Is Your Heart Healthy...»

Take control of your life, the earlier the better!
Watch your heart
- A 'silent heart attack' is more common with complaints of 'gas' or indigestion.
- If the indigestion is not relievedby antacids and persists for over an hour, get an ECG done.
Making healthy choices
- Restrict eating out to once a week.
- If you're at a business meeting, opt for salads, with non-fatty dressings.
- Introduce fibres in your diet through bran and wheat flour.
- Snack on flax seeds and walnuts, which are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids.
- Cut down on red meat and egg yolks that are high in cholesterol.

Vitamin C..Don't neglect...!

"Mr X has a lack of vitamin C and
contracts a cold. The cold leads to
pneumonia. Mr X dies and his body
is taken to the mortuary…not with
the diagnosis "lack of vitamin C",
but with the diagnosis "pneumonia".
This does not matter for him any
more, but matters for the rest of
mankind, which is mislead in its
thinking and judgement about
vitamins."---Dr Albert Szent-
Gyorgyi, nobel prize winner for
discovering Ascorbate.

Drink Milk..Lose Weight...»

Drinking milk regularly could help
you shed weight, finds a recent
study.
In a two-year weight loss study,
milk drinkers had an advantage over
those who skipped the milk, reports
the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition.
Researchers led by Danit Shahar
from the Ben-Gurion University of
the Negev in Israel, found that
adults who drank nearly two glasses
of milk daily, which provided the
highest Vitamin D levels at six
months, lost more weight after two
years than those who had little or no
milk or milk products -- nearly six
kilograms weight loss, on average.
More than 300 overweight men and
women aged 40 to 65 years, took
part in the study following low-fat,
Mediterranean or low-carb diets for
two years, according to a Ben-
Gurion statement.
Regardless of diet, researchers
found participants with the highest
dairy calcium intake six months into
the study (averaging about 580 mg
daily- the amount in nearly two
glasses of milk) lost about six
kilograms at the end of the two
years, compared to about 3.5 kg for
those with the lowest dairy calcium
intake (averaging about 150 mg, or
about half of a glass).
Beyond calcium, the researchers
also found that Vitamin D levels
independently affected weight loss
success and in line with previous
research, milk and milk products
were the top contributors to Vitamin
D in the diets of the study
participants.
Despite the potential health
benefits, many Americans are still
not getting the recommended 400
international units (IU) of Vitamin D
daily -- the amount in four glasses
of fat free or low-fat milk

Planning Commission planes for new medical degree for rural India...

Paba News: The controversial
three-and-a-half year long medical
degree -Bachelor of Rural Medicine
and Surgery (BRMS) -- has now got
the backing of Planning
Commission's all powerful high level
expert group on universal health
coverage.
The panel has in its report (finalized
on Sunday and available with TOI)
"endorsed" the all new BRMS cadre
and said that as a career progression
incentive, they should be promoted
to the level of public health
officers after 10 years of service.
According to the panel, by 2022,
India should actually have BRMS
colleges in all districts with
populations of over 5 lakh.
The course should focus on "high
quality of competence in preventive,
promotive and rehabilitative
services required for rural
populations with focus on primary
health care."
It also recommended that it should
be mandated through legislation
that a graduate of the BRMS
programme is licensed to serve only
in specific notified areas in the
government health system.
The panel however was clear that the
BRMS was not a mini-MBBS but
rather a unique training programme
aimed at the basic health care needs
of its target population.
According to the Union health
ministry, vulnerable populations in
rural, tribal and hilly areas are
extremely under-served. In 2006,
only 26% of doctors in India resided
in rural areas, serving 72% of
India's population. Another study
found that the urban density of
doctors is nearly four times that in
rural areas, and that of nurses is
three times higher than rural areas.
As of March 2010, undue delays in
recruitments resulted in high
vacancies even in available posts at
health centres - over 34% for male
health workers are not in position,
while 38% of radiographer posts,
16% of laboratory technician posts,
31% of specialist posts, 20% of
pharmac