Moderate drinking add Cheers to your life

Its great news for people who were under the taboo that alcohol is only bad for health and the habit is only detrimental to health. It’s not so anymore, if studies by University of Texas are any indication. The general perception that 2 drinks a day would do well and anything more than that would harm our health, was beaten by the 20-year old study.

According to the study, three tipples a day may do more good and would even increase the lifespan of people. It has also been reported that those who don’t raise a toast with their wine glasses at all throughout their lives were likely to die early, compared to those who drank the magic dose of three drinks a day. The risk of non-alcoholics was 51% more, when compared to moderate boozers. Hold on! There is a caveat. Though the news may sound music to the ears, overindulgence anything above the three tipples may give you an earlier call. If you cross over the line of health which stands at three glasses, you enter into the zone of heavy boozers with studies quoting that the risk of dying early increases by 45%. So readers strike a healthy balance so you may live long to read my blogs and add life to years.

Know about Down’s Syndrome

Down’s syndrome is a form of hearing defect that may have its effect on speech as well. According to Dr. Patrick Sheehan, ENT Surgeon who runs a clinic for children with Down’s syndrome in the UK, while intervention was important at an early age, it was also necessary to maintain lifelong monitoring of the patient, as the hearing faculty was likely to deteriorate over a period of time. Interventions include removing ear wax, affixing hearing aids, bone-anchored hearing aids and small surgery. It must be borne mind, as even relatively low levels of hearing loss would affect speech and communication, attention to treat hearing defects must be taken on priority.

Intel to enter into remote medication.

Intel, the computer chip maker has proposed to enter the ever-growing medical market with high end technology that allows Doctors to provide remote treatments sans their physical presence. And this is being made possible for chronic ailments. Intel health guides will employ gadgets and use the web in offering personalized solutions for chronic health conditions in the home. Intel aims to work with care providers such as Mayo Clinic and the American Heart Association and would focus on people with heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension.
General Electric’s $17 billion healthcare unit recently estimated its information technology business- computers that help doctors track everything from X-ray images to drugs patients have been prescribed could grow to a $5bn business, up from the about 10% or revenue it now represents, The overall healthcare technology market is worth an estimated $50bn or more.

Try not to toy with the idea of buying soft plastic toys

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) has warned buyers to refrain from purchase of soft plastic toys and heavy children’s jewellery. While soft plastic toys may contain phthalates that are linked to many health problems – especially choking hazards. A PIRG representative reiterated the fact as she released PIRG’s 23rd toy safety survey. Heavy metal jewellery contains more of lead, which is the reason to keep them at bay.

According to the research group the toll was 18 US children due to toys last year, while 80,000 under 5 landed in emergency care. Companies like Mattel, RC2 et al had to pull back millions of toys due to enactment of stricter U.S. product safety rules, which were signed into law on August 14 by the outgoing President George W. Bush.

Food Parks in India

Food Processing Minister Subodh Kant Sahai at the Economic Editors’ Conference said that ‘Vision 2015’ has been drawn with an appropriate strategy and implementable plan. The government has planned to set up 10 mega food parks this year out of 30 parks planned for the X1 plan. Food processing industry is one of the top 10 sectors in India attracting FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) with equity inflows touching Rs.798 crore in last 4-5 years.

Ban on fast food ads

It’s good news that Sweden, Finland and Norway have put the brakes on fast food advertisements on Television, which would help cut down unhealthy food consumption. The United States also contemplates to impose such a ban to control childhood obesity. But The National Bureau of Economic Research in the United States has raised their doubts about the practicality of the ban.

Researchers in United States have also endorsed the ban stating it may cut the overweight of children by 18%. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has projected the figure that 13.9% of children are overweight in the age group 2-6, 18.8% are overweight in the age group 6-11 and more than 17% of children are overweight in the group of 12-19 years.

The ban if successful is expected to reduce children becoming overweight by 18% in the age group of 3-11 and reduce overweight of adolescent children in the age group 12-18 by 14%. There is again the relationship between children watching commercials in the idiot box, which has taken the front seat in the subject of obesity. In this regard, another study suggests that children viewed 20,000 ads in late 1970s, 30000 ads in late 1980s and more than 40,000 ads in the late 90s. This explains the need for a blanket ban on fast food commercials, which of course, may be a subject that junk food manufacturers may not relish.

Marital bliss and health

A study on 16,000 American adults conducted in 2004 based on the factors money, sex and happiness has an interesting find. The study states married couples have heightened libidos and have better sex than single, divorced and widowed of separated persons. The main reason attributed is the commitment to the partner in marital bliss that gives mutual pleasure to the wedded couples. The book ‘A Guide to Christian Marriage’ has also endorsed that better sex is the result of love and commitment. Why delay the nuptial knot? Are you getting your juices flowing for a big bang?

Salt Lake Study

Do you find any link between walkways and obesity? If not, then you may be wrong. Conclusion of a study on residents of Salt Lake County in United States reveals nearly 70% of males and 61% of females are obese. The provision of walkways were found to make a huge difference in that people who stayed in areas established before 1950 were found to be fit than people who inhabited areas designed after 1950. And the finding was something interesting.

Residents that lived in the first case had enough space for walking with exclusive walkways around them, whereas the other section did not have walkways, the fact that prevented them from walking. A research team led by Dr. Ken Smith of Utah University concluded the fact. The fact that automobile developments needed a huge space as years passed by seems to be a highly contributing factor for elimination of walkways around residential areas.

Regular walking seemed to allow consistent and healthy weight maintenance in people who walked. A six foot, 200 pound man weighed 10 pounds less if he lived in an older neighborhood. A five foot five woman weighed six pounds less with a weight of 149 pounds. Mere settling in such older areas could have a health benefit, as it would motivate people to walk for their benefit. Even otherwise, beware of the fact that another study alarms on a rate of 86% obesity among US citizens around 2030.

Weight Dairies

Do your weight management in a professional way, even if you are going to carry a little more weight along with you. Are you perplexed? The negligible weight is nothing but a small diary that researchers are suggesting in which you would record the food items that you are eating and drinking.

A study involving 1,685 middle-aged men and women with average age of 55 years revealed that those who cared to keep a record of their food habits lost about twice as much weight as those who did not.

Victor Stevans of Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research in Portland who lead the study attributes the success to the fact that the participants are able to see the origin of the extra calories and then develop specific strategies to deal with the problem. The study was conducted on people from US cities Portland, Oregon; Baltimore, Maryland; Curham, North Carolina; and Baton Rouge Louisiana. Those keeping food diaries six or seven days a week lost about 18 pounds (8 kg) compared t0 9 pounds (4kg) who didn’t keep a diary.

Blame it on calories

New Yorkers could have controlled calories in their food intake with the government’s move to enforce strict implementation of display of calorific values in the menus at restaurants. This would largely avert the growth of diabetes and obesity problems in the city. The display would have to be carried out in the menu cards by food chains that have a minimum of 15 outlets across the country to start with. Renowned food chains such as Duncan Donuts and Mc Donalds have fallen under the scanner. The move is expected to protect 30,000 diabetes and 130,000 obesity patients in New York.

Diet and lifestyle

One billion people globally suffer from high blood pressure, which is categorized to be greater than 140/90 or more. If you wish to be kind to your heart, cut down your salt intake, practice a diet rich in fruits and vegetables to the best possible extent and follow a steady exercise pattern. Animal proteins have high amino acids and ‘aniline’, a chemical responsible for high levels of high blood pressure. People eating more meat have the problem due to this reason. Dr. Jeremy Nicholson and his team at Imperial College of London published these findings studied on urine samples.