For healthier heart, eat fried food!

Foodies can  rejoice now as a new study by the researchers of  Autonomous University of Madrid suggests that consuming foods fried in olive or sunflower oils will not increase the  risk of heart disease or premature death.


The finding seems counter-intuitive since risk factors for heart disease like obesity and high blood pressure and cholesterol have been associated with diets high in fried foods. But the research linking fried food directly with heart disease has been inconsistent to date, so researchers from the University looked more closely at the connection.

The study’s authors surveyed nearly 41,000 adults between the ages of 29 to 69, asking about their health and eating habits. None of the participants had heart disease at the beginning of the study. Participants were split into four groups according to how much fried food they ate and then monitored for heart disease for 11 years.

People in the lowest consumption group ate about 1.6 ounces of fried food a day. Those in the highest intake group ate 8.8 ounces a day. On average, people consumed just under 5 ounces of fried food a day, which accounted for about 7% of all the food they ate. The participants reported eating foods that were fried in various ways, including deep-fried, pan, battered, crumbed or sautéed.

According to the study published in the BMJ on Tuesday, there were 606 heart-related events and 1,134 deaths during the study follow-up period. When the researchers compared heart disease and death rates to the participants’ diets, they found no link regardless of how much fried food people ate.

This doesn’t mean you should up your French fry consumption. The study was conducted in Spain, where people mostly use heart-healthy olive and sunflower oils in their cooking, both at home and at restaurants. Unlike in the U.S., the study participants were eating fried foods in the context of a healthier Mediterranean diet. And as the study authors noted further, “consumption of fried foods in Spain is not a proxy for fast food intake.” While the Spanish tend not to eat fried snacks that are high in salt and trans fats, in the U.S, these foods make up a significant part of our diet.

 “Frying with mainly olive oil or sunflower oil is not associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease,” the authors concluded, but “frying with other types of fats may still be harmful.”

US law makes 'condom' must for shooting porn stars

London: A new law requiring porn stars to wear condoms during film shoots in Los Angeles is all set to become effective in the US city in the next few weeks, a media report here said.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday signed an ordinance into law requiring male actors in pornographic videos to wear condoms. The ordinance was passed by the City Council last week.

Having been approved by the city's mayor, the law will be effective in the next six weeks, the Daily Mail reported.

According to officials with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which lobbied for years for such a law, they would now turn their attention to getting a similar condom requirement adopted elsewhere.

Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which had pursued for the measure for six years, said: "The city of Los Angeles has done the right thing. They've done the right thing for the performers."

Its adoption is crucial in protecting adult film actors from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, said Weinstein, adding that his group's next move will be to get Los Angeles county to adopt a similar measure for its unincorporated areas.

But critics claim the regulation jeopardises the industry's long-term future in the nation's porn capital as many firms have threatened to abandon the area.

Now cure for diabetes and heart ailment in cow's milk

Palampur (Himachal Pradesh): Indian scientists have claimed to have found a protein in cow's milk that can battle an array of diseases like  heart ailment, diabetes and autism.

'The milk of the 'Pahari' cow breed in India's Himachal Pradesh state in North India contains A2 Beta-casein protein in good quantity and it is good for health,' Mandeep Sharma, head of the Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology Department of the Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University here. 

Milky medicine: A cow from Himachal Pradesh

Sharma said that in 97 percent cases, it was seen that the cows produced A2 Beta-casein that plays a protective role against heart diseases, autism and diabetes.

He said the milk of the exotic Holstein and Jersey breeds do not contain this component and instead have an alternative A1 allele that has been associated with these diseases.

'A1 allele is not at all present or negligible in the milk of the local cows,' he told IANS. The department has conducted a study on 43 hill cows.

The project, sanctioned by the National Agriculture Development Scheme, is studying immunological and immunogenetic profiling of hill cattle for their disease-resistance potential.

Studies revealed that hill cattle are highly adaptogenic and have better innate and adaptive immune responses to fight infectious diseases like tuberculosis, foot-and-mouth and brucellosis.

Sharma said studies have also established that native cow urine has antimicrobial properties.

'When urine was processed and added in very minute quantities to an antimicrobial agent, it was able to enhance the antimicrobial activity of that agent by 20-25 percent,' the scientist said.

According to him, the farmers in the state were preferring domesticated hybrid varieties rather than the native ones due to high milk yields.

'Now, in certain pockets in the interiors of the state, people are domesticating the 'Pahari' cows,' he said.

The short statured 'Pahari' cattle are highly adaptable to the hilly terrain, are disease resistant and thrive on even poor pastures.

Source: http://newshopper.sulekha.com/hill-cow-s-milk-can-prevent-heart-disease_news_1394631.htm

Delhi doctors perform first ankle replacement surgery

New Delhi: A ray of hope for millions of arthritis patients in India, a private hospital in Delhi has performed a unique, first time in India, ankle replacement surgery to cure rheumatoid arthritis - a condition causing joint inflammation.


Popularly known as Scandinavian Total Ankle Replacement (STAR), the hospital is the first in India to conduct the surgery, which has been prevalent in the West for nearly three years.

“STAR implant is a new un-cemented technique for ankle replacement. It uses new instrumentation, where it promises quick recovery and is even better for young patients who suffer joint injury due to accidents," SKS Marya, chairman and chief surgeon, Max Insititute of Orthopedic and Joint Replacement, told IANS. 

"Patients can completely recover in three months. In case of patients between 25-40 years of age, the recovery time will be between 6-7 weeks. Till recently, we have had techniques that required cemented instrumentation. STAR implants will offer better mobility than other conventional techniques to patients," Marya added.

Patients of arthritis had only options like 'joint fusion surgery' and 'clean up of joints' to relieve them of ankle pain. STAR costs around Rs 200,000 with a durability of around 15 years. Patients are usually advised not to squat after the operation.

What is rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks flexible (synovial) joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the capsule around the joints (synovium) secondary to swelling (hyperplasia) of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development of fibrous tissue (pannus) in the synovium. The pathology of the disease process often leads to the destruction of articular cartilage and ankylosis of the joints.
About 1% of the world's population is afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis, women three times more often than men. Onset is most frequent between the ages of 40 and 50, but people of any age can be affected. It can be a disabling and painful condition, which can lead to substantial loss of functioning and mobility if not adequately treated.

Rheumatoid arthritis in India

According to data available, nearly seven million people in India suffer from rheumatoid arthritis that initially affects the small joints. Due to lack of awareness and proper treatment available, the condition affects the mobility of the person.

Tribals in Idukki pop pills to stop menstruation

Marayoor (Kerala): Tribal Adivasi women and girls in three villages of Kerala's Idukki district have been taking oral contraceptive pills for different purpose, not to get menstruated. They have been popping contraceptive pills to avoid the inconvenience of those few days, say people from the area.

As a result - the practice begins from the time girls start menstruating - many have stopped conceiving in the villages of Marayoor, Vattavada and Kanthaloor, say activists. Idukki is around 300 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram.


I said he was shocked to hear about this phenomenon and, upon inquiring into it, found it to be true.


'According to Adivasi customs, on the days of menstruation the women have to stay away from their homes and remain for at least three days at a separate place called Valapurai. Since the facilities at these Valapurai are not good, they have found an easy way out - popping a pill and not menstruating,'Idukki Lok Sabha member P.T. Thomas told IANS.


Helping the women not to menstruate is Mala-D, an oral contraceptive pill produced by the central public sector Hindustan Latex Limited.


Shops in these three villages have apparently been making a killing selling Mala-D and that too at an exorbitant price.


According to the traditions of these Adivasis, at least for three days during the menstruation period they have to stay in the Valapurai and during those days they are not supposed to see the face of any men.

Around 29 percent of the population in these three villages are Adivasis - approximately 2,000 in each - mostly belonging to the Muthuvan tribes. They are engaged in farming activities.


Pankajam, a health worker at Marayoor Health Centre, said it is absolutely correct that these women take oral contraceptives to avoid menstruation.


'We do conduct health camps, conduct stage shows to educate them about why they should stop this. But one problem is that with the Tamil Nadu border quite close to these villages, if they don't get the contraceptive from shops here, then there are agents who supply it from there,' said Pankajam.

Thomas said: 'It was only last week that I opened two Valapurai under the Kanthaloor village council. We used funds from the National Rural Health Mission. I have also spoken to the drugs controller to see that immediate steps are taken to see that they raid shops selling the contraceptive. We have also begun a serious awareness campaign among the Adivasis to see that they desist from taking this oral contraceptive.'

Junk food doesn't lead to weight gain in kids: Study

Washington: Weight gain has nothing to do with candy, soda, chips and other junk food, at least for middle school students, say researchers in the US who admit to being surprised by the result.


"We were really surprised by that result and, in fact, we held back from publishing our study for roughly two years because we kept looking for a connection that just wasn't there," said Jennifer Van Hook, professor of sociology and demography at Pennsylvania State University who led the study.


This despite the fact that the number of obese children in the US may have tripled between the early 1970s and the late 2000s.


The study relies on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, through the spring of eighth grade (the 1998-1999 through 2006-2007 schools years), the journal Sociology of Education reports.


Van Hook and her co-author Claire E. Altman, sociology and demography doctoral student at Pennsylvania, used a sub-sample of 19,450 children who attended school in the same county in both fifth and eighth grades (the 2003-2004 and the 2006-2007 school years), according to a Pennsylvania statement.


The authors found that 59.2 percent of fifth graders and 86.3 percent of eighth graders in their study attended schools that sold junk food.


But, while there was a significant increase in the percentage of students who attended schools that sold junk food between fifth and eighth grades, there was no rise in the percentage of students who were overweight or obese.


In fact, despite the increased availability of junk food, the percentage of students who were overweight or obese actually decreased from fifth grade to eighth grade, from 39.1 percent to 35.4 percent.

Now lose your weight with ‘DNA’ diet

At a time when physicians and health experts wooing the general public with various weight reduction programmes to earn quick bucks, scientist have unveiled a personalised ‘DNA’ diet which can reduce a person’s weight up to 12 pounds in four months.

The Nordiska diet, developed with the help of experts at Newcastle University, is based on the premise that genetic testing can determine the right food and exercise regime for your body type.

Thought to be the first genetic-based diet available in the UK, it is being sold online at 99 pounds for the gene test alone, and in a 159-pound package including three months of follow-up advice from dietitians.
A trial on 7,700 people in Denmark saw nine out of ten lose weight, with some losing up to 26lb (12kg) in four months.

Dieters are asked to complete a questionnaire and send a DNA swab of their mouth in for laboratory analysis.

The diet’s creator, cell biologist Dr Carolyn Horrocks, said her firm, myGenomics, examines the swab for eight variants of seven genes. These genes relate to how quickly an individual metabolises fat and carbohydrate, appetite control and muscle activity.

A 30-page personalised report assigns the individual one of four types of diet: low in fat; low in carbohydrate; low glycaemic; or healthy balanced.
This is combined with a type of exercise: endurance or high-intensity.
All dieters are recommended three meals and three snacks a day, to a total of 1,300 to 1,800 calories.

No foods are forbidden, just restricted, and those with the 159-pound package must fill in weekly food diaries so the company’s dietitians can provide regular feedback.
Dr Horrocks teamed up with Danish GP Carl Brandt on the diet concept after she came up with the idea while researching the risk factors for Type 2 diabetes.

“Each of us has a unique genetic fingerprint which shows why some types of diet work for people and not for others,” the Daily mail quoted her as saying. “I realised genetic variants were being analysed for very technical purposes but they could be used by people in their everyday life to control their weight and help prevent the sort of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease that I was working on.

“If something is right for your body, it will be easier to stick to, less arduous and we have shown you have a greater chance of keeping the weight off,” she said.
She said the approach is intended to produce “slow and steady” weight loss, and is not related to the blood group diet, which has been criticized by experts.

“It’s not a fad diet, all our dietitians and trainers are registered and have a science background,” she added.

The Denmark trial was carried out by Newcastle University and colleagues in Copenhagen on men and women with an average age of 40 who had a BMI of 30 to 35.