Monday, March 1, 2010
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Don't Blame your Gene: The origin of diabetes
Sep 3rd 2009
From The Economist print edition
GENES are acquired at conception and carried to the grave. But the same gene can be expressed differently in different people—or at different times during an individual’s life. The differences are the result of what are known as epigenetic marks, chemicals such as methyl groups that are sometimes attached to a gene to tell it to turn out more of a vital protein, or to stop making that protein altogether.
Many researchers believe epigenetic marks hold the key to understanding, and eventually preventing, a number of diseases—and one whose epigenetic origins they are particularly interested in is type 2, or late-onset, diabetes. Juleen Zierath and her colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, are trying to find out how people develop insulin resistance, the underlying cause of type 2 diabetes.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. When all is going well, it lets cells know when they need to mop up glucose from the blood, usually just after a person has eaten. If the hormone is absent or is produced in insufficient quantities because of damage to the pancreatic cells that secrete it, the result is classical (or type 1) diabetes. But people with insulin resistance—and thus the late-onset version of the disease—do produce insulin. Their problem is that their glucose-absorbing cells cannot heed its advice. The sugar stays in their bloodstreams, where it damages the vessels, leading to ailments such as heart disease, kidney failure and blindness.
As they report in Cell Metabolism, Dr Zierath and her team decided to look at one of the main consumers of glucose: muscle tissue. They took muscle biopsies from 17 healthy people, 17 people with type 2 diabetes and eight people with early signs of insulin resistance, so-called “pre-diabetics” . They then compared the patterns of the methyl groups attached to the genes of the healthy volunteers with those of the diabetic and pre-diabetic ones.
As it turned out, they found hundreds of genes in which the patterns differed systematically, so to whittle the problem down they concentrated on those involved in the function of the mitochondria. These are the components of a cell that extract energy from glucose and use it to manufacture a chemical called ATP, which is the universal fuel of biological processes. Having fewer or less effective mitochondria causes a drop in demand for glucose, and might thus cause a cell to become insulin resistant.
Even narrowing the question down like this, though, left 44 genes to look at. Of these, Dr Zierath and her team picked one called PGC-1 alpha for further study. This gene is involved in the development of mitochondria, and the extra epigenetic marks the researchers found on it in diabetics and pre-diabetics had the effect of instructing the cells the marked genes were located in to produce fewer and smaller mitochondria than is normal.
The next question was how those marks got there. It is well known that poor diet and lack of exercise make insulin resistance more likely, so one hypothesis is that these things change the epigenetic marks on genes such as PGC-1 alpha. To test that idea, the researchers bathed cells in glucose and fats (chosen as surrogates for bad diet and lack of exercise for obvious reasons) and also in inflammation- producing proteins called cytokines. These proteins, they knew, are produced abundantly in the obese. And obesity, the consequence of bad diet and lack of exercise, is another risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Lo and behold, doses of both fats and cytokines caused PGC-1 alpha to be methylated.
Next, Dr Zierath wanted to know if she could prevent that. So, this time, before bathing the healthy cells in fats or cytokines, the team added a chemical that blocks the activity of DNMT3B, an enzyme which they found methylates PGC-1 alpha. When that was done, no extra methyl groups appeared.
These findings have two interesting implications. First, the fact the team was able to stop PGC-1 alpha being methylated suggests that a drug might be developed to do the same. Second, they show that bodily abuse can stretch all the way down to the genetic level. As Dr Zierath puts it, “we are not victims of our genes. If anything, our genes are victims of us.”
Don't blame your genes. They may be simply getting bad instructions -- from you.Go to:
http://www.economis t.com/sciencetec hnology/displays tory.cfm? story_id= 14350157
Monday, June 29, 2009
Danger of Star Fruit
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/starfruit.asp
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Mindful of the heart
Editor's note: This article was originally published in The Star Online.
Mindful of the heart
By LIM WEY WEN
THE list of risk factors for heart disease emailed to me by senior consultant psychiatrist Prof Ainsah Omar looked run-of-the-mill, but for two factors: “Type A personality, and stress”.
Until recently, the effects of these two as risk factors for heart disease have been mostly observational and retrospective. Building a good support system can also go a long way in helping you handle stress better.
In the Los Angeles earthquake in 1994, half of all immediate deaths were found to be due to cardiac arrests – five times greater than a usual day.Soon after, many other incidents indicated that physical and emotional triggers, such as environmental disasters and vigorous physical exercise (particularly in those who are already at risk), can precipitate heart attacks.
Two years ago, a landmark global study – the INTERHEART study – managed to provide us with some numbers.
Using questionnaires, researchers compared 15,152 cases of heart attacks to 14,820 controls in 52 countries to find out if risk factors for heart attacks impact people of different races or from countries differently.
One notable finding was that psychosocial risk factors were more common amongst those who had heart attacks. You can reduce stress levels by just making the effort to laugh.
From the study findings, it was estimated that if psychosocial risk factors alone (including stress and depression) were eliminated, 32.5% of heart attacks could be prevented.
The same study estimated that eliminating lifetime smoking alone would reduce heart attacks by 35.7%. Eliminating hypertension would reduce heart attacks by 17.9% and eliminating obesity would reduce the incidence by 20.0%.
Who knew preventing a heart attack could also be just one positive thought, or therapist, away?
Type As and stress
You really can’t miss a Type A if you come across one. They are highly-strung, competitive, impatient, brash and sometimes rude.
And you can see why they are stressed out. Their workaholic tendencies take a toll on their health and their constant pursuit of perfection often leads to disappointments.
As Jeanie Lerche Davis wrote in the medical information website WebMD, “The classic Type A personality – competitive, impatient, uptight – is a heart attack waiting to happen. And that heart attack will likely happen sooner rather than later.”
A little stress is actually good for you. It helps you stay energetic, motivated and alert. In emergencies, stress also prepares you to respond adequately to danger, protecting you from harm.
But when stress levels remain high or when an individual fails to adapt to the stress, the stress response systems in the body will be continuously activated, resulting in persistent high levels of stress hormones and elevation of blood pressure, heart rate and contractility (the contraction of heart muscles), says Prof Ainsah, who is also the Deputy Dean of Research and Postgraduate Studies at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
“These will be detrimental to the heart,” she adds.
Stress pulls the trigger
The role of stress in heart attacks can generally be described with this analogy: your diet, lifestyle or genetic tendencies to get a heart attack loads the gun, and stress pulls the trigger.
Although it does not directly cause the onset of a heart attack the way a sudden blockage or narrowing of the heart arteries does, it sets the stage for them to happen.
First of all, stress is associated with some behaviours that increase a person’s risk of heart attacks.
Psychological stress is one of the important factors associated with smoking. Some eat excessively to cope with stress and negative emotions, leading to obesity – an important risk factor not only for heart disease, but also for a myriad of other diseases.
Secondly, stress involves biological changes within our body where stress hormones and biochemicals that can trigger increased blood pressure and heart rate are released.
“(Stress) can also increase lipid and triglyceride levels which cause hyperlipidaemia and increases the risk of developing heart disease,” Prof Ainsah says.
Besides, UK researchers have also found evidence that stress can trigger the release of high levels of clot-forming platelets – little cell fragments that can form clots in the coronary arteries.
Dealing with stress
We should take note that stress is not equivalent to stressful situations. While stressful situations may give rise to stress, your response to these situations partly determines your stress levels and how much they affect you.
“Personality determines how one reacts to stressful situations,” Prof Ainsah says.
Take Type A personalities as an example. Besides being aggressive, highly motivated and competitive, people who carry the trait are also easily worried, anxious and unable to express their anger and dissatisfaction frankly.
“If you are a person with Type A personality, you need to modify your attitude and avoid (being) extremely perfectionist,” Prof Ainsah advises.
It is alright to set high expectations, but one should be able to accept failures if the expectations are not met, she adds.
Workaholics, she says, should also ensure they have adequate time for rest and recreational activities.
Even with increasing evidence that stress does have a role to play in heart attacks, stress reduction has yet to be endorsed as a specific recommendation to prevent heart attacks.
The American Heart Association (AHA), in its short write-up on stress and heart attacks, says current data don’t yet support specific recommendations about stress reduction as a proven therapy for cardiovascular disease.
The variation of stressors and the way they affect people contribute to the difficulty in designing studies to evaluate the effects of stress and the efficiency of stress reduction in preventing heart attacks.
Of those that have been carried out, the AHA says that studies using psychosocial therapies to prevent second heart attacks are promising and people who feel depressed, anxious or overwhelmed by stress after a heart attack or stroke should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional.
Or, you could try to laugh more often.
“Research has demonstrated that laughter reduces stress through various mechanisms,” Prof Ainsah says.
Laughter reduces stress by reducing levels of stress hormones (cortisol, noradrenaline) and releases anti-stress biochemicals such as endorphins.
On top of reducing blood pressure and pulse rates that were raised during stress, the reduction of stress hormones also allows the immune system to function properly.
Anti-stress biochemicals like endorphins, on the other hand, can elevate people’s moods and make them perceive less stress.
If you’re not sure you could lighten up your mood alone, surround yourself with happy people because just like laughter, moods are contagious too. Building a good support system can also go a long way in helping you handle stress better.
“Every one of us is bound to face stress, especially in the modern, challenging world,” Prof Ainsah says.
“We may not be able to control our life stressors, but we can change the way we perceive stress.”
Indeed, a positive state of mind could be your ticket to a healthy heart too.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Drop your bra
Tell your wife or girlfriends. ... if you have more than one. Bra business will go out of business if we seriously sent this out to all the females.
Do you wear bra for the whole day and even at home? - You should read this article.
Do you wear bra for the whole day and even at home? I think we should go bra-free after reading this article. It's a message for your health. Please pass this to all female friends you know. I think it's important to be aware of the following facts...
For years, a lot of articles with regards to the causes of breast cancer point to an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise as the major links to this disease which happens to be the biggest killer among women during these last two decades.
These studies would have been most credible if it were not for the fact that several women including Linda McCartney who have been religious vegetarians and exercise- freaks have also been unfortunate in suffering breast cancer.
Perhaps the most convincing article I have ever read with regards to this matter is one which links breast cancer to the wearing of bras. In the "Bra and Breast Cancer Study" in the United States , It was discovered that women with breast cancer had a history of sporting tighter and longer bra-wearing than did the women who had not (yet) developed the disease.
In fact, virtually the entire cancer group wore bras over 12 hours. When a woman wears a tight bra, she subjects her breasts to pressure, closing off the lymphatic pathway from the breast to the nodes. This causes fluid built-up swelling, tenderness and cyst formation. Toxins must be flushed out via the lymphatic. However, a bra-constricted breast cannot adequately perform this cleansing process, resulting in toxin accumulation in the breast...
Truthfully, bras are creating droopy, weak breasts..... .the breast relies on the bras for artificial support; the body loses its ability to support the breast by itself. This is why many women feel uncomfortable without the bra.
What is the solution to breast cancer then? DON'T WEAR A TIGHT BRA! And maybe sleep without them.
There is a remarkable success rate for recovery from fibrocystic breast disease within 10 days to two weeks of going bra-free. Many women have tried going bra-less and recorded a miraculous improvement in their health! Bra burning is no longer a feminist issue....It is now a battle between life and death. We should make others more aware of the hazards of wearing them......
.... Please pass this to every female you know
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
10 Exercise Myths
Misconceptions about exercise can sabotage your efforts to get in shape. Here's the truth behind 10 common myths.
Recently Martina Navratilova decried one of sport's most persistent myths - that women lack stamina and endurance. That's why their tennis matches are limited to three sets, while men's matches can go five sets. Actually, the physiological differences that make men more muscular than women confer no edge in endurance. Women can exercise at least as hard and long as men can. And they recover from a grueling workout significantly faster than men do.
While scientists and female athletes are finally laying that myth to rest, other antiquated notions about exercise have stubbornly persisted - and new misconceptions keep popping up. Such incorrect notions can discourage you from exercising or lead you to waste time, effort, or money on workouts that don't really work. They can even harm your health. Here are the facts about 10 unfounded fears, negative notions, and false hopes about working out.
Myth #1: While light exercise does yield some benefits, it's not nearly as beneficial as strenuous exercise.
Truth: Strenuous workouts do improve aerobic capacity far more than light or moderate workouts do. While that may improve athletic performance, it does not necessarily translate into a great health advantage.
The death rates from coronary heart disease, cancer, and all causes combined are much lower in moderate exercisers than in non exercisers; but they're only a little lower in heavy exercisers than in moderate exercisers. The same holds true for the risk of developing type II diabetes, by far the most common kind.
In addition, non strenuous exercise seems to reduce stress, anxiety, and blood pressure as effectively as strenuous exercise does. And moderate exercise like walking can do just as much to control weight as vigorous exercise like jogging, since the number of calories burned depends on how much ground you cover, not how fast you cover it. In fact, moderate exercise is potentially more effective than vigorous for most people, since they can walk much further than they can run.
Myth #2: You can lose fat from specific parts of your body by exercising those spots.
Truth: There's no such thing as "spot reduction." When you exercise, you use energy produced by burning fat in all parts of your body - not just around the muscles that are doing most of the work. In fact, your genes may dictate that fat disappears from, say, your face or arms before your belly, even if you do endless abdominal exercises. However, working a specific region like the belly can have one site-specific benefit: Strengthening the muscles can make you look thinner by helping you hold in your gut.
Myth #3: The more you sweat during exercise, the more fat you lose.
Truth: The harder you work out, the more calories you'll burn within a given period and thus the more fat you stand to lose. But how much you sweat does not necessarily reflect how hard you're working. Some people tend to sweat profusely due to heavy body weight, poor conditioning, or heredity. And everyone sweats more in hot, dry weather or dense clothing than in cool, humid weather or porous clothing. (You may feel as if you're sweating more in humid weather; but that's because moist air slows the evaporation of sweat.)
Exercising in extremely hot weather or in a plastic "weight loss" suit will indeed make you sweat heavily and lose weight immediately. But that lost weight is almost entirely water; the pounds will return when you replenish your fluids by drinking after the workout. Further, you could develop heat exhaustion if you push yourself too hard in extreme heat or in plastic clothes. which prevent sweat from evaporating and, in turn, cooling you off.
Myth #4: Sports drinks can help you exercise more safely and effectively.
Truth: Sports drinks contain two main ingredients that are theoretically beneficial for exercisers: sodium, which helps the body retain water, and sugar, which the body burns for energy. But very few people exercise hard enough to sweat away much sodium or to use up their carbohydrate reserves, which the body converts to sugar. You'd have to jog for at least two hours, for example, before your carbohydrate stores would start to run low. So unless you're doing a marathon or other exhaustive exercise, plain water is all you need.
Myth #5: Aerobic exercise tends to make you hungry, so it actually undermines your efforts to lose weight.
Truth: Aerobic exercise, such as jogging or brisk walking, may indeed increase your appetite - but only, it seems, if you need extra calories. Studies suggest that lean individuals do get hungrier after such exercise; that helps prevent them from getting too thin. In contrast, working out does not seem to boost appetite in obese individuals; so exercise should help them slim down.
Myth #6: Strength training won't help you get thinner, since it burns few calories and adds pounds of muscle.
Truth: Strength training, using either weights, machines, or elastic bands, can substantially increase the number of calories you burn. A typical session, in which you rest briefly after each muscle-building maneuver, uses up calories at least as fast as walking does. Circuit training, in which you move quickly from one strengthening maneuver to the next, burns calories faster than walking does. And your body continues to burn calories for hours after either type of strength training. More important, the muscle you build consumes calories more rapidly, even when you're not exercising.
In one study, three months of strength training boosted the average calorie-burning rate by an average of 7 percent, burned off 4 pounds of fat, and added nearly that much muscle. Since muscle is denser than fat, the volunteers presumably did become thinner. Equally important, they burned off that fat despite a 15 percent increase in their calorie content. If the researchers hadn't prodded them to maintain their weight by eating more than they felt like eating, the volunteers almost surely would have lost weight.
Strength training is particularly helpful as part of a comprehensive weight-loss program that includes both aerobic exercise - which burns lots of calories during the workout and some calories after the workout - and a moderately low-calorie diet. (forget crash diets, which almost always never work and can be dangerous.) A recent study found that women who ate a moderately restrictive diet and did either strength training or aerobic exercise lost more weight than those who only dieted. But those who split their workout time between strength training and aerobic exercise lost the most weight of all.
Myth #7: Strength training builds muscle and bone but does nothing for the heart.
Truth: Strength training plus aerobic exercise may be the ideal exercise regimen not only for the waistline but also for the heart. One analysis of 11 clinical trials found that strength training can reduce levels of LDL cholesterol, the artery-clogging kind (though it has little effect on HDL cholesterol, the artery-clearing kind). Aerobic exercise has a complimentary benefit: It improves HDL but does little for LDL. Further, some studies suggest that strength training, like aerobic exercise, may help reduce blood pressure. (But check with your doctor for guidance before starting a muscle-building program if you have hypertension, since straining can temporarily increase blood pressure.) One final benefit: By fortifying the muscles, strength training reduces the likelihood that sudden or unaccustomed exertion, such as moving furniture or shoveling snow, will trigger a heart attack.
Myth #8: When you stop exercising, your muscles turn to fat.
Truth: Lack of exercise does make the muscles shrink, reducing the body's calorie-burning rate. The lack of activity itself further reduces the number of calories you burn. So people who stop working out are indeed in danger of getting flabby.
But that doesn't mean that muscle actually turns to fat - they're totally different types of tissue. Nor does it mean you're doomed to gain fat around the muscles after you stop exercising; you just need to cut back on the calories you consume. (Of course, the best way to stay slim is to eat a lean diet and continue to exercise regularly.)
Myth #9: Building muscles reduces flexibility.
Truth: If you strength train without moving your joints through their full range of motion, you can indeed lose flexibility. But strength training can actually improve flexibility if you do move your joints fully. Stretch after a muscle-building workout to help keep yourself limber. (Stretch before as well as after an aerobic workout.)
Myth #10: Strength training tends to give women a bulky, masculine physique.
Truth: It's very difficult for most women to build large muscles. That's because women have relatively low levels of the hormone testosterone, which influences muscle growth. Both men and women can build firmer rather than bulkier muscles by working against lighter resistance more than 25 times rather than heavier resistance fewer times.
Authors Details: - from Consumer Reports on Health, October 1996
Monday, November 3, 2008
Lady Finger to Treat Diabetes
Last month in one of TV program I learnt of a treatment of Sugar (Diabetes). Since I am diabetic, I tried it and it was very useful and my sugar is in control now. In fact I have already reduced my medicine.
Take two pieces of Lady Finger (Bhindi) and remove/cut both ends of each piece. Also put a small cut in the middle and put these two pieces in
glass of water. Cover the glass and keep it at room temperature during night. Early morning, before breakfast simply remove two pieces of lady
finger (bhindi) from the glass and drink that water.
Keep doing it on daily basis.
Within two weeks, you will see remarkable results in reduction of your SUGAR.
My sister has got rid of her diabetes. She was on Insulin for a few years, but after taking the lady fingers every morning for a few months,
she has stopped Insulin but continues to take the lady fingers every day. But she chops the lady fingers into fine pieces in the night, adds
the water and drinks it all up the next morning. Please. try it as it will not do you any harm even if it does not do much good to you, but U
have to keep taking it for a few months before U see results, as most cases might be chronic.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Open the windows after you enter your car
According to research done by a U.C., the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener will emit Benzene, a cancer causing toxin (carcinogen). In addition to causing cancer, it poisons your bones, causes anemia, and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer. May also cause miscarriage.
Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft. A car parked indoors with the windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level. The people inside the car will inevitably inhale an excess amount of the toxin.
It is recommended that you open the windows and door to give time for the interior to air out before you enter. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver, and is difficult for your body to expel.
