Celebrate World Heart Day tomorrow with these tips

TAKE HEART Celebrate World Heart Day tomorrow with these tips by Dr B K Goyal that will keep your heart beating   The fact that our heart functions 24x7 can easily be taken for granted. A healthy heart, in one hour, produces enough energy to lift a one-ton weight off the ground. But recent studies show that 50 per cent of Indians are prone to heart disease, with men in their 30s at a greater risk. But the good news is that few key steps are all that you need to ensure its well-being.  TAKE A CHILL PILL  Stressful situations are accompanied by increased heart rate and blood pressure, which increase the demand for oxygen. This additional demand may lead to chest pain. Our nervous system releases hormones that raise blood pressure which can damage the lining of our arteries. So stay positive and find ways to manage stress.  LOW FAT, CARB  Eat a well-balanced diet that includes fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. It is important to keep note of the total saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, fat and sodium in your everyday menu. And follow these tips: Eat fruits without peeling Have grilled, baked or roasted fish and chicken, not fried Steam vegetables before seasoning to reduce fat intake Limit oil to two to three teaspoons per day Eat 30 gm raw garlic daily.  CHECK YOUR WEIGHT  Extra weight raises cholesterol level, blood pressure and increases risk of coronary artery disease. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute defines being overweight as having a BMI (Body Mass Index) of over 25. Those with BMI over 30 are considered obese.  KICK THE BUTT  Famed for increasing the risk of lung cancer, smoking also increases risk of heart disease. It causes rise in blood pressure and leads to the build-up of fatty plaque in the arteries. This accelerates the formation of blood clots which cause a heart attack.  CHECK FOR DIABETES  If you are diabetic, then you are three times more likely to develop coronary heart disease. Control of blood sugar levels will keep your heart safe.  GET MOVING  Exercise burns calories, helps control cholesterol and keeps diabetes away. It also lowers blood pressure and makes the arteries more flexible. Those who actively burn about 3,500 calories a week, either at work or through exercise, live longer than those who don't.  CONTROL ALCOHOL  Excessive alcohol can trigger high blood pressure, stroke, irregular heart beat and disease of the heart muscle. Calories from alcohol adds to body fat.  KNOW YOUR ROOTS  If heart disease runs in your family, precaution is a must. Risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes, obesity are passed from one generation to another.  KNOW YOUR BP  Keep a track of errant blood pressure and immediately consult your physician in case of heaviness in the chest, severe headache, short temper and uncommon bouts of anger. Blood pressure can vary with activity and age, but a healthy adult at rest generally has a systolic pressure reading between 120 and 130 and a diastolic pressure reading between 80 and 90 (or below).      (Dr B K Goyal is Director      Cardiology from Bombay Hospital      and Medical Research Centre)  — CO-ORDINATED BY VIKAS HOTWANI

Refreshing Mint Leaves for Health

Mint is a popular plant that contains a lot of benefits for health. Mint leaves (Mentha cordifolia) have a fragrant aroma and refreshing taste of cool. Light fragrant aroma of mint oil content caused asiri of menthol oil. Aroma and taste of mint combined with other ingredients to make this plant used as beauty products, toothpaste, chewing gum, shampoo and others. This leaves contain vitamin C, pro-vitamin A, phosphorus, iron, calcium and potassium.

Some toothpaste manufacturers have often used the scent of peppermint as a natural flavor. Peppermint is also used to treat teeth, it can protect the content of teeth from microbes and germs by its antiseptic. Diligently consume peppermint will make a healthy mouth and fresh breath.

Peppermint can also eliminate stress. A cup of mint tea can make the mind becomes calm. In addition, mint can also remove existing toxins in the body because mint is a diuretic and anti-microbial.

Fiber, chlorophyll and phytonutrients contained in many mint. Mint leaves is believed to restore stamina, relieve headaches, prevent fever, has cancer-preventing antioxidant properties and maintain eye health.

Many people confuse how to process mint. Some people consider merely mint leaves for garnish cake, pudding or beverages. Yet this leaves could be processed into a variety of dishes, such as seafood seasoning, mixed salad, a mixture of juice, tea or stir the mixture.

Mint tea mixed into the water bath can eliminate fatigue. Mixture of two drops of mint oil and two ounces of water are incorporated into a bottle you can use as a conditioner with the way the hair spray.

Other benefits of peppermint are:

• Eliminate dandruff on the scalp.
• Used as an aromatherapy that can refresh and hydrate skin.
• Improve blood circulation.
• Eliminate fatigue and increase energy.
• Eliminate swelling in the legs.

Benefits of Honey for Our Health

Almost everyone knows that honey is an important food source for humans and beneficial to human health, but very few people who noticed the characteristic of the producer, namely honey bees.

Bees produce honey not for themselves, but also for humans. Like other creatures in nature, bees are also dedicated himself to serve mankind; the same as the egg-laying chickens every day despite they are not need it and cows that produce milk far exceeds the needs of her children.

Honey is composed of several sugar compounds such as glucose and fructose and minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium, chlorine, sulfur, iron, and phosphate. Honey also contains vitamins B1, B2, C, B6 and B3 that composition changes according to the quality of nectar and pollen. In addition, honey is also a small amount of copper, iodine, and zinc, as well as several types of hormones.

Today, apiculture and bee products have opened a new branch of research in countries advanced in science. Other benefits of honey can be described below:

Easily digested:

Because sugar molecules in honey can convert into other sugars (eg. fructose to glucose), honey is easily digested by the most sensitive stomach though, despite having a high acid content. Honey helps kidneys and intestines to function better. Low calorie: Quality honey is, when compared with the same amount of sugar, honey calories 40% less.

While giving a lot of energy, honey can not cause gaining weight. It diffuses more rapidly through the blood: When mixed with warm water, honey diffuses into the blood in seven minutes. Free sugar molecules make the brain function better since the brain is the largest sugar consumer.

Helps blood formation:

Honey provides the energy needed by the body for blood formation. Furthermore, he helped clean the blood. Honey has a positive effect and helps regulate blood circulation. Honey also acts as a protection against capillary problems and arteriosclerosis.

Kill the bacteria:

The nature of the honey kills bacteria called "inhibition effect". Research on honey show that these properties more than doubled when diluted with water. It is interesting that the newly born bees in the colony fed diluted honey by the bees responsible for their care, as if they know the capabilities of this honey.

Here are other benefits of honey for human health:
1. increase endurance,
2. increase sexual arousal,
3. increase the milk production,
4. cure high blood pressure,
5. launch blood and urine,
6. heartburn cure,
7. treat rheumatism,
8. smooth functioning of the brain,
9. heal burns,
10. good for skin care,
11. treat sinusitis,
12. colds, coughs, etc..

Hmm .. there many other benefits that can be exploited by humans from honey, even from the days before, honey has been known as a drug and a potent drink to cure various diseases.

Finally, a vaccine to combat HIV?

Application Of Sanofi Pasteur & VaxGen Vaccine May Be Limited, Say Researchers AN experimental combination of two vaccines from Paris-based Sanofi Pasteur and US-based VaxGen has made significant progress in finding a way to combat the illness, researchers said.      Results of a six-year long phase III clinical trial in Thailand has proved that the combination of Sanofi-Pasteur's ALVAC canary pox vaccine and the failed HIV vaccine AIDSVAX of VaxGen can lower the rate of HIV infection by 31.2%. But its application may be limited and a commercial vaccine may require more time, researchers said.      The HIV vaccine trial was executed by the Thai Ministry of Public Health and included a team of leading Thai and US researchers. The trial was sponsored by the US army and conducted by the Thai Ministry of Public Health. The trial involved 16,000 volunteers.      In a press statement, which was jointly issued by the vaccine makers, Michel DeWilde, senior vice president (research) of Sanofi Pasteur said: "This is the first concrete evidence that a vaccine against HIV is eventually feasible. There is still a lot to be done. These results are significant, but do not provide a definitive answer. On the other hand, they do provide a number of possibilities for exploration and the scientific base for new studies."      The WHO, UNAID and both the vaccine firms feel that results of the combination provide a lot of possibilities for research as well as a new scientific base for studies. "The HIV virus is similar to the cold virus in that the base is unstable and keeps changing. If scientists have managed to isolate a portion of this base which is stable and can work on that it can be very significant for future studies," said a scientist working with an Indian firm, who did not want to be named.      WHO and UNAID said that while no vaccine safety issues were observed in the trial, licenser at this point in time may not be possible solely on the basis of this study's results.

10 Surprising Reasons to Eat Less Meat

It's not just about animal rights ... not by a long stretch.

You don't need to be a complete vegetarian for your diet to help protect the planet. Just eat less meat. Here's why:

1. Save the rain forest

World Wildlife Fund estimates that, every year, an area of the world's rain forests larger than the state of New York is destroyed to create grazing land. In Latin America, says the United Nations, some 70% of forests in the Amazon basin have been cut down to raise cows.

2. Refresh the air

If you've ever driven by a feed lot, you've probably had to hold your nose. No wonder. About 1.4 billion metric tons of solid manure are produced by U.S. farm animals each year - 130 times the quantity produced by people. This figure includes pigs and chickens as well as cattle, but cattle are the single largest source.

3. Keep water clean

Two-thirds of the beef cattle raised in the U.S. are fattened up using hormones like steroids, testosterone and progesterone. When the cows pee, they can pollute surface and ground water with all these chemicals, affecting the ability of frogs and fish to reproduce, too.

4. Save water

It takes 600 gallons of water to produce one hamburger patty. Just one.

5. Feed more people

It takes about 2 pounds of grain to produce a quarter-pound of burger meat. Why not convert that grain (and the resources used to grow it) into food more people can eat?

6. Stop climate change

"Hamburgers are the Hummers of food" when it comes to climate change, say scientists. Switching from steak to salad could cut as much carbon as leaving the car home a couple of days a week. Food is the third largest contributor to the average household's carbon footprint after driving and utilities. If people simply cut their meat intake from the average 90 kg/year to 53 kg/yr, meat-associated carbon emissions would drop by 44 percent.

7. Be nice

Many livestock and dairy cattle are raised in cruel and inhumane conditions where they must be injected with antibiotics so they'll fatten up and seem healthy. The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that about 70% of all antibiotics made in the U.S. are used to fatten up livestock.

8. Avoid drugs

In addition to hormones and antibiotics, conventional meat producers routinely process their products using chemical additives and preservatives like phosphates and sodium nitrites. That makes them pinker, but not necessarily healthier. Sodium nitrites may react with amino acids to form carcinogenic nitrosamines; various studies have found a link between high processed-meat consumption and colon cancer, possibly attributable to preservatives like sodium nitrite.

9. Live longer

Speaking of health, eating a lot of meat can increase the likelihood of heart attacks and high blood pressure.

10. Save money

Meat is usually the most expensive item you put in your shopping cart. Buy less meat, and shift the savings to organic fruits and vegetables.

Good health through homeopathy

HEAL WITH HOMEOPATHY I am a 56-year-old man who has developed erectile dysfunction since the past few months. Please guide.      Erectile dysfunction could be due to a number of reasons. At your age, there could be many causative factors — physical and psychological. Hormonal changes, diabetes, increased cholesterol levels, anxiety, depression and stress could be some of the causes. You may need to get investigated to rule out such conditions. Exercise regularly, try to relax mentally, and eat a balanced diet. You may take Lycopodium 30C, five pills once daily.  My sister who has delivered two weeks back is showing signs of depression and even avoids her child. We wish to avoid psychiatric medications. Can homeopathy help?      Your sister seems to be suffering from puerperal depression, a condition that occurs in the first few weeks after childbirth. Interpersonal psychotherapy for your sister along with counselling for her husband and other family members will be needed so that they put conscious efforts to keep her comfortable. A detailed case history will be required to prescribe the appropriate homeopathic remedy. In the meanwhile, you may give her Kali Phos 6X, two tablets twice daily.  I'm 23-years-old and have been diagnosed with varicose veins. Please advise me.      Varicose veins are caused due to weakness of their valves that leads to pooling of blood, which in turn causes the veins to elongate and become tortuous. Common in people who remain standing for long hours — a hereditary tendency to develop it, is also seen. Avoid standing for prolonged periods and if you need to do so at times, keep flexing your knees at regular intervals. Wear compression stockings whenever you go out. You may try Calc Fluor 6X, two tablets twice daily.  Can homeopathy help treat mouth inflammation in my three-year-old son?      Homeopathy can certainly treat inflammation of the mouth, medically called stomatitis. Homeopathic remedies, being natural and miniscule in dose, can be safely administered even in children. Increase your child's intake of vitamin B containing foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. You may give him Merc Sol 30C. Giving him curds everyday will help replenish the healthy bowel flora. Dr Mukesh Batra