Home Remedies: White Teeth

• Brush your teeth with salt; put the salt on the toothbrush instead of regular toothpaste.
• Mix baking soda into your regular toothpaste and brush your teeth with this mixture. You should see results within weeks.
• Use lemon juice to brush your teeth.
• Hydrogen peroxide is an effective chemical used to whiten teeth. Brushing your teeth daily for one minute will give quick results.
• Take some foil and fold it to form to your teeth. Take a little toothpaste and baking soda and mix together really well. Put some of the mixture into the foil and place on your teeth. Leave on for one-hour everyday. Brush teeth normally afterwards. You will notice whiter teeth in just a few days.

Your Doc Will Be Able To See Your ECG Results On His Phone

A HEART-WARMING MMS

Malathy Iyer I TNN

Mumbai: Residents of areas between Vikhroli and Chunabhatti can take heart. Any resident, at the slightest hint of chest pain, can dial a number, and a medical worker will rush to her or his home in an ambulance or a motorcycle, track the patient's electrocardiogram (ECG) and immediately send it via MMS to a cardiologist's mobile phone. Diagnosis of a heart attack has never been so "assisted'', claim the bunch of IITians and cardiologists who will unveil their 'Saving Lives' project on Republic Day.
    For the six cardiologists who will oversee the project, it is an academic challenge. "Worldwide, the door-to-balloon time (time for angioplasty) is 90 minutes after diagnosis. We aim to reduce it to 60 minutes with this technology,'' says Dr Sandip Rane from Chembur.
    Tweaking the telemedicine idea a wee bit, the IIT team, led by Dr Uday Desai of the electrical engineering department cell, has worked out a way of compressing heavy, medical diagnostic files into easyto-transfer MMS. "It's the synthesis of wireless technology, digital signal processing and biomedical engineering,'' said Dr Srikant Parikh, an ex-IBM employee who is a part of the venture. To avail of the ECG-on-an-MMS facility, families of persons experiencing chest pain only have to dial 25277000 or 25277001. "Our doctor will take the specially designed ECG machine in an ambulance or a motorbike to the patient's home,'' explained cardiologists Nitin Burkule and Rajiv Karnik. Once the ECG—a recording of the heart's electrical activity—is taken, the on-site doctor can immediately MMS to the mobile phone of the heart specialist whose location is closest to the patient. "If the reading is irregular, we will immediately convey that the patient needs to be hospitalised for a primary angioplasty or be given thrombolytic treatment immediately,'' said Dr Bhaskar Shah. The phone diagnosis will ensure earlier treatment to patient, thereby reducing the severity of damage due to any delay, said the doctors, most of whom work at Thane's Jupiter Hospital. "We plan to extend the project to Thane within three months and cover the entire city within a year,'' said Dr Rane. Incidentally, the idea for an ECG-on-MMS machine was born three years ago in Dr Desai's IIT laboratory to further the cause of social medicine. At the monthly meetings of the M u m b a i chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), he discussed the idea with his friend Srikant Parikh, who roped in another friend Dr Sunil Lakdawala, to set up A3 Remote Monitoring Technologies. "That stands for anywhere, anytime access,'' says Parikh. The engineering trio states that unlike telemedicine projects that involve huge infrastructural expenses, their technology uses cellular internet facility to transfer data. "It is not only more econ o m i c, but also done in real time unlike the present-day telemedicine services that send reports long after the patient has been put t h ro u g h the test,'' said Dr Desai. Dubbing it an altruistic effort more than a business venture, Parikh said that the idea was to take this technology to the remote parts of the country. "A worker in a village not wanting to miss his day's wages will never travel to towns for a diagnosis. With this machine, a diagnosis can be done in a jiffy even if the patient is in Srinagar or Nigeria,'' said Parikh.
ARE YOU READY FOR A MOBILE ECG?
    Anyone experiencing chest pain can call members of the 'Saving Lives' project on 25277000 or 25277001. A doctor will rush to the patient's home immediately in an ambulance or a motorbike (if the patient's residence is at a congested area).
    The medical personnel will carry a specially designed, portable ECG monitor to the patient's home.
    The ECG carried out within a few minutes will, in real time, be MMSed to the cardiologist's mobile phone
If the 12-lead ECG report indicates a heart attack or any other problem, then the patient will be taken to hospital immediately for surgical or medical treatment as needed.
THE MMS-ECG'S USP
The ECG report will be transferred, using cellular internet facility, in less than a minute to the cardiologist's mobile phone. Treatment can thus begin at the patient's home itself or the patient can be taken to hospital immediately.
SUBURBS COVERED
Chunabhatti, Kurla, Chembur, Vidyavihar, Ghatkopar and Vikhroli

SAVING LIVES: (From left) Dr Srikant Parikh, Dr Sunil Lakdawala and Dr Uday Desai have set up A3 Remote Monitoring Technologies that will help heart patients locate a cardiologist in times of emergency

Hearty news for patients with acute cardiac trouble

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Mention aortic aneurysm and the challenging heart condition was considered a silent killer, till recently. Two Mumbaikars, who were diagnosed with it and saved from the brink of medical emergencies, signify the progress the city's heartcare hospitals have made.
    Aortic aneurysm occurs when the artery wall of the aorta, the largest artery in the body, weakens and could be lifethreatening as it could rupture causing internal bleeding.
WHEN AN ANEURYSM BURST....
    When Deonar resident Kamlakar Vaity (62) started complaining of severe back pain on December 5, his family didn't have the foggiest idea that something was wrong with his heart. Vaitya's heart had an aneurysm that had, like a stretched balloon, suddenly burst and was leaking blood.
    "Around 70% of such patients never make it to hospital,'' said Dr Hemant Deshmukh, who heads KEM Hospital's interventional radiology department. But Vaity not only made it to Sion Hospital but was subsequently operated by Dr Deshmukh at KEM Hospital.
    What makes Vaity's recovery remarkable is the bleakness associated with aneurysms, mainly seen among senior citizens and smokers. It isn't easily diagnosed in India because of the lack of awareness. The relatively new alternative of 'stenting'—or surgery and stents in combination—is now making aneurysm more manageable, said Dr Deshmukh.
    Vaity's blood pressure had dropped to dangerous levels and his kidney's function was impaired. For 20 days, Sion
doctors kept him afloat before transferring him to KEM. There, doctors operated him in a minimally-invasive manner—inserting a catherer and reaching the ruptured aorta to place the special cylindrical stent measuring a few mm—on December 26.
    The treatment cost is high. Though Vaity was operated in KEM, a public hospital, the family had to pay Rs 3.5 lakh for the stent alone. Vaidya's wife Sarika, who worked as a welder, was happy that family and friends had pitched in.
A HYBRID PROCEDURE
    Mulund resident B G Rao (72) was a singer but is barely able to speak today. He is recuperating from a complicated surgery at Asian Heart Institute (AHI), Bandra.
    When Rao suffered lower back pain in 2005, he was advised an MRI. "Doctors detected an aneurysm,'' said son S G Rao. They couldn't have guessed that Rao wo-uld set a medical record of sorts—becoming one of first Mumbaikars to undergo a hybrid heart procedure—a bypass and stenting at one go, after he was diagnosed with a triple aortic aneurysm.
    The family first ignored the aneurysm, "as he had no symptoms''. Only when he began to lose his voice that family panicked. Doctors even discouraged an operation at his age.
    It was on meeting cardiothoracic surgeon Ramakant Panda, the PM's doctor, in December that they decided to go ahead with the surgery. Explaining that the aneurysm was so located that only one procedure wouldn't have been possible, Dr Sudhir Vaishnav of AHI said they did a bypass and stenting.

Kamlakar Vaity

B G Rao

Stem cell therapy set for first human trial

US Nod To Use Of Embryonic Cells For Treating Spinal Injuries Raises Hope For Accident Victims

Andrew Pollack

In a research milestone, the US federal government will allow the world's first test in people of a therapy derived from human embryonic stem cells.
    Federal drug regulators said that political considerations had no role in the decision. Nevertheless, the move coincided with the inauguration of President Barack Obama, who has pledged to remove some of the financing restrictions placed on the field by former president George Bush.
    The clearance of the clinical trial — of a treatment for spinal cord injury — is to be announced on Friday by Geron, the biotechnology company that first applied to the Food and Drug Administration to conduct the trial last March. The FDA had first said no, asking for more data.
    Thomas Okarma, Geron's chief executive, said on Thursday that he did not think that the Bush administration's objections to embryonic stem cell research played a role in the FDA's delaying approval. "We really have no evidence," Okarma said, "that there was any political overhang."
    Robert Klein, the chairman of California's $3 billion stem cell research program, called the approval of the first human trial of this sort "an extraordinary benchmark."
    Stem cells derived from adults and fetuses are already being used in some clinical trials, but they generally have less versatility than embryonic stem cells in terms of what tissue types they can form. The FDA approval comes a little more than 10 years after the first human embryonic stem cells were isolated at the University of Wisconsin, in work financed by Geron.
    Because the cells can turn into any type of cell in the body, the theory is they may one day be able to provide tissues to replace worn-out organs or nonfunctioning cells to treat diabetes, heart attacks and other diseases. The field is known as regenerative medicine.
    Geron's trial will involve 8 to 10 people with severe spinal cord injuries. The cells will be injected into the spinal cord at the injury site 7 to 14 days after the injury occurs, because there is evidence the therapy will not work for much older injuries.
    The study is a so-called Phase I trial, aimed mainly at testing the safety of the therapy. There would still be years of testing and many hurdles to overcome before the treatment would become routinely available to patients.
    Geron, which is based in Menlo Park, California, said that it had identified up to seven medical centers for the trial but that those sites must first get permission from their own internal review boards to participate.
    Even as some researchers hailed the onset of clinical trials, others expressed trepidation that if the therapy proves unsafe — or even if it is safe but does not work — it could cause a backlash that would set the field back for years. "It would be a disaster, a nightmare, if we ran into these kinds of problems in this very first trial," said John Kessler, the chairman of neurology and director of the stem cell institute at Northwestern University. NYT NEWS SERVICE

THE TRAVEL HEALTH KIT

Travel sickness, sunburn or jetlag. If you're off for a holiday, make sure to pack items from ROUGE's health suitcase

BYAINDRILA MITRA

Problem: Insect bites Pack: Baking soda
Bugs and bees always jeopardise an adventurous holiday. But fret not, all you need to do is pack some baking soda. Says Dr. Apratim Goel, cosmetic surgeon, "With an insect sting, there's an acid release in the skin. Just mix the soda with water and apply the same on the place you've been bitten. For white puss formation, apply Fucidin ointment." Also carry anti-allergic tablets, she recommends.
Problem: Sunburn Pack: Aloe vera gel and cooling talcum powder
If you're a beach babe, a sunscreen with minimum SPF 15 is a must-have. However, if you suffer from sunburn on an especially sunny day, apply some aloe vera gel to soothe your skin. A mixture of aloe vera, menthol, calamine and peppermint like Calosoft or Sarna can work wonders according to Dr. Goel. She adds that carrying a cooling talcum powder in your travel kit is a good idea.
Problem: Stomach cramps Pack: Mestal/ Ponstan and camomile tea
Dr. Bharati Desai, family physician, prescribes Mestal or Ponstan tablets for menstrual cramps. She says, "You can take up to three tablets a day, depending on the extent of pain." Besides, camomile tea also helps in relieving stomach spasms.
Problem: Hangover Pack: Lemon
Excessive drinking and partying can leave you with a disastrous hangover. Dr. Goel suggests carrying lemon with you. "Lots of water with a dash of lime is a perfect solution to battle an after-party hangover," she explains. Further she adds, "You could actually drink beer to flush out the toxins." So make merry all the way!
Problem: Damaged hair
Pack: Sun-protective hair balm/ serum
Whether you're on a luxury holiday or a backpacking adventure, your hair is inevitably exposed to the sun. Dr. Goel advises to carry hair balm or serum with sunscreen that are available in the market from most cosmetic brands. Also, condition your hair for 20 minutes with a conditioning mask, she points out.
Problem: Heatstroke Pack: Crocin/ Paracetamol and salt
If you're off to a tropical, humid destination, and likely to spend hours under the sun, it's sensible to carry some salt with you. Dr. Desai explains, "Drinking lots of salt water or even nimbu paani is the perfect solution to a mild heatstroke. It helps to hydrate your body and replenish yourself. Also, a crocin or paracetamol helps in case you have a throbbing headache." And do not forget your umbrellas and sunglasses when you're out in the sun for a long time.
Problem: Diarrhoea Pack: Imodium/Redol
Dr. Desai says, "Taking Imodium or Redol, which contain loperamide, orally is an instant reliever." However, she cautions, if you have diarrhoea, make sure to only drink mineral water and opt for boiled food. Also, avoid dairy products like cottage cheese and raw food. It's better to go for canned foods at this time.
Problem: Jetlag
Pack: Melatonin tablets
It's imperative to adjust your body clock according to the time zone you are travelling to, in order to avoid severe jetlag. In addition, Dr. Goel claims that Melatonin tablets also help to fight jetlag. "Eat more carbohydrate foods," she recommends.

How to Improve Your Memory & Exercise Your Brain

Everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information. Whether you want to win the World Memory Championships, ace your history test, or simply remember where you put your keys, this article can get you started. Scientists believe that exercising your brain can create a 'cognitive reserve' that will help you stay sharp as you age.

 

1. Convince yourself that you do have a good memory that will improve. Too many people get stuck here and convince themselves that their memory is bad, that they are just not good with names, that numbers just slip out of their minds for some reason. Erase those thoughts and vow to improve your memory. Commit yourself to the task and bask in your achievements — it's hard to keep motivated if you beat yourself down every time you make a little bit of progress.

 

2. Keep your brain active. The brain is not a muscle, but regularly "exercising" the brain actually does keep it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills—especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument—and challenging your brain with puzzles and games you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.

3. Exercise daily. Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental "pictures."

4. Reduce stress. Chronic stress, although it does not physically damage the brain, can make remembering much more difficult. Even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress.

5. Eat well and eat right. There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine). A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants—broccoli, blueberries, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Feed your brain with such supplements as Thiamine, Vitamin E, Niacin and Vitamin B-6. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.

 

6. Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don't really learn people's names at first because we aren't really concentrating on remembering them. You'll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you'll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you're able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.

7. Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you're trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.

 

8. Create vivid, memorable images. You remember information more easily if you can visualize it. If you want to associate a child with a book, try not to visualize the child reading the book – that's too simple and forgettable. Instead, come up with something more jarring, something that sticks, like the book chasing the child, or the child eating the book. It's your mind – make the images as shocking and emotional as possible to keep the associations strong.

 

9. Repeat things you need to learn. The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you'll remember it, right? It's a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker's name or your best friend's birthday, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.

 

10. Group things you need to remember. Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you'll find it easier to remember all four.

 

11. Organize your life. Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn't improve your memory, you'll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won't have to search for your keys anymore).

 

12. Try meditation. Research now suggests that people who regularly practice "mindfulness" meditation are able to focus better and may have better memories. Mindfulness (also known as awareness or insight meditation) is the type commonly practiced in Western countries and is easy to learn. Studies at Massachusetts General Hospital show that regular meditation thickens the cerebral cortex in the brain by increasing the blood flow to that region. Some researchers believe this can enhance attention span, focus, and memory.

 

13. Sleep well. The amount of sleep we get affects the brain's ability to recall recently learned information. Getting a good night's sleep – a minimum of seven hours a night – may improve your short-term memory and long-term relational memory, according to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School.

 

14. Build your memorization arsenal. Learn pegs, memory palaces, and the Dominic System. These techniques form the foundation for mnemonic techniques, and will visibly improve your memory.

 

15. Venture out and learn from your mistakes. Go ahead and take a stab at memorizing the first one hundred digits of pi, or, if you've done that already, the first one thousand. Memorize the monarchs of England through your memory palaces, or your grocery list through visualization. Through diligent effort you will eventually master the art of memorization.

 

 

 

TOAST TO YOUR HEALTH

Dietician Neesha Bukht teaches Kiran Mehta the art of mixing drinks to make happy hour healthy!

— N e e s h a M a r i a B u k h t i s a d i e t i c i a n a n d I S S A t r a i n e r

MINTY MOJITO
What is it: 30 ml vodka infused with peppermint tea and green tea for six hours (simply drop a peppermint tea bag and a green tea bag into hot water. Allow it to cool and add the mix to the vodka). Add a few drops of lemon juice. To create an anti-sugar mojito, add 10 ml honey. Top up with mineral water if you like.
What it does: Green tea is loaded with anti-oxidants and has properties that fire up your metabolism. So drink up without worrying about your weight!
    Peppermint melts away the stress and also soothes gastric and digestive disorders, fights allergies, asthma and even cancer.
    Honey heals with its anti-bacterial properties while helping the kidneys and intestines function better.
MASALA MAI TAI
What is it: 45 ml garam masala rum, 50 ml lime juice, 45 ml orange curaçao, 45 ml orange syrup, garnish with a mint sprig. Garam masala rum: 7 gm whole cloves, 2 gm black peppercorns, 2 gm whole green cardamom (muddled slightly to release the seeds), 2 gm coriander seeds, 2 gm cumin seeds, 2 gm mace/ nutmeg (not powdered), a sprig of curry leaves
    Roast the spices on a hot tava and pour in a litre of rum. Add a sprig of fresh green curry leaves and let sit in an airtight container for 36 hours before straining off the solids.
Orange syrup: Boil water and add three teaspoons of sugar. Add oranges without the skin. Boil till mixture reaches a thick consistency such that it coats the spoon.
What it does: Clove has anti-inflammatory properties that relieve muscle aches as well as arthritis and rheumatism pain. The aromatic spice also has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Curry leaves help reduce blood cholesterol levels and positively affect heart muscle contraction. Cumin seeds are an excellent source of iron, an integral component of haemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lungs to all the other cells. Cumin also stimulates the secretion of pancreatic enzymes thereby aiding in digestion and assimilation of nutrients. And lastly mace is a natural aphrodisiac.
TALISMAN
What is it: 30 ml scotch, 20 ml honey water, a shot of espresso coffee and cayenne pepper.
What it does: The cayenne pepper enhances cardiovascular performance while lowering blood pressure. It has an energising effect on the entire system. It is traditionally used to overcome fatigue and restore stamina and vigour.
GINGER SNAP
MARTINI
What is it: 1 part vodka, 1/2 part amaretto, 1/2 part sugar syrup, 1/2 part honey, 2 1/4 part thick slices of fresh ginger, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of clove, a pinch of allspice and crystallised ginger for garnish. Mix all the ingredients together into a shaker. Strain and serve.
What it does: Cinnamon regulates blood sugar levels and also helps lower cholesterol levels. Ginger regulates the digestive system. When added to foods that are difficult to digest, such as proteins or fats that may cause bloating and flatulence, (think cauliflower, cabbage and beans), allspice can relieve any discomfort that is associated with indigestion.
    It is also beneficial in the treatment of arthritic and rheumatic pains and other muscular and joint problems. The spice has a calming effect on the nervous system and helps fight stress and anxiety.
BEAUTY ON THE ROCKS
What it is: 4 strawberries, 4 tulsi leaves (torn in half), cracked black pepper, 5 ml honey, 15 ml rum, 15 ml peach liqueur, 90 ml pineapple juice, 5 ml lemon juice.
What it does: Loaded with vitamin C thanks to the strawberries and lime, this drink keeps your skin healthy and glowing, and also beats the sniffles.
    Black pepper contains powerful antioxidants and is great at beating oxidative stress or the damage caused by freeradicals, which is one of the major factors of ageing. Several of its compounds enhance the action of other antioxidants. This makes black pepper is valuable in minimising the damage caused by a diet rich in saturated fats.
    Tulsi leaves are a tonic for the nerves and also help sharpen memory. The herb also strengthens the kidney and can help in cases of a kidney stone. It provides significant protection against stress.