Month: February 2014

Know the danger of hidden sugar in processed foods

Leading health experts from across the globe have united to tackle and unmask hidden sugar so consumers can make informed decisions about what they eat and drink.

The food industry is adding more and more sugar to food which consumers are largely unaware of as it is mostly hidden, warns research.

Leading health experts from across the globe have united to tackle and unmask hidden sugar so consumers can make informed decisions about what they eat and drink.

Added sugar has no nutritional value, gives no feeling of fullness and is acknowledged to be a major factor in causing obesity and diabetes worldwide.

“A can of Coca Cola has a staggering nine teaspoons of sugar (35g). Similar amounts can be found in the flavoured water, yogurts, canned soup, ready meals and even bread,” said the report published in journal The Conversation.

“Like the model of salt reduction pioneered by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) in the UK, a similar programme can gradually reduce the amount of added sugar in food and drink products,” suggested Graham MacGregor, chairman, CASH.

The CASH has been successful in compelling companies and manufacturers to add less salt to products over a period of time by setting targets for the food industry and mobilising public information.

There are several parallels between salt and sugar.

Like salt, most of the sugar we consume is hidden in processed food and soft drinks.
There are also specific taste receptors for sugar, which if sugar intake is gradually reduced become more sensitive.

So over time, we don’t notice that sugar levels have gone down, said the research.

Source: khaleej times

 

Admissions closing soon: apply for online Psychology Programs in TAU

Texila American University (TAU) distance and online education program is one of the Flexible ways for students get educated from their own Town. Students can be benefited by the Flexibility of Online Learning from Web Campus (Our Online Learning Management System).

Programs Offered:

Masters in

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Counseling Psychology
  • Medical Social work

PhD in

  • Guidance & Counseling Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology

Salient Features of the online Psychology program

  • Study behavioral science programs in online without leaving your current job or family commitments
  • Students from over 30 Countries
  • We offer one of the best learning management platform in which the students learn anytime and at anywhere with internet connectivity i.e. 24/7
  • We challenge we are the one to provide affordable fee in the Caribbean region
  • Students receive internationally recognized degree from UCN
  • Programs offered through observational and experimental methods
  • Integrates knowledge from many fields in a new synthesis of universal social science

TAU – UCN Partnership

TAU and UNESCO-IAU (International Association of University) listed Universidad Central de Nicaragua (UCN), have signed an agreement to collaborate academically and also scientific research. Students will receive degree/certification from UCN.

Apply Online

 

Admissions open for PhD ( Research Based) programs in Texila American University

Texila American University (TAU) one of the best Caribbean Medical school is located in Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America. TAU offers Health Science programs with a high level of professionalism, exactness and problem solving skills, upon which the foundations of specialist training and an independent medical practice can be built, which facilitates further education and development of their knowledge throughout their life.

PhD ( Research Based) program is designed for medical students who are interested in academic or research careers by enabling them to integrate a three-year period of research with their clinical education.

Program Overview:

PhD is a unique degree in that it is not focused on acquiring more knowledge.  The Masters essentially provides more knowledge or more in-depth knowledge in a subject. But doing a PhD is oriented around research

Due to the focus and importance of research in PhD, it is often believed that creating new knowledge is the main goal of PhD. Though creating new knowledge is part of the PhD training, the main objective of doing PhD degree is to become a competent researcher who can conduct independent research in his or her chosen area

Eligibillity:

Students with a Master’s level (MD/MS) in the same specialization or an equivalent degree can apply for PhD.

Specializations offered:

  • Diabetology
  • Clinical Cardiology
  • General Medicine
  • HIV Medicine
  • Anesthesia
  • Medical Microbiology
  • Orthopedics

Salient Features:

  • Students take the research work forward with the guidance from the Guide.
  • Academic requirements like the submission of 2 Article review during the 1st and 2nd year and publishing his/her original Article in Journals.

Apply Online

Body Shape Index is Better Predictor of Mortality

In 2012, Nir Krakauer, an assistant professor of civil engineering in City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering, and his father, Jesse Krakauer, developed a new method to quantify the risk specifically associated with abdominal obesity.

A follow-up study, published in PLoS ONE, supports their contention that the technique, known as A Body Shape Index (ABSI), is a more effective predictor of mortality than Body Mass Index (BMI), the most common measure used to define obesity.

The team analyzed data for 7,011 adults, 18+, who participated in the first Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS1), conducted in Great Britain in the mid-1980s, and a follow-up survey seven years later (HALS2). The sample was broadly representative of the British population in terms of region, employment status, national origin and age. They used National Health Service records through 2009 to identify deaths and cancer cases: 2,203 deaths were recorded among the sample population.

Then, they compared all-cause mortality from the HALS sample with ABSI and other variables, including BMI, waist circumference, waist – hip ratio and waist – height ratio.

The analysis found ABSI to be a strong indicator of mortality hazard among the HALS population. Death rates increased by a factor of 1.13 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.09–1.16) for each standard deviation increase in ABSI. Persons with ABSI in the top 20 percent were found to have death rates 61 percent than those with ABSI in the bottom 20 percent.

The results tracked closely with the earlier study, which used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted in the U.S. between 1999 and 2004. This provides stronger evidence that ABSI is a valid indicator of the risk of premature death across different populations. Further, they showed that ABSI outperformed commonly used measures of abdominal obesity, including waist circumference, waist – hip ratio and waist – height ratio.

Also, because the data came from two surveys seven years apart, the researchers were able to assess the effect of change in ABSI on mortality. The found an increase in ABSI correlated with increased risk of death, and that the more recent ABSI measurement was a more reliable predictor. Noting this, the researchers contend that further investigation is warranted into whether lifestyle or other interventions could reduce ABSI and help people live longer.

Source: laboratory equipment

Eating barbecued, fried food linked to Alzheimer’s

A new study has revealed that eating a meat-rich diet, which has been fried, barbecued or grilled, can trigger Alzheimer’s disease and accelerate ageing.

Scientists have discovered that harmful ‘Ages’ compounds in the “Western diet” cause a build-up of a dangerous protein that forms toxic deposits which ravage the brain, the Daily Express reported.

Researchers found that the high levels of these compounds suppress a protective enzyme concerned in conditions related to brain, metabolic disease, ageing and diabetes.

The study has also found that fatty and sugary foods, like cheese, eggs, white bread, pasta and sugary pastries, cakes and biscuits could also play a part in Alzheimer’s by boosting Ages levels.

Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said that diabetes has previously been linked to an increased risk of dementia, and this new study provides fresh insight into some of the possible molecular processes that may link the two conditions.

Ridley added that eating a balanced diet can help lower the risk of Alzheimer’s and following a healthy lifestyle, which includes regular exercise, not smoking, and keeping blood pressure and weight in check can also be helpful.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences.

Source:l Business standard

 

Lack of exercise and high fat diet fueling obesity epidemic in Europe

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that lack of physical inactivity and diets high in fats, salts and sugars has led to obesity and overweight is becoming “the new norm” throughout Europe.

Up to 27 percent of Europe’s 13-year-olds and 33 percent of 11-year-olds are overweight, officials said ahead of an EU summit in Greece with a special focus on “the grave public health concern” of childhood obesity.

Countries with the highest proportion of overweight 11-year-olds included Greece, with 33 percent, Portugal (32 percent), and Ireland and Spain, both with 30 percent, the Independent reported.

Overall the UK is performing slightly better, but in Wales 30 percent of 11-year-old boys are overweight.

The WHO’s regional director for Europe, Zsuzsanna Jakab, said that Europeans’ “perception of what is normal has shifted”.

She said that being overweight is now more common than unusual, adding that we must not let another generation grow up with obesity as the new norm.

Inactivity, listed by the WHO as the fourth leading cause of death globally, is now viewed as one of the major health threats affecting developed countries.

In the UK more than two thirds of people over the age of 15 were insufficiently active, according to the WHO’s latest data, from 2008.

It is recommended that adults get 150 minutes moderate-intensity exercise per week, while children and adolescents should have an hour per day, according to international guidelines.

Source: Yahoo news

Woman gives birth in New York street

Talk about a surprise delivery.

A New York woman in labor left her home to make her way to the hospital but the baby couldn’t wait.

The woman got down on the ground on East 68th Street and 3rd Avenue and gave birth in a Manhattan crosswalk

The news crew happened to be in the area and covered the birth

One witness told that the woman said, “the baby’s coming.” The witness then said the baby’s head appeared. Police and medics arrived and the woman was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital

Source: USA today

 

Practice Apanasana to help ease bloating

Apanasana, which comes from two Sanskrit words: “Apana” (meaning downward-flowing life force) and “asana” (meaning pose), has many therapeutic benefits.

Practicing this yoga asana helps restore proper flow and function to the organs of your torso. Known as Knees-to-Chest pose it helps relieve indigestion, bloating, flatulence, acidity and constipation by helping you get rid of excess digestive air. It is often recommended for those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. It keeps your low back limber, calms the mind and also rebalances your energy.How to do it:

  • Lie on your back with arms and legs extended.
  • Draw both knees to your chest as you exhale. Clasp the hands around them.
  • Keep the back flat on the mat. Release shoulder blades down towards the waist.
  • Draw the tailbone and sacrum down towards the mat, lengthening the spine even more.
  • If possible, move the body backward and forward or side-to-side for a gentle spinal massage.
  • Tuck your chin slightly and gaze down the centre line of your body.
  • Hold for up to one minute. Keep your breath smooth and even.
  • With an exhalation, release and extend both legs along the floor and rest.
  • Repeat up to six times.

Source: Zee news

An adult in the pediatric ward: What the littlest Cancer Avengers taught me

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Three years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare pediatric bone cancer called osteosarcoma. In my case, it was super-rare, because I was 43.

I went to see Dr. Paul Meyers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, six hours away from our home in upstate New York. At the hospital, my husband and I followed instructions to the B elevators and got off on the eighth floor.

The doors opened to a brightly colored playroom, funky lounge chairs and really big fish tanks.

Meyers is a pediatric oncologist, and because I had a pediatric cancer (age not withstanding), I would be treated where he worked: in the pediatric cancer center.

Meyers explained, sans sugar-coating, that my cancer was particularly aggressive, and so the treatment would be, too. I explained that I loved my job and my life, and am one tough chick, so I planned on working through it all.

Meyers pressed on. I would endure nine rounds of three types of chemotherapy in a not-so-delicious-chemo cocktail. After three rounds, there would be limb-salvage surgery where they remove my cancerous bones and replace them with titanium. Or amputate.

I should expect to be fully debilitated by this treatment, Meyers said — to be in a wheelchair for more than a year, to stop working at my job that I loved, and to close my company that I had worked hard to build. Long-term damage to my hearing, heart, bladder and extremities because of high doses of chemo were to be expected.

At the time, I was unsure of almost everything, including how I felt about being in the Pediatric Day Hospital as a patient.

We learned the hospital would be my home away from home during my nearly yearlong treatment. I spent at least one week of every month with the sickest people you can imagine. Little people with no hair, missing limbs and treacherous looking scars; it was harrowing at first.

Then I became one of them: No hair. Giant, treacherous scar. Wheelchair. Ever-present IV pole, and dusty-rose colored kidney-shaped bowl to throw up in. These were all outward signs of a fraternity of warriors that no one wants to belong to. They all were enduring the same grueling treatment I was — only they were, on average, 10 years old.

This fraternity of Cancer Avengers was wise in ways beyond their years. When faced with the courage and bravery of these little superheroes, I had to give myself the “Put your big girl pants on” speech more than once.

On my first day of treatment, while I was scrolling through my Facebook feed by the fish tank, two boys next to me started discussing their Make-A-Wish requests. Adam, about 12 years old, had just returned from a rainforest trip and asked what Sam’s wish was going to be. Sam said they couldn’t give him what he wished for. Adam disagreed, enthusiastically conveying that any wish could be granted. Sam stood firm: It was not possible.

Well, what is it that you want anyway? Adam wanted to know. By now, I also wanted to know.

“I want normal,” was Sam’s answer. “I want to go to school and basketball practice, complain about my parents and homework and turn 12.”

Silence from Adam. Silence all around. Even a superhero knows when he is defeated.
I looked down at my phone, trying to distract myself and read through my tears. A Facebook friend was complaining about turning 44. In the moment, it was like complaining about being too rich or having too much food to eat. My friend had been granted 32 more years than this kid dared dream of living. So had I.

Source: BBC

Call for Shake-Up in Africa Nutrition Research

Rwanda has achieved remarkable success in reducing child hunger, and nutrition experts believe there may be lessons here for other countries in Africa.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in a 2013 report on progress in tackling malnutrition, noted that in 2005 more than half of Rwanda’s children under five years of age – about 800,000 – were stunted. “Just five years later, stunting prevalence had decreased from an estimated 52 percent to 44 percent,” the report said.

The Rwandan approach has been to try and find home-grown solutions.

It scaled up community-based nutrition programmes in all 30 of the country’s districts, and has also been setting up an almost universal community-based health insurance scheme. “This was all done with the help of food grown locally, and not packaged interventions provided by donors,” said Fidele Ngabo, director of Maternal Child Health. “There are thousands of local solutions for hunger…

“Each village comes up with community-based approaches to tackle malnutrition and food insecurity that don’t cost money – we are at the centre to provide support and play a monitoring role,” she said.

Examples include the setting up a communal grain reserve to which each household contributes at least 20 percent of their harvest during a good season, with the stored grain being used during the lean season; or the expansion of kitchen gardens with shared information on the vegetables to be grown.

Suggestions and proposed solutions are debated in working groups comprising aid agencies, researchers, academics and government officials.

Source: All Africa