Month: August 2019

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A Blood Test That Predicts How Long You Would Live

Even today with all the advancement in science and technology, doctors are not able to predict how long a person would live, well in advance. Probably the can predict it with some accuracy within a year of his/her death but not as early as 5-10 years.

A recent study published in the journal Nature Communications the researchers are in the process of developing a reliable predictive tool that could pave the path towards predicting life span of a person as early as 5-10 years before time. As per the researchers this would help the doctors design the course of treatment and take important decisions related to them. Like for example doctors could be able to identify between patients in need of medicine or surgery and also help scientists in monitoring the impact of intervention on mortality risk that so without running clinical trials.

Presently, doctors are able to have a fair idea about the general life span of people through their cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Through this study the researching scientists from Leiden University Medical Center of Netherlands as well as Brunel University London researched around identification of biomarkers for managing the same.

The study included 44, 168 participants between the age group of 10 -109 years of which 5512 passed away. The study began by creating mortality metabolic marker followed by

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Omega 3 Fatty Acids And Health Benefits

Some of us are definitely aware of omega 3 fatty acids and their benefits. But, many of us are not aware that fatty acids are present not only in animals but plants also. The animal based fatty acids include doosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as well as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). While the animal based omega 3 fatty acids comes from fish oils, plant based come from plant sources. These sources contain alpha-lionelic acid (ALA), that can be converted into Omega-3 fatty acids of the body.

But, most of us are only aware about the health benefits of animal based fish oils with EPA and DHA. But, many of us again aren’t aware about the amount of omega 3, fatty acids that our body requires, even though there is no set standard for intake of the same.

Many experts believe and recommend omega 3 fatty acids for people suffering from cardiovascular conditions particularly higher doses for people having high cholesterol levels. Prescribed medications that are FDA approved are available for people with conditions rather than the supplements.

Omega 3 acids are recommended only for adults and children should not be given any supplements of omega 3 acids before consulting the doctor. Though natural sources of omega 3 fatty acids can be consumed by all irrespective of ages, only if you have no significant allergies around the same.

Natural Sources of omega 3 fatty acids include Cod liver, Soybeans and tofu, Walnuts, Salmon, trout, tuna and sardines, to name a few. The international organization AHA recommends adults for males and females except pregnant women to increase the intake of omega 3 fatty acids

Even avoiding the intake of omega 6 fatty acids that include eggs, meat as well as oil can help in increasing the levels of omega 3 fatty acids in blood. Balancing of omega 3 fatty acids to that of omega 6 can help you manage many health conditions in a better way and reduce the risk of certain conditions as well. As per reports people in USA consume 14-25 times more omega 6 fatty acids as compared to omega 3 fatty acids and this imbalance is not good for health, certainly.

Having said that, omega 3 fatty acids supplements should not be consumed without consulting your physician because they do have certain side effects particularly pregnant women with a diabetes risk should avoid them.

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Celiac Disease Detection Now Made Faster With Blood Test –AN Overview

As per All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Celiac disease is known to affect around 6 – 8 million people across India. Also known as gluten sensitive enteropathy or celiac sprue, Celiac disease is known to be an emerging health condition. Celiac disease is a disease where in there is sensitivity against gluten, a protein that is found in wheat, rye and barley. It does not mean allergy to gluten or intolerance to it at all. It is an auto immune disorder that occurs in 1 in 1000 genetically disposed people. This disorder is not very common in Southern India but is prevalent in North and North eastern parts of India.

Now coming to the detection of this condition. The present method used to diagnose it consumes weeks or months. As the time taken to detect the condition is prolonged, people with the condition have to bear with the side effects of it. With the blood test, this time could be reduced to just a few hours. Scientists who are working on the same have been able to pick some of the biomarkers forming the blood test basis. They have found that when people are exposed to gluten, there is an increase inflammatory molecules in the blood stream that can associate with the symptoms that are in common.

Known to affect 1 percent of the population across the western world, Celiac disease is a condition one has to live with. In India there is limited awareness about celiac disease and there is a dire need for awareness around the condition and its prevention as well.

As per Dr Robert P Anderson, who is the Chief Scientific Officer at ImmusanT, it was the first time that their team has been able to describe the inflammatory reaction that the patients experience when they are exposed to gluten. He also stated that the findings could also help differentiate people who have similar symptoms but do not suffer from the condition and ensure that proper treatment pertaining to their condition is given to them.

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Is Midlife Stress Responsible For Alzheimer’s In Women

Though, the reason behind Alzheimer’s affecting women more than men is not clear, a research does bring to light the effects of stress on cognitive functions of the mind.

Alzheimer’s is a common condition particularly in the elderly people and like the cause is unknown, there is no cure to for it. But, a research has shed light on the stress aspect and its effect on the mind’s cognitive functioning.

Past researches around the effect of stress on women have stated that there is a high impact on stress response of females and stress can result into memory and cognitive problems, though of temporary nature.

The objective of the recent research conducted at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine was to find out the relation between stress and long-time decline in cognitive functioning. Cynthia Munro, PH.D and associate professor of Psychiatry and behavioral sciences said that the stress hormones like cortisol increased when there someone was under normal stress and then the levels returned to the baseline. But if there was stress on a regular basis or if the sensitivity to stress was high, there is a increased and sustained responses in the hormones and the recovery is also delayed. It’s a fact that an increase in stress hormones for a consistent basis then it is not good for brain’s hippocampus – the seat of memory.

The study included the data of over 900 residents of Baltimore found that there was link that could play a significant role in stating why women over 65 have more chance of getting Alzheimer’s.

The findings of this study are already published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. The study began in the 1980’s and the participants had to take part in interviews as well as checkups over three times in a span of 1982 -2004. The first was in 1982, the second 1993-1996 and the last in 2003-2004. The participants were of around 47 years old on an average and over 63% were women.

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Changes In Diet That Help You Reduce The Risk Of Cancer

As per statistics cancer is the causes the second highest number of deaths in India every year. Out of the 9.6 mn, over 8% are from India. Well, that’s not a small number. One of the most common cancers in India today is breast cancer. We all know that with all the innovations and advances in Science, even today cancer does affect the life expectancy negatively and also quality of life. So, trying to prevent it seems a better idea.

A new study has revealed that the foods that are rich in flavonoids are helpful in decreasing the risk of cancer and extending longevity. The study was carried out over 50,000 participants across a span of 20 years. Finding out the impact of single compounds on health conditions as well as mortality is not an easy study, even though food does form the most important part of our lives.

Researchers have already brought to light that eating vegetables and fruits factually reduce the risk of cardiovascular conditions and increase life span too. Though, the details on how they do it is under research phase yet. Many researchers believe that it is rich in flavonoids play a vital role in the same.

Flavonoids are found in different natural food likes vegetables, dark chocolates, fruits and tea are form a chemical class known as polyphenols. These compounds are further divided into six sub classes namely Flavonols, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, anthocyanins, flavones and isoflavones.

A group of scientists from Edith Cowan University of Australia did begin a research in order to find out how the compounds could help increasing life span and help protect against health conditions. They also wanted to look into the effects of alcohol and smoking around the benefits of flavonoids. For investigation of the same, the scientists used the Danish Diet data of over 56048 adults across 23 years. During the process over 14083 participants passed away too. The researchers concluded that it was true that flavonoid rich diets with individual flavonoid subclasses do actually reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases also increasing longevity.

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Few Good Apps For Stroke Survivors

We all know that after you get a stroke it takes a long time for your body to come back to its normal functioning. India also is under a high stroke burden already. Across the world stroke is known to be the second most common cause of death. Ischemic strokes are known to account for over 87 percent of all strokes.

Stroke impacts various parts and functioning of the body. This includes mental health issues like depression and anxiety as well as movement issues like paralysis besides issues like bowel control loss, urinary incontinence, swallowing difficulty and visual impairment.

Though if the treatment is done immediately, the chances of recovery are faster. As per a survey the people who are provided critical care within 3 hours of first symptoms of stroke, have shown less disability post 3 months as compared to those who haven’t. In today’s tech times where there are applications available for all, lets run through some of the apps to help you with health and fitness after stroke

Medisafe – This is one app that is like an assistant to you. It reminds you of your doses and tracks your intake too so that you do not miss or double up by mistake. If you are on drugs you do tend to forget your doses.

Constant Therapy – This app is designed for people that are trying to recover from stroke, aphasia or brain injury. It is loaded with 65 different task categories, over a lac different exercises and over 10 difficulty levels. It is developed by scientists at the Boston University.

Cozi – This app is able to manage multiple schedules and is an ideal solution for stroke survivors who are under the care of multiple survivors. It includes a calendar that is color coded and helps manage days with reminders for medications, appointments and more. Managing groceries is also easy as the app comes with to do lists and helps ensure that nothing is missed.

Stop, Breathe & Think – This is an app that concentrates on reducing stress which is known to be a high risk factor for strokes. The main objective of the app is to reduce stress so as to curb the risk of strokes in the future. With meditation, acupressure, meditation and breathing exercises videos it helps calm you and bring you peace from within.

VocalEyes AI – Stroke can sometimes damage the brain areas which takes care of signals from the eyes. This can affect the eyes and lead to double vision or vision loss of a part. Vocaleyes acts as the computer vision for the visually challenged. With the help of machine learning it helps users with identification of objects the are deal with on a daily basis. You need to simply take a photo and the app will tell you what it is including currency denominations, faces, emotions, text, brands and more.

Well, Technology is upgrading day by day and it has already proved to be a boon too in many ways than one.

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After 50 Alcohol Consumption Ain’t That Risky?

Addiction to alcohol ain’t good for your health, is what we are all aware off. The consequences of the same include cancers of certain type, liver damage, and heart as well as brain disease too. Having said that there are studies about health benefits of drinking in limit as well. One such recent study has found that alcohol intake in moderation does protect against mortality due to cardiovascular diseases.

After 50 Alcohol Consumption

The study published in Journal of Alcohol and Drugs and lead by a team of Boston medical center in Massachusetts presents a fresh approach towards the long going debate on whether moderate drinking is good for health.

As per the researchers, the studies carried out earlier were not accurate enough. The reason was that the study included participants of age above 50. The researchers argue that people who have passed away before 50 due to alcohol consumption are not included in the study. Hence, people who aren’t alive cannot participate in a cohort study.

As per Dr. Timothy Naimi, alcohol addicts who are alive at 50 could have been healthy before and also could have been drinking within limits also. The authors were of the opinion that around 40 percent of the deaths due to alcohol intake were before the age of 50 years, meaning the deaths due to alcohol intake are not taken into consideration at all leading to ignoring the dangers of it.

The analysis showed that age played a major role in the risk levels associated with alcohol. The rate of alcohol related deaths in people between the age group of 20 – 49 was 35.8 percent. They also studied individual of age above 65 years. The study did show that over 35 percent of the deaths occurred due to alcohol intake but they also found that around 80 percent of the deaths in this age group.

They also found a vast difference when they took into consideration the age group of 20-49 years and the lost number of years. The number of years saved by drinking were around 14.5 percent only.

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Monsoon And Child Health Issues

Well, everyone loves the rains, more so the foodies as the season where you hog on hot pakoras or samosas, bhutta or chalebi while sipping on your hot piping tea. Coming to the flip side Monsoon does bring along health hazards in form of illness like Dengue, Jaundice, Cholera, Malaria, thypoid, Gastro-intestinal infections, hepatitis A. Here’s a run-down five of the most common illness viral/bacteria borne, that you need to protect your child from –

Dengue – Caused by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, Dengue mosquitos breed in stagnant water be it flower pots, buckets, tree holes or drums etc. The incubation period is four to seven days after being bitten. The symptoms include high grade fever with decreasing platelet count as well as rashes. To prevent dengue try to keep your body covered as much as possible and use mosquito repellents. Citronella is a good mosquito repellent plant.

Diarrhoea – This is one condition that can be prevented with proper precautions as it is caused because of unhygienic food and water consumption. The best way to prevent it is to drink boiled water and eat home cooked food. Both the types of diarrhea, chronic as well as acute can be managed through appropriate and timely treatment.

Typhoid – This is another waterborne condition that is caused by S typhi bacteria. The main reason is poor sanitation. The symptoms include weakness, pain, fever as well as sore throat to name a few. This condition can also be prevented by avoiding street food, keeping your hands clean and keeping yourself hydrated with healthy fluids.

Malaria – This is also a water borne condition that is caused due to the female anopheles mosquito. This mosquito breeds in water logged areas and hence is a common condition in monsoon. The symptoms include fever with chills or shivering, body ache and weakness, etc. The best way to prevent the cause of malaria is to keep surroundings clean especially water tanks.

Jaundice – Jaundice is also a water borne disease that could go serious if not treated properly. This is again a result of consuming contaminated food and water. The symptoms of jaundice include yellow eyes and urine, weakness and liver dysfunction.

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Fast Facts About Swine Flu (H1N1)

Swine Flu or H1N1 is also another common condition in India just like Dengue. Both these conditions do not have any cure as of now and research is still on to find one. The year 2019 began with the onset of Swine flu in many states including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Sadly, the former defense minister of India George Fernandes, who was suffering from Alziemer’s was down with swine flu and passed away in the beginning of the year. Here are a few facts around Swine Flu. After that it was BJP party head Amit Shah, with H1N1 and admitted for treatment.

Swine Flu – The Condition

Swine is affects the respiratory tracts of a human body and is caused due to Influenza Viruses. It is known as swine flu as it affects the respiratory tracts of pigs leading to barking cough, nasal secretions, decreased appetite and more.

Swine flu is contagious and can transmit to humans very easily because of the ability of viruses to mutate.

Swine flu symptoms are not different from general flu infections. This could include headache, fever of (100 F or more), fatigue and runny nose.

The incubation period for swine flu is one to four days and it is contagious just a day before the symptoms surface upto seven days afterwards. Though in some patients, the time span could be longer.

While some have approved medications like Baloxavir marboxil, xofluza, rapivab do help in prevention/ reducing side effects of swine flu. Though there is still speculation on the same and many disagree stating antivirals don’t have any side-affect.

Complications of Swine flu include pneumonia.

Well, Swine flu can transform into a life threatening condition if not treated on time and hence it is important to consult the doctor if you find symptoms of flu for 3 to 4 days.

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Second Hand Smoke Is Also Dangerous To Health

We are aware how dangerous smoking is for health, but second hand smoke viz. the smoke that we inhale when someone else is smoking could be life threatening too. As per statistics second hand smoke is known to cause over 3000 deaths due to heart disease to non-smokers.

Second hand smoke can be particularly harmful to children because their lungs are still under development. Many children inhale this dangerous smoke at home if their parents or family members smoke, primarily. Even parents who smoke outside risk their children to harmful chemicals because of second hand smoke.

Also, known as environmental tobacco smoke, the smoke that is breathed out as well as the smoke that is released from pipes, cigars, burning cigarettes, cigars or pipes contains around 4000 chemicals. Almost 50 of these chemicals are carcinogenic and are known to increase the risk of cancer.

The American Academy of pediatrics (AAP) did a research on third hand smoke also. Third hand smoke is the smoke that is left behind in areas where people smoke. Though people leave the place after smoking, the harmful toxins remain for a while for example in bars, upholstery, even child’s hair if the care taker smokes.

Well, second hand smoke and third hand smoke both are harmful to adults, children and even the unborn developing ones. Unborn and children are at a higher risk. Children whose parents smoke cough more than children generally do. They are at the risk of getting coughs and colds, tooth decay, ear infections and respiratory problems. Children suffering from asthma are particularly prone to second hand smoke as it can lead to asthma attacks that to frequent and severe leading to a rise in hospital visits.

Well, so if you think that only smoking is injuries to health, you are certainly not right, its also the people around the smokers that are at the risk inspite of being not guilty of smoking. Take care. Quit now.

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