Heart and Cardio-vascular

Asok Mitra, 80, used to smoke almost 100 cigarettes a day. He has been smoke-free for 40 years, but tobacco has taken its toll. He tells us why and how he quit.  1. Please tell us a bit about your condition. I am prone to chest infections and pneumonia. My lungs are impaired and do not work at optimum capacity. Years ago, I was told that my lungs were working at 70% of their capacity. 2. How long have you been suffering from this? This has been the situation for at…

Which is the greater evil? How much fat is necessary in your diet? How to read food labels? Registered dietitian and diabetes educator Ujjwala Baxi has all the information.  The human diet is always evolving. And with each evolution comes strong and focused criticism of certain foods. Some decades ago, it was the fat in our diet that was demonised and 0% fat diets and recipes flourished on bookshelves and the dinner table. But very soon, it was realised that going nil…

Maintaining good oral health is more than just about keeping cavities at bay. Your dental health has far-reaching consequences on your body, with oral bacteria being linked to many life-threatening conditions, like cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, renal health and even brain abcess. Oral hygiene and overall good health  Like many areas of the body, your mouth is teeming with bacteria, most of them harmless. Normally the body's natural defences and good oral health can keep these…

Signs to watch for and how to prevent it. By family practitioner and paediatrician Dr Gita Mathai  What is childhood obesity? Children older than two years and less than 19 years need to have their BMI (Body Mass Index) calculated when they visit their physician either for immunisation or during annual check-ups. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the height in meter squared. You can also measure BMI at home. The values for height can be entered in the website below. It…

Statin therapy appears to increase the risk for type 2 diabetes by 46%, even after adjustment for confounding factors, a large new population-based study concludes. The majority of people in this new study were taking atorvastatin and simvastatin, and the risk for diabetes was dose-dependent for these two agents, the researchers found. Nevertheless, senior author Markku Laakso, MD, from the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital, told Medscape Medical News: "Even if…

MARCH 3, 2015 19-year-old Darren Lou has known for years what he wants to do with his life.  Not only does he plan to be a doctor, he knows exactly which field he hopes to specialise in: Endocrinology, the study of the human body’s endocrine system, which deals with hormones and how it affects metabolism and growth, among other things. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes three years ago, Darren hopes to help other patients like himself. Dealt a second blow a year later when a pre-enlistment…

By Julien Salaberry Feb 24, 2015 The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has released a lengthy white paper on the past decade of VC funding for the biotech sector. Its headline finding is that venture funding for biotech R&D fell by 21% between the five-year period before the financial crisis (2004-2008) and the subsequent five years (2009-2013).  More interesting, however, is where the big funding cuts are occurring. Namely, in areas of the largest medical need. For…

Just 20 minutes of brisk walking a day may be all it takes to lessen a sedentary person's risk of early death, says a new study. The researchers also found the risk of early death due to lack of exercise is double that posed by obesity and does not necessarily depend on being obese or overweight. Prof. Ekelund says the study delivers a simple message: "just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive." However,…

Enjoy the Lunar New Year festivities without compromising your health. By Nutritionist Kohila Govindaraju. It’s that time of the year again, the most significant few days in the Chinese calendar – the Lunar New Year. It’s a time to get together with friends and family and eat, drink and be merry... in a health-conscious way.  First up, the Reunion Dinner on New Year’s Eve, when families gather around a sumptuous meal. A part of the meal is Lo Hei, when everyone gathers…

However bad you thought smoking was, its much worse. A new study adds 5 more diseases to the existing 21 diseases and 60,000 more deaths to the existing toll of half million deaths attributed to tobacco in United States alone. Death rates of smokers are 2-3 times higher than those who have never smoked and they die a decade earlier than smokers. Stopping smoking helps reduce risk over time. In addition to existing hazards of lung cancer, artery disease, heart attacks, chronic lung disease…