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Brain Function And Poor Oral Health – The Connection

Not one but two new studies have revealed that stress on a continuous basis can negatively impact oral health of elderly humans and also lead to a decline in the cognitive functioning in them. It has been always said that oral health is a good indicator of a humans overall health. But, not many of us know that a declining oral health could be an indication of other risky health conditions that can also affect the quality of life of a human being.

An article published in the Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology shows that there is a link between tooth loss as well as gum disease with stroke occurrence.

As per the conclusions of this article of 2010, gum disease is responsible for increase in the risk of heart attack by 20%. Well, there’s another team at the University of New Brunswick, NJ are focusing on a connection between oral health and cognitive decline.

Even a research team from Rutgers University carried out a two separate studies around perceived stress and cognitive decline and published the reports of two separate studies in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society.

Talking about other parts of the world like for example China, XinQi Dong, the director of Rutgers University’s Institute for Health, healthcare policy and aging research says that in china it was the ethnic and racial minorities who were typically vulnerable to consequences of poor oral health. The reason being that already there are barriers like socio economic status and language plus access to preventive dental care is less. Particularly, the old Chinese Americans are at a risk of oral health problems because of lack of regular dental checkup and dental insurance. These studies were carried out on Chinese elderly in Chicago of 60 years and above age. The study involved quizzing question around oral health and then asking them to complete five cognitive tests. The second study asked people if they had faced issues like dry mouth besides measuring their social strain levels, social support and perceived stress with the help of pre-defined scales.

The study involved 2700 Chinese Americans and results revealed that around half of them did had symptoms of tooth related issues. Also, there was not significant relationship between congnitive issues and gums but researchers believe that the participants may not have reported gum problems and ignored them as they do not cause major problems to health.

*Sourced from Internet

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Genetic Components Related To Left Handedness – A Study

A recent study by scientists reveals about regions of the Human DNA and their association with left handedness. These regions are connected to the brains language related features. An earlier study around handedness had revealed that genes were responsible for 25% of it but the type or name of the genes was unknown.

In India and across the world there were has been a lot of stigma and taboo around being left handed. But, today rarely anyone is of the belief or even discriminates between left and right handed people.

10% of the population in the world is known to be left handed and also includes many well-known individuals like Alert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci amongst them.

The recent study was published in the journal ‘Brain’ and involved the participation of 40,000 people including 38000 left handed ones. After doing the genetic analysis, the researchers found that it was the DNA regions that linked to left handedness strongly.

As per the researchers the three regions are inside or are responsible for protein code of brain development and patterning. Proteins play a significant role in making microtubules which are scaffolding like building block and are responsible for guiding cell construction.

Microtubules are made up of long chained molecules making up the physical structure of the cells throughout the body also known as cytoskeleton and have the ability to respond to cell singals by quickly assembling and disassembling.

The scientists did study brain scan details of 9000 participants after analyzing their DNA samples. The findings indicate that in left handed people right and left side for brain that deals with language coordinate in a better way compared to right handed ones. These findings thus pave the path for getting deeper into finding if left handed people are better in tasks that involve verbal communication compared to the right handed ones.

Well, as per Gwenaelle Dououad, associate professor at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging that it was apparently for the first time that they had been able to establish that in humans the handedness is linked to cytoskeletal differences in the brain.

*Sourced from Internet

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Diverticulitis – Know More About The Stomach Condition

A common condition of stomach that, many people are unaware of diverticulitis. It affects the large intestine or colon and occurs when the mucosa or muscous membrane forms small pouches bulging inside the gastrointestinal tract pushes out via a weak muscle area in the larger intestine. Though over 80% of the people suffering from divurticulitis do not show any symptoms of it, some of them do feel severe pain and need surgery.

Causes – Though the primary cause of this condition is unknown, some of the risk factors include obesity, smoking, red meat, high saturated fat and low fibre diet.

Symptoms – Though symptoms vary depending upon the severity of the condition, people experience symptoms like fever, bloating, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation, Vitamin D deficiency and genetics to name a few.

Diagnosis – The diagnosis depends on physical examination and a few tests including urine and stool test, colonoscopy, MRI, CT scan or X ray of the GI tract, to name a few.

Complications: Generally this condition does not have complication in over 75% of the cases but in 25% of the cases there are chances of developing complications. The complications of divertulitis include –

Abscess – It is the formation of pus inside the diverticula

Scarring – This condition causes intestinal blockage

Perforation inside Intestine – This causes holes in the intestine and is a severe condition that leads to leakage into the abdominal cavity

Fistula – In this condition, the infection spreads through other organs

Phlegmon – It’s the inflammation of the soft tissues under the skin

Prevention– Eating foods that are rich in fibre are advisable in order to prevent the condition. These include Vegetables like Spinach, Peas, high-fibre fruits, ground Psyllium Seed, low fibre animal protiens like eggs and fish etc. Avoid foods like popcorn, fried foods, saturated fats, popcorn and refined grains.

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Omega 3 Fatty Acids And Health Benefits

Some of us are definitely aware of omega 3 fatty acids and their benefits. But, many of us are not aware that fatty acids are present not only in animals but plants also. The animal based fatty acids include doosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as well as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). While the animal based omega 3 fatty acids comes from fish oils, plant based come from plant sources. These sources contain alpha-lionelic acid (ALA), that can be converted into Omega-3 fatty acids of the body.

But, most of us are only aware about the health benefits of animal based fish oils with EPA and DHA. But, many of us again aren’t aware about the amount of omega 3, fatty acids that our body requires, even though there is no set standard for intake of the same.

Many experts believe and recommend omega 3 fatty acids for people suffering from cardiovascular conditions particularly higher doses for people having high cholesterol levels. Prescribed medications that are FDA approved are available for people with conditions rather than the supplements.

Omega 3 acids are recommended only for adults and children should not be given any supplements of omega 3 acids before consulting the doctor. Though natural sources of omega 3 fatty acids can be consumed by all irrespective of ages, only if you have no significant allergies around the same.

Natural Sources of omega 3 fatty acids include Cod liver, Soybeans and tofu, Walnuts, Salmon, trout, tuna and sardines, to name a few. The international organization AHA recommends adults for males and females except pregnant women to increase the intake of omega 3 fatty acids

Even avoiding the intake of omega 6 fatty acids that include eggs, meat as well as oil can help in increasing the levels of omega 3 fatty acids in blood. Balancing of omega 3 fatty acids to that of omega 6 can help you manage many health conditions in a better way and reduce the risk of certain conditions as well. As per reports people in USA consume 14-25 times more omega 6 fatty acids as compared to omega 3 fatty acids and this imbalance is not good for health, certainly.

Having said that, omega 3 fatty acids supplements should not be consumed without consulting your physician because they do have certain side effects particularly pregnant women with a diabetes risk should avoid them.

*Sourced from the Internet

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Celiac Disease Detection Now Made Faster With Blood Test –AN Overview

As per All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Celiac disease is known to affect around 6 – 8 million people across India. Also known as gluten sensitive enteropathy or celiac sprue, Celiac disease is known to be an emerging health condition. Celiac disease is a disease where in there is sensitivity against gluten, a protein that is found in wheat, rye and barley. It does not mean allergy to gluten or intolerance to it at all. It is an auto immune disorder that occurs in 1 in 1000 genetically disposed people. This disorder is not very common in Southern India but is prevalent in North and North eastern parts of India.

Now coming to the detection of this condition. The present method used to diagnose it consumes weeks or months. As the time taken to detect the condition is prolonged, people with the condition have to bear with the side effects of it. With the blood test, this time could be reduced to just a few hours. Scientists who are working on the same have been able to pick some of the biomarkers forming the blood test basis. They have found that when people are exposed to gluten, there is an increase inflammatory molecules in the blood stream that can associate with the symptoms that are in common.

Known to affect 1 percent of the population across the western world, Celiac disease is a condition one has to live with. In India there is limited awareness about celiac disease and there is a dire need for awareness around the condition and its prevention as well.

As per Dr Robert P Anderson, who is the Chief Scientific Officer at ImmusanT, it was the first time that their team has been able to describe the inflammatory reaction that the patients experience when they are exposed to gluten. He also stated that the findings could also help differentiate people who have similar symptoms but do not suffer from the condition and ensure that proper treatment pertaining to their condition is given to them.

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Changes In Diet That Help You Reduce The Risk Of Cancer

As per statistics cancer is the causes the second highest number of deaths in India every year. Out of the 9.6 mn, over 8% are from India. Well, that’s not a small number. One of the most common cancers in India today is breast cancer. We all know that with all the innovations and advances in Science, even today cancer does affect the life expectancy negatively and also quality of life. So, trying to prevent it seems a better idea.

A new study has revealed that the foods that are rich in flavonoids are helpful in decreasing the risk of cancer and extending longevity. The study was carried out over 50,000 participants across a span of 20 years. Finding out the impact of single compounds on health conditions as well as mortality is not an easy study, even though food does form the most important part of our lives.

Researchers have already brought to light that eating vegetables and fruits factually reduce the risk of cardiovascular conditions and increase life span too. Though, the details on how they do it is under research phase yet. Many researchers believe that it is rich in flavonoids play a vital role in the same.

Flavonoids are found in different natural food likes vegetables, dark chocolates, fruits and tea are form a chemical class known as polyphenols. These compounds are further divided into six sub classes namely Flavonols, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, anthocyanins, flavones and isoflavones.

A group of scientists from Edith Cowan University of Australia did begin a research in order to find out how the compounds could help increasing life span and help protect against health conditions. They also wanted to look into the effects of alcohol and smoking around the benefits of flavonoids. For investigation of the same, the scientists used the Danish Diet data of over 56048 adults across 23 years. During the process over 14083 participants passed away too. The researchers concluded that it was true that flavonoid rich diets with individual flavonoid subclasses do actually reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases also increasing longevity.

*Sourced from the Internet

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Few Good Apps For Stroke Survivors

We all know that after you get a stroke it takes a long time for your body to come back to its normal functioning. India also is under a high stroke burden already. Across the world stroke is known to be the second most common cause of death. Ischemic strokes are known to account for over 87 percent of all strokes.

Stroke impacts various parts and functioning of the body. This includes mental health issues like depression and anxiety as well as movement issues like paralysis besides issues like bowel control loss, urinary incontinence, swallowing difficulty and visual impairment.

Though if the treatment is done immediately, the chances of recovery are faster. As per a survey the people who are provided critical care within 3 hours of first symptoms of stroke, have shown less disability post 3 months as compared to those who haven’t. In today’s tech times where there are applications available for all, lets run through some of the apps to help you with health and fitness after stroke

Medisafe – This is one app that is like an assistant to you. It reminds you of your doses and tracks your intake too so that you do not miss or double up by mistake. If you are on drugs you do tend to forget your doses.

Constant Therapy – This app is designed for people that are trying to recover from stroke, aphasia or brain injury. It is loaded with 65 different task categories, over a lac different exercises and over 10 difficulty levels. It is developed by scientists at the Boston University.

Cozi – This app is able to manage multiple schedules and is an ideal solution for stroke survivors who are under the care of multiple survivors. It includes a calendar that is color coded and helps manage days with reminders for medications, appointments and more. Managing groceries is also easy as the app comes with to do lists and helps ensure that nothing is missed.

Stop, Breathe & Think – This is an app that concentrates on reducing stress which is known to be a high risk factor for strokes. The main objective of the app is to reduce stress so as to curb the risk of strokes in the future. With meditation, acupressure, meditation and breathing exercises videos it helps calm you and bring you peace from within.

VocalEyes AI – Stroke can sometimes damage the brain areas which takes care of signals from the eyes. This can affect the eyes and lead to double vision or vision loss of a part. Vocaleyes acts as the computer vision for the visually challenged. With the help of machine learning it helps users with identification of objects the are deal with on a daily basis. You need to simply take a photo and the app will tell you what it is including currency denominations, faces, emotions, text, brands and more.

Well, Technology is upgrading day by day and it has already proved to be a boon too in many ways than one.

*Sourced from the Internet

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After 50 Alcohol Consumption Ain’t That Risky?

Addiction to alcohol ain’t good for your health, is what we are all aware off. The consequences of the same include cancers of certain type, liver damage, and heart as well as brain disease too. Having said that there are studies about health benefits of drinking in limit as well. One such recent study has found that alcohol intake in moderation does protect against mortality due to cardiovascular diseases.

After 50 Alcohol Consumption

The study published in Journal of Alcohol and Drugs and lead by a team of Boston medical center in Massachusetts presents a fresh approach towards the long going debate on whether moderate drinking is good for health.

As per the researchers, the studies carried out earlier were not accurate enough. The reason was that the study included participants of age above 50. The researchers argue that people who have passed away before 50 due to alcohol consumption are not included in the study. Hence, people who aren’t alive cannot participate in a cohort study.

As per Dr. Timothy Naimi, alcohol addicts who are alive at 50 could have been healthy before and also could have been drinking within limits also. The authors were of the opinion that around 40 percent of the deaths due to alcohol intake were before the age of 50 years, meaning the deaths due to alcohol intake are not taken into consideration at all leading to ignoring the dangers of it.

The analysis showed that age played a major role in the risk levels associated with alcohol. The rate of alcohol related deaths in people between the age group of 20 – 49 was 35.8 percent. They also studied individual of age above 65 years. The study did show that over 35 percent of the deaths occurred due to alcohol intake but they also found that around 80 percent of the deaths in this age group.

They also found a vast difference when they took into consideration the age group of 20-49 years and the lost number of years. The number of years saved by drinking were around 14.5 percent only.

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Monsoon And Child Health Issues

Well, everyone loves the rains, more so the foodies as the season where you hog on hot pakoras or samosas, bhutta or chalebi while sipping on your hot piping tea. Coming to the flip side Monsoon does bring along health hazards in form of illness like Dengue, Jaundice, Cholera, Malaria, thypoid, Gastro-intestinal infections, hepatitis A. Here’s a run-down five of the most common illness viral/bacteria borne, that you need to protect your child from –

Dengue – Caused by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, Dengue mosquitos breed in stagnant water be it flower pots, buckets, tree holes or drums etc. The incubation period is four to seven days after being bitten. The symptoms include high grade fever with decreasing platelet count as well as rashes. To prevent dengue try to keep your body covered as much as possible and use mosquito repellents. Citronella is a good mosquito repellent plant.

Diarrhoea – This is one condition that can be prevented with proper precautions as it is caused because of unhygienic food and water consumption. The best way to prevent it is to drink boiled water and eat home cooked food. Both the types of diarrhea, chronic as well as acute can be managed through appropriate and timely treatment.

Typhoid – This is another waterborne condition that is caused by S typhi bacteria. The main reason is poor sanitation. The symptoms include weakness, pain, fever as well as sore throat to name a few. This condition can also be prevented by avoiding street food, keeping your hands clean and keeping yourself hydrated with healthy fluids.

Malaria – This is also a water borne condition that is caused due to the female anopheles mosquito. This mosquito breeds in water logged areas and hence is a common condition in monsoon. The symptoms include fever with chills or shivering, body ache and weakness, etc. The best way to prevent the cause of malaria is to keep surroundings clean especially water tanks.

Jaundice – Jaundice is also a water borne disease that could go serious if not treated properly. This is again a result of consuming contaminated food and water. The symptoms of jaundice include yellow eyes and urine, weakness and liver dysfunction.

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Second Hand Smoke Is Also Dangerous To Health

We are aware how dangerous smoking is for health, but second hand smoke viz. the smoke that we inhale when someone else is smoking could be life threatening too. As per statistics second hand smoke is known to cause over 3000 deaths due to heart disease to non-smokers.

Second hand smoke can be particularly harmful to children because their lungs are still under development. Many children inhale this dangerous smoke at home if their parents or family members smoke, primarily. Even parents who smoke outside risk their children to harmful chemicals because of second hand smoke.

Also, known as environmental tobacco smoke, the smoke that is breathed out as well as the smoke that is released from pipes, cigars, burning cigarettes, cigars or pipes contains around 4000 chemicals. Almost 50 of these chemicals are carcinogenic and are known to increase the risk of cancer.

The American Academy of pediatrics (AAP) did a research on third hand smoke also. Third hand smoke is the smoke that is left behind in areas where people smoke. Though people leave the place after smoking, the harmful toxins remain for a while for example in bars, upholstery, even child’s hair if the care taker smokes.

Well, second hand smoke and third hand smoke both are harmful to adults, children and even the unborn developing ones. Unborn and children are at a higher risk. Children whose parents smoke cough more than children generally do. They are at the risk of getting coughs and colds, tooth decay, ear infections and respiratory problems. Children suffering from asthma are particularly prone to second hand smoke as it can lead to asthma attacks that to frequent and severe leading to a rise in hospital visits.

Well, so if you think that only smoking is injuries to health, you are certainly not right, its also the people around the smokers that are at the risk inspite of being not guilty of smoking. Take care. Quit now.

*Sourced from the Internet

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