Alternative Treatments for Diabetes

Diabetes is continuing to emerge as one of the gravest healthcare threats with millions of people being affected all over the world. Till this date the conclusive treatment of diabetes is out of reach for modern medicinal tradition, but on the other hand an array of holistic procedures and alternative treatments are showing promise to curb diabetes under control. Here we introduce some of the best known alternative treatments for diabetes.

The deadly chronic endocrine disorder called diabetes making millions of people suffer and cause enormous medical complication leading to death. Diabetes typically is a disease that requires continuous management rather than curative approach as the disease at best can be checked and cannot be permanently cured. Though total recovery from diabetic condition is still out of reach as far as the curative approach of modern medical drugs are concerned, it is now a widely acclaimed fact that alternative treatments for diabetes with the use of herbs and herbal remedies are more effective to curb diabetes over a long period of time. These alternative therapeutic and lifestyle procedures which are also called holistic treatments are without side effects and can boost the natural process of metabolism to a significant extent.

Ayurveda

Ayurveda considers diabetes to be a disease intricately related to our metabolic disorder and as per Ayurvedic the situation can only be reversed by addressing the contributory factors effectively. The elimination of sugar from the dietary regimen, replacement of simple carbohydrates with complex ones rich with dietary fibers and finally use of herbs for boosting metabolism, these three are the principal ways that as per Ayurvedic principle can check diabetes. In many parts of the world, even across top healthcare establishments Ayurvedic treatment regimen is widely applied to treat diabetes.

Yoga

Among the alternative treatments for diabetes this ancient Indian procedure involving exercises and breathing techniques is considered to have most sustainable health effect. Yogic exercises ideally boosts up the metabolism and helps the cell level glucose consumption in the body. Yoga also helps to reduce other contributing factors that play an important role in causing diabetes like, stress, overweight or obesity syndromes, poor digestion, etc.

Herbal and Dietary Supplements

There are a number of herbs and herbal supplements that are medically proven to be effective to curb diabetes like neem, allium satvium, phylanthus amarus, tinosfora cordifolia and many more. There are particularly some minerals that are effective in reducing the chances of diabetes or in checking diabetes under control, for instance chromium, magnesium, vanadium, nicotinamide, vitamin E, etc.

Lifestyle and home remedies

Daily lifestyle habits and home regimen consisting changes in nutrition and dieting and other lifestyle aspects are accumulatively one of the most effective ways to treat diabetes. High fiber and low calorie diet, eating habit of breaking a big meal in small snack proportions, introducing more green veggies and fruits in daily diet, more physical movements and exercise, distressed living with sound sleep, are some of the irreplaceable lifestyle remedies to curb diabetes.

Acupuncture

Though the mechanism and healing effects of acupuncture for diabetes is still obscure to a greater portion of scientific community, it is widely used in some parts of the world as a healing technique for number of diseases including diabetes. The basic philosophy behind this ancient from of Chinese medication is to create the balance of vital energy through out the body by inserting therapeutic needles at various portions of the body.

Homeopathy

Among the alternative treatments for diabetes homeopathy is considered to have a great patient following simply because of having no side effects and simple yet sometimes effective treatment regimen. Much in the fashion of Ayurveda homeopathic medicines take best effects when applied with directed nutritional regimen or other lifestyle changes. Phosphorous, Codenium and Syzygium are some of the common homeopathic medicines prescribed checking diabetes.

Source: News Track India


compound in grapes minimize effects of meth

A new study has suggested that resveratrol, a natural compound found in colored vegetables, fruits and especially grapes, may also block the effects of the highly addictive drug, methamphetamine.

Dennis Miller, associate professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences in the College of Arts and Science and an investigator with the Bond Life Sciences Center, and researchers in the Center for Translational Neuroscience at MU, study therapies for drug addiction and neurodegenerative disorders.

Their research targets treatments for methamphetamine abuse and has focused on the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in drug addiction.

Dopamine levels in the brain surge after methamphetamine use; this increase is associated with the motivation to continue using the drug, despite its adverse consequences.

However, with repeated methamphetamine use, dopamine neurons may degenerate causing neurological and behavioral impairments, similar to those observed in people with Parkinson’s disease.

Miller said that dopamine is critical to the development of methamphetamine addiction-the transition from using a drug because one likes or enjoys it to using the drug because one craves or compulsively uses it, asserting that resveratrol has been shown to regulate these dopamine neurons and to be protective in Parkinson’s disease, a disorder where dopamine neurons degenerate; therefore, we sought to determine if resveratrol could affect methamphetamine-induced changes in the brain.

Using procedures established by Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease research, rats received resveratrol once a day for seven days in about the same concentration as a human would receive from a healthy diet. After a week of resveratrol, researchers measured how much dopamine was released by methamphetamine.

Researchers found that resveratrol significantly diminished methamphetamine’s ability to increase dopamine levels in the brain.

The study has been published in Neuroscience Letters

Source: Silo Breaker

 


Children at risk of AIDS should be tested at birth: UN

More than a quarter of a million children each year are born infected with the virus that causes AIDS, but too few are being tested early to receive treatment and prolong their lives, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

Michele Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, called for diagnostic kits to be improved for detection in babies of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, and for their “still high” current price of $25-50 to be brought down.

Children are the “forgotten” victims of the AIDS epidemic, yet 260,000 babies joined their ranks last year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, he said.

“Irrespective of the market size we need to make sure that diagnostics are made available for children,” he told a news conference in Geneva ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1.

“We made a lot of progress during the last 2-3 years in terms of treatment, in terms of medicines, in terms of making sure that the molecules are more well-targeted for children. But where we are failing is also making early diagnostics.”

U.S.-based Abbott Laboratories and Swiss drugmaker Roche are among the main manufacturers of HIV diagnostics, according to senior UNAIDS officials.

Some 3.3 million children under age 15 have HIV, but only 1.9 million of them require treatment today, according to the Geneva-based agency. Fewer than 650,000 or 34 percent of the 1.9 million received antiretroviral AIDS drugs in 2012, still a rise of 14 percent from the year before, it said.

Some 14 million adults with HIV need treatment, and 9 million of them or 64 percent are receiving it, a far higher coverage rate than for children.

UN AIDS has identified 22 priority countries for stopping infections in children, 21 of them in sub-Saharan Africa, home to 90 percent of women living with HIV. The other is India.

In three of these priority countries – Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi – fewer than 5 percent of infants at risk are being tested for HIV at birth, UNAIDS says.

“In priority countries, only 3 in 10 children receive HIV treatment. We have seen tremendous political commitment and results to reduce mother-to-child transmission but we are failing the children who become infected,” said Sidibe, who is from Mali.

All children under five who test positive for the virus should be put on treatment, according to Mahesh Mahalingam, UNAIDS director for its global plan for stopping new infections in children.

Current PCR tests are able to detect the virus in a baby only after the age of six weeks and require sending a blood sample to a specialized laboratory, he said.

“What we looking for are easier tests that we can administer earlier on, this will help detect the virus and start them on medicines faster. We recommend that as soon as the child is known to be HIV positive, you start on anti-retroviral drugs,” Mahalingam said.

He added: “The earlier we can diagnose, the earlier we can treat them which increase chances of child survival. Children are now getting to grow into adults. If we start pretty early they have the same chance of living as any other children.”

Source : Zee news

 


For breakfast, now make ‘mixed fried eggs’

Eggs, sunny side-up with a mix of greens and other sauces can make your morning meal filling and fun.

We’ve all heard of and eaten mixed fried rice; the other interesting fusion can be got in an egg – a fried one! That’s right folks are creating delicious twists to the breakfast staple and making it nutritious too! Fried eggs are not just greasy, they are also said to be a source of vitamin B12, selenium and riboflavin. If you are using the process of frying, another tip is to olive oil or another light cooking spray to fry the eggs.

Spinach with fried eggs

This one is easy. Saute a little garlic, add spinach to it. When it wilts, keep aside. In another pan, saute boiled chickpeas and a little tomato, then add in the spinach and garlic. Once done, in this pan, break in two fried eggs, remove when set. Serve the dish with crusty bread.

Spinach with mushrooms

Melt butter in a saucepan and add spinach and mushrooms to it. Sprinkle pepper and saute. Top with the fried egg. Serve with sliced bread and herbed butter.

Eggs in tomato

Make a puree of three tomatoes. Add some sauteed onion, garlic and basil to it. Season with salt and pepper. When cooked break fried eggs over it. Drizzle cheese on the top and serve.

Source: article.wn


Yoga and Gym for Your Kiddo? Yay or Nay

Will you let your kid join yoga and gym classes?

 It is most likely that fitness conscious mammas and papas will have kids who are equally particular about fitness. It almost seems like playtime and running around with hyper energy just isn’t enough. So, will you let your child stretch to some asanas and enroll them for a gym class. We got some experts to guide us.

What kids can do

Yoga teaches kids to be active and attain self-control. It also builds their concentration. Yoga expert Chaitanya Tirth says there are a few basic asanas that provide immense developmental benefits to children.

“Easy asanas like Sarvangasana and Halasana are known to help kids with their spinal flexibility. Halasana is one such asana that increases blood flow to the brain areas and helps with improving memory,” says Tirth who believes that a 30-minute interactive session at home can help kids immensely. Other asanas that kids can try at home, under adult supervision include Chakrasana and Surya Namaskara, which also provide several physiological benefits.

 

Asanas to avoid

Tirth believes children can start practicing meditation and easy asanas from five years upwards. He however believes that they should not be allowed to attempt complex asana likeChakrasana, “It’s based on breathing exercise and involves complex postures. This asanashould only be practised by teenagers, and kids of more than 14 years of age as it could have an adverse effect on their growth,” he adds.

Junior gyms too?

In the West, the trend of having gyms has taken over, but is this taking things a tad too far? Mumbai-based fitness expert Vinod Channa believes it’s controversial, though he feels it is a good thing to join the gym. Channa  believes that kids also need enough nutrition that includes proteins, carbohydrates, fibres and minerals to supplement their work out. “These days, because of a space crunch in the city where kids don’t have many open spaces to play in, I feel joining the gym is not too bad an idea,” he adds.

Source: Bollywood News


Quick and Iced Tea Recipe:

Ginger Iced Tea (recipe serves 8 )


Ingredients:
1. Tea Bags – 5
2. Water – 1 quart
3. Fresh ginger – 1 inch piece sliced into thin pieces
4. Sugar to taste

Method:
1. Crush ginger.
2. Heat the water and steep the tea bags in it with the ginger.
3. Steep over a simmered flame for about 10 minutes.
4. Once done steeping, strain out the ginger and tea bags, and add to a pitcher.
5. Add sugar and stir.
6. Cool well and serve over ice.

Source: Health me up


Home Remedies for Beautiful Hair

Your hair can say a lot about your physical and mental health. However, maintaining a good crop of healthy hair on one’s head is not an easy task, given the stress levels, size-zero guided diets, hormonal changes, usage of too many styling products and other such factors. Similar to skin, hair care involves cleansing, conditioning and strengthening. This can be achieved by adopting these simple hair care home remedies.

Cleansing:

1. The most effective homemade shampoo is a mixture of reetha, shikakai and amla. Soak overnight in equal amounts, in approximately 1 litre of water. The next day, boil the mixture slowly until it is reduced to half. Cool and strain.

2.   Tea Tree Oil is known to be very effective for treating head lice. Parents of little kids can use this shampoo as an alternative to harsh chemical shampoos. Tea Tree Oil also helps unblock clogged hair follicles moisturizes hair and keeps the scalp free of bacterial and fungal problems. A mild solution of Tea Tree Oil and natural shampoo also helps cradle cap in infants.

3.  Chamomile is an excellent tonic for hair. Use it as a rinse after shampooing to restore shine and bring out your hair’s natural highlights.

Conditioning:

1. Massage half a cup of mayonnaise into unwashed hair and cover it with a plastic bag and leave it on for 15 minutes. Rinse a few times before shampooing.

2.   People with dry hair should massage rosewater on the scalp, as this is very helpful in treating dry hair. Mix olive oil and honey with a  ripe papaya and apply this to your hair. Shampoo after an hour.

3.  Oily haired people can use a mixture of multani mitti, amla, reetha andshikakai. Shampoo hair after 40 minutes.

4.   Peppermint oil is very useful for hair care as it has a cooling effect on the head, and removes dandruff and lice. It can also be used to condition the hair. Peppermint Oil also regulates and normalises oily hair. It is an astringent so it helps treat oily scalps.

5.   A paste of fresh fenugreek leaves applied over the scalp regularly before a bath helps hair grow, preserves its natural colour, keeps hair silky and also cures dandruff.

Strengthening:

 1.   Bananas contain rich minerals and other nutrients that promote hair recovery and rehabilitation. A banana mask is perfectly suited for dry, dyed hair and for permed hair.

2.    Lettuce juice is very effective in resolving the symptoms of hair loss.

3.   Castor oil hair loss treatment has been known to work well for hair loss. Many believe that it truly does grow back lost hair.

4.    Lavender stimulates hair growth, balances oil production and replenishes the hair and scalp.

5.    Curd is a conditioner and a cleansing agent.

6.    Cedarwood is a great medium to get oxygen into the hair follicles and stimulate growth.

 

Source: Health me up


Senegal On the Frontline of the Battle With Big Tobacco

Dakar — Djité Sekou, 32, smokes as he passes his nights guarding one of the many high-rise apartment buildings in Dakar, Senegal. It has been eight years since his first cigarette – a Monte Carlo from Morocco – and when money is available he goes through 20 to 30 per day. It is an addiction that can cost him up to a quarter of his monthly income.

Like most smokers in Senegal, he rarely buys a full packet, preferring to purchase cigarettes individually – a sales strategy tobacco companies employ to ensure that even those with limited means are able to afford their daily nicotine.

“If my pocket is heavy, I buy the full packet,” explained Sekou. “If my pocket is empty, I buy four Excellences [cigarettes] at 100 [CFA] francs [US$0.20].”

Sekou is one of a growing number of smokers across Africa. While reliable, up-to-date figures are unavailable, the 2007 Global Youth Tobacco Survey estimated that up to 20 percent of Senegalese boys and 10 percent of girls aged 13 to 15 used tobacco products – a number believed to be much higher today.

Oumar Ndao, Senegal’s focal point for tobacco control at the Ministry of Health, says, “This is due to extremely weak legislation that, apart from prohibiting television advertising, demands no restrictions.”

Tih Ntiabang, Africa coordinator of the civil society Framework Convention Alliance, based in Yaounde, Cameroon, says advertising focuses “on two groups of people – the youth and women. For the youth, they portray smoking as cool. For women, if you smoke you are emancipated.”

In Senegal, there are almost no restrictions on smoking in public places, and warning labels on packets are small.

The exception is the holy city of Touba, where smoking has been banned for religious reasons since 1980 (15 years before the US State of California enacted its ban on smoking in enclosed workplaces).

Yet with Senegal’s parliament due to vote on new anti-smoking legislation, the rest of the country may soon follow suit.

If passed, the law would ban all tobacco advertising, restrict smoking in public places, and demand health warnings that cover 30 percent of all cigarette packaging.

Source : All Africa

 


One in 10 adults suffers from hypothyroidism, finds survey

HypothyroidOne in 10 adults suffers from hypothyroidism, with the prevalence of the condition higher in inland cities than in coastal locations, says a countrywide study.

The seafood diet of coastal people may help prevent the disease, said experts in reaction to the findings.

The study, published in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, shows that out of the 5,376 people who were surveyed, 10.95% were found to be suffering from hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is a condition characterized by abnormally low thyroid hormone production, which affects the entire body system along with a person’s lifestyle.

“Of the 1,259 people studied in Mumbai, 9.61 per cent were diagnosed with hypothyroidism,” Dr Mahesh Padsalge, the city investigator of the study, said. “Out of these, 2.86 per cent did not even know that they were suffering from it.”

The study found that inland cities such as Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad had a higher prevalence of hypothyroidism compared to coastal locations such as the city, Goa and Chennai.

“It is just a theory and not a proven fact, but we believe that people in coastal areas have a lower risk of hypothyroidism because of iodine-rich diet,” Dr A G Unnikrishnan, principal investigator of the study, said. “Iodine is found in the head portion of fish and is an element required in the production of thyroid hormone.”

If left untreated, hypothyroidism can cause elevated cholesterol levels, an increase in blood pressure, an increased rate of cardiovascular complications, decreased fertility, and depression. In pregnant women, it can cause placental abnormalities and put the baby’s health at increased risk.

These symptoms are often confused with other disorders, making thyroid disorders one of the most under-diagnosed in the country.

The study revealed that women were three times more likely to be affected than men; of the affected population, 15.86 per cent were women and 5.02 per cent men. The finding was especially true for those in midlife, that is the age bracket of 46-54 years.

Researchers are still trying to figure out why women are more prone to the disorder.

“Thyroid disorders in India are characterized by a high prevalence, minimal diagnosis, poor awareness and low involvement of doctors in treatment,” Unnikrishnan said. “There is a growing urgency to create awareness of thyroid disorders, the need for early and regular diagnosis and the importance of following a recommended treatment regime.”

Like diabetes, there is no permanent cure for most forms of thyroid disorders, but with medication and precise treatment, these can be controlled so that patients lead normal lives.

Source: Press display

 


Medical tourism driving health care disparity in Thailand

medical tourism

The rise of medical tourism in Thailand has left the country’s health care system facing a critical test. As the government looks to attract ever higher numbers of overseas patients, there are concerns that access to health care for its own population of 67 million may suffer, admit Thai health officials.

In January, the Ministry of Public Health will launch its latest medical tourism strategy, a four-year plan to cement Thailand as the leading medical hub in Asia, with a target to make $6 billion per year by the end of 2017. But cracks are already starting to show in the other side of what the Thai government calls its “dual-track policy,” which aims to develop both the public and private health sector.

Although still little understood, there are mounting fears medical tourism may be fueling brain drain to the private sector, causing a lack of doctors and nurses in state hospitals and in turn widening Thailand’s health gap.

“Some [nongovernmental organizations] and reporters said that our policy impacts on Thai citizens accessing medical services, on the price and quality standards,” said Dr. Saowapa Jongkitipong, deputy director of the Department of Health Service Support, which created the new medical hub strategy.

The Ministry of Public Health has not ignored these criticisms, she said. The aim is to also train more doctors and nurses to meet public health care staffing shortages, according to the ministry’s new strategy, though details remain vague.

Furthermore, plans for a National Health Statute aimed at supporting nonprofit hospitals and primary care services with financial backing by the Thai Board of Investment have stalled, said Dr. Tipicha Posayanonda, a public health expert at the National Health Commission Office, which was charged with devising the plan.

Part of the problem was a change of government in 2011 amid a bitter political divide in the country. For more than two years, the draft plan has been held up and the Board of Investment’s board of directors has still not seen it, meaning there is no strategy in place to fix the deficiencies of Thailand’s health services in less developed areas of the country, said Posayanonda.

“We’re lacking some doctors so we need to get a balance,” she said. “We’re trying to help poorer people.”

As Thailand moves ahead with plans to further increase medical tourism, the effects of catering to the needs of hundreds of thousands of additional patients every year are only just being understood, say researchers and medical professionals.

Medical tourism adds an estimated 0.4% to Thailand’s economy every year, which raises income for the medical services sector, concluded Anchana NaRanong and Viroj NaRanong in their 2011 study of the impacts of the industry. Other positive effects include a higher standard of medical hardware courtesy of the best private hospitals. Overall, however, Thailand’s medical tourism drive is causing growing disparity when it comes to access to health care, the study concludes.

“Negative effects are evidenced by both a shortage of physicians and by increased medical fees for self-paying Thais, which are likely to undermine their access to quality medical services,” the paper added.

In other words, for Thais who can afford to pay for private health care, costs are being driven up by medical tourism. For those who rely on basic, government health schemes — more than 80% of the population — staffing levels in state hospitals are being undermined by private sector brain drain.

The number of Thai medical graduates was expected to climb from 1500 to 2300 after 2010, but the NaRanong study found that foreign patients take up more physician time, so the distribution of doctors in underprivileged, remote areas remains low.

In response, the Ministry of Public Health has recently required new and existing private hospitals to provide data on the number of current and intended employees so that manpower can be better planned.

As Thailand leads the way in the fast-growing medical tourism market, it could provide lessons for other developing countries, such as India and Mexico. But it is only just learning what those lessons might be, said Dr. Nima Asgari, public health administrator in the World Health Organization’s Thailand office.

Data at the local level on the burden of diseases and availability of services remain inadequate, said Asgari. “The impact of medical tourism on the public health sector is currently being investigated by the Ministry of Public Health but it is still too early to say anything definitively.”

Source: CMAJ