involved exist naturally in both rodents and humans and perform similar roles.

"The elixir of eternal youth is now not a utopian dream. The discovery opens the door to (the possibility) that humans could live 125 years and without cancer," the Daily Mail quoted lead scientist Maria Blasco as saying.

In fact, the scientists achieved their results by inserting an extra copy of three genes—called telomerase, p53 and p16, already known to be important for longevity and suppressing tumours— into the stem cells of mice.

Inserting an extra copy improved their function in the body because they produced more protein, which made them more active.

This in turn helped telomerase to protect chromosomes from shrinking, a process which normally happens naturally as all living creatures age.

And it means p53 and p16 work to prevent cells from mutating and dividing, and therefore preventing cancer, while producing a good balance of new, healthy cells—the method is "groundbreaking" as the team managed to get extra copies of both the genes into the mice.

The modified mice were allowed to breed to strengthen their new DNA pattern, which created a group of "supermice" with longer lifespans and in-built cancer protection.

"When activating p53 and p16 in mice, the incidence of cancer is reduced to practically zero. We don't think the mice lived longer because they had less cancer but because these genes also protected against ageing," co-scientist Manuel Serrano said. The mice are expected to live up to four-and-a-half years though normally their average lifespan is three years. "This is the equivalent of humans living to 125," according to the scientists.