White Oats Plays Vital Role in Weight Reduction
Posted by yogi in Healthy Foods on April 19, 2010
White Oats is a major diet to reduce your body weight. What is White oats? Oat is special because it has the distinctive feature to be a Whole grain and a Super grain. In this way, Whole grain foods, contain a rich mix of phytonutrients, proteins, antioxidants, complex carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins and mineral that work together as a great package. Eating the whole package gives a combination of health benefits as part of healthy balanced diet.
There are many types of white oats available. The most common cooking types are rolled oats, steel-cut oats and instant oats. Of the three types, steel-cut oats are the most nutritious, but instant oats are the easiest to prepare, as noted at Eatmoreoats.com. Oats also can be bought in their unprocessed form, usually labeled as whole oats, or their partially processed form, hulled oats.
Studies have shown many benefits of white oats. They are known to help reduce cholesterol and aid in weight loss and digestion. NutriHealth reports that regular consumption of oats may reduce the chances of heart disease.
Australia proposes tough cigarette packaging rules
Australia said Thursday it will force tobacco companies to strip all logos and color from their packaging, a move that will leave cigarette packs decorated with only a few words and graphic warning images of shriveled, diseased lungs or gangrenous toes.
The government said the move would make Australia the world’s toughest country on tobacco advertising and is aimed unashamedly at driving more people away from the habit.
“The new branding for cigarettes will be the most hard-line regime in the world and cigarette companies will hate it,” Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told a news conference at which he waved a mock-up packet bearing a large photo of a gangrenous foot.
Chewing gum may help maintain phosphate levels in kidney patients
Posted by yogi in Health News on March 25, 2010
Chewing gums made with phosphate-binding ingredient can help maintain proper phosphate levels, and prevent cardiovascular disease, in dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a new study. The condition of having high levels of phosphate in the blood is called hyperphosphatemia, which occurs in CKD patients on dialysis.
It was found that despite of taking medications to reduce phosphate acquired through diet, about half of the patients fail to limit their phosphate levels to the recommended value. Hyperphosphatemia also have high levels of phosphate in their saliva, and that is why the researchers tested whether there could be any benefit to binding salivary phosphate during periods of fasting, other than using phosphate binders with meals.
Dr. Vincenzo Savica of the University of Messina, and Dr. Lorenzo A. Calo of the University of Padova, Italy, recruited 13 dialysis patients with high blood phosphate levels to chew 20 mg of phosphate-binding chewing gum twice a day for two weeks between meals, in addition to their prescribed phosphate-binding regimen.
Skin Care for Summers
Posted by yogi in Beauty tips on March 22, 2010
This summer promise yourself that you will look fresh and gorgeous. Even if you are barefaced without a trace of make-up. All you’ve to do is be a true water baby. And by that we don’t mean just splashing in the surf during your holiday by the sea. Water can be your beauty Aid No 1, whenever, whenever you are – holidaying, sweating it out at your office or unwinding on a leisurely Sunday at home. Decide that you can’t do without water on your dressing table.
Aqua Skin
Moisturisation is the most important part of daily skin care, since skin needs more moisture (water) than it does color sheen or gloss. You may be surprised that your summer skin, which looked radiant throughout winter, suddenly looks dull, blemished and oily. “This is because, in winter your skin’s natural oils solidifies, whereas in summer it flows freely,” explains Kristina McHugh, South African beauty specialist. Because of this, most people need a lighter moisturizer in hot weather.”
Although you must, as a rule, buy a water-based moisturizer, work out your skin’s needs. Maybe just plain water works for you. Herbal beautician Shahnaz Husain says that flower-based lotions like rose water can be sprayed on the face to tone and refresh it. “A rose-based skin tonic or cucumber water (made by diluting cucumber juice with water) can be used to spray the face,” she says. “Keep them cool in the fridge before use. Honey water helps dry skins more, because honey is a humecant. It dehydrates the skin.
Besides this, make a habit of splashing your face gently with water for instant freshness (try and use mineral water). You can splash as many as 20 times as long as you don’t use very hot or cold water on your skin (which can cause fine vein to appear on your face). Steam face regularly to release dirt (five minutes for dry skin and 10 minutes if it is oily). Pat dry with tissue and moisturize. Moisturizers should be used damp on the skin. This seals in the water and helps skin to hold the moisture better.
Soak Suds
Feet need TLC at the best of times, let alone in summer. And as they, unmanicured, peeling hands are a beauty sin! Blistering heat makes feet swell and sweat and sexy summer footwear means it’s all on show. So, keeping both hands and feet clean with a liberal use of soap and water (followed by a moisturizer) is a grooming must. “There’s nothing more off-putting than looking at cracked, dirty heels,” insists Christina Fritzgerald of Sydney salon Smyth and Fitzgerald.
So there you are again, water is your only escape route out of unkempt hair and legs. Soaking feet and hands helps to get rid of fatigue, more so if you add a pinch of salt to the water you use. This softens the dry, dead skin around the your soles, easing its removal. Soak feet for 15-20 minutes. Shahnaz recommends hot and cold contrast soaks for the feet to help boost circulation. Soak your feet first in hot water and then in cold water for two minutes each. Do this for about 15 minutes, once a week.
Fish diet boosts intelligence scores
A regular intake of fish appears to boost intelligence scores in teenagers, according to a new Swedish study. The research suggested that 15-year-old males, who ate fish at least once a week, had “higher cognitive skills at the age of 18 than those who ate it less frequently.”
The fish diet appeared to “increase combined, verbal and visuospatial intelligence scores by an average of 6 per cent.” Eating fish more than once a week almost doubled the score, according to the study published in the March issue of Acta Paediatrica said.
The researchers used responses from 3,972 males in the survey with cognitive scores registered in their Swedish military conscription records three years later. “We found a clear link between frequent fish consumption and higher scores when the teenagers ate fish at least once a week,” said Professor Kjell Toren of the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, western Sweden.
Toren said the findings were “significant” since the research was conducted between 15 and 18 years of age “when educational achievements can help to shape the rest of a young man’s life.” The researchers said they did not know what mechanism was linked to fish consumption and improved cognitive performance.
Vitamin D gives teen girls’ muscle power a boost
Vitamin D can boost muscle power and force in adolescent girls, says a new study. The research will be published in The Endocrine Society’’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to have a significant negative impact on muscle and bone health, and can lead to conditions including osteoporosis and rickets.
“We know vitamin D deficiency can weaken the muscular and skeletal systems, but until now, little was known about the relationship of vitamin D with muscle power and force,” said Dr. Kate Ward, Ph. D., of the University of Manchester in the U. K., and lead author of the study.
“Our study found that vitamin D is positively related to muscle power, force, velocity and jump height in adolescent girls.” To reach the conclusion, researchers followed 99 adolescent girls between the ages of 12 and 14 years.
Ward and her colleagues took blood samples to measure the girls” serum levels of vitamin D. Many of these girls were found to have low levels of vitamin D despite not presenting any symptoms.
Researchers used a novel outcome measure called jumping mechanography to measure muscle power and force. Jumping mechanography derives power and force measurements from a subject’’s performance in a series of jumping activities.
Ward says this method of testing is ideal as the muscles required to jump are those most often affected in subjects with vitamin D deficiency. Girls without vitamin D deficiency performed significantly better in these tests.
Maternal stress key to behavioral problems in kids
Posted by yogi in Health News on March 15, 2010
A new study has revealed that maternal stress both prenatal and early post-partum may lead to conduct problems in kids, which is likely to continue into adolescence.
Partner cruelty to the mother, harsh parenting and high levels of under-controlled temperaments in the children’s first years of life were also identified by the researchers as increasing the risk of conduct problems continuing into adolescence.
“… maternal anxiety, both prenatal and early post-partum, is critical in differentiating youths with persistent conduct problems from youths with childhood-limited conduct problems,” said Dr. Edward D. “Ted” Barker, an assistant professor and researcher in UA’s Canter for the Prevention of Youth Behaviour Problems.
However, less than 50 percent of young children exhibiting high levels of conduct problems, including fighting, stealing and lying, will continue displaying these problems in adolescence.
“The results support intervention efforts that ‘start at the beginning’ and offer high-risk mothers health and psychological support beginning with their first obstetric screening,” said the researchers. The study appears in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Treating vitamin D deficiency cuts heart disease risk
Treating vitamin D deficiency with supplements may help to prevent or reduce a person’’s risk for cardiovascular disease and a host of other chronic conditions, say researchers.
According to two new studies at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Murray, Utah, preventing and treating heart disease in some patients could be as simple as supplementing their diet with extra vitamin D.
The finding has been presented at the American College of Cardiology 59th annual scientific session in Atlanta.
“Vitamin D replacement therapy has long been associated with reducing the risk of fractures and diseases of the bone,” says Dr. J. Brent Muhlestein, MD, director of cardiovascular research at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute. “But our findings show that vitamin D could have far greater implications in the treatment and reduction of cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions than we previously thought.”
For the first study, researchers followed two groups of patients for an average of one year each. In the first study group, over 9,400 patients, mostly female, reported low initial vitamin D levels, and had at least one follow up exam during that time period. Researchers found that 47 percent of the patients who increased their levels of vitamin D between the two visits showed a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease.
A few tips to keep your hair healthy
Posted by yogi in Beauty tips on March 5, 2010
Wondering how to keep your hair healthy and shiny despite growing age? British experts have dished out some simple ways that can help reverse the damage.
According to Zoe Irwin, Wellaflex Silvikrin style director, “Hair feels rougher and drier as we age because it lacks moisture in the hair shaft. Over styling and exposure to the elements also contribute to the hair shaft rising, which makes it feel rougher and appear less shiny.”
Irwin advises when styling your hair use products that double as treatments. Leave-in conditioners, milks and masks all combat dryness. Celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton suggests adding soya beans, nuts and coconut to the diet to get rid of the dryness.
“It can take up to three months but the results will be dramatic,” express. co. uk quoted Barton as saying. Harriet Cudjoe, owner of London salon Afrotherapy said as women gets older pigment cells in hair follicles gradually die.
“The strands of hair contain less melanin and become a transparent colour as they grow appearing grey, silver or white,” she added. Celebrity hairdresser Stuart Phillips advises not to colour your hair dark “If you have grey hair, the golden rule is not to colour it dark. As you age your skin tone changes too so always go for lighter shades.”
Dry beans can help fight cancer
Studying the anticancer benefits of dry beans, scientists have discovered that different market classes of beans help in reducing the risk of mammary cancer.
For the study, researchers at Colorado State University studied the anticancer activity of six market classes of bean including; small red, great northern, navy, black, dark red and white kidney bean in the diet of laboratory animals.
They also evaluated whether the level of antioxidants or seed coat pigments in the bean were related to mammary cancer.
The researchers fed cooked dry bean powder from the six market classes and a control group without beans in the diet to laboratory rats in a standard preclinical model for breast cancer.
The dry bean powders were also evaluated for antioxidant capacity, phenolic and flavonoid content; all factors thought to be associated with anticancer activity.
After chemical analysis of the beans, it was found that total phenolic and flavonoid content varied widely among market classes and the differences were strongly associated with seed coat colour; where coloured beans had ten times or greater phenolic and flavonoid content compared to white beans.
Antioxidant capacity of the beans also varied widely among dry bean market classes and were highly related to seed coat colour, where coloured beans had approximately two to three times greater antioxidant capacity than white beans.
Dry bean consumption from every market class reduced cancer incidence (number of animals with one tumour) and tumour number per animal compared to the control group.