Popcorn is good for you Research finds it wards off disease

You wished it was true, and now it is: popcorn is officially good for you.

According to new research, popcorn and many types of breakfast cereal contain lots of polyphenols, which are antioxidant substances that can have a potentially beneficial role in reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other conditions.

Polyphenols remove free radicals from the body. Free radicals are chemicals that have the potential to cause damage to cells and tissues. They are found in many fruits, vegetables, and other plants, such as berries, walnuts, olives, tea leaves and grapes, as well as in chocolate, wine and coffee.

However, until now no one knew that hot and cold whole grain cereals, which are regarded as healthy for their fibre content, were also a source of polyphenols.

"Early researchers thought the fibre was the active ingredient for these benefits in whole grains, the reason why they may reduce the risk of cancer and coronary heart disease," said Joe Vinson, Ph.D., who headed the study. "But recently, polyphenols emerged as potentially more important. Breakfast cereals, pasta, crackers, and salty snacks constitute over 66 percent of whole grain intake in the US diet."

Read More:http://uk.health.lifestyle.yahoo.net/Popcorn-really-is-good-for-you.htm

Study finds sniffer dogs can smell out lung cancer

German scientists experimenting with sniffer dogs have found they can accurately detect lung cancer by smelling breath samples.

In a study carried out by researchers from Schillerhoehe Hospital in Germany, the dogs were able to correctly detect lung tumours in 71 per cent of patients, suggesting a similar technique could be used for early detection in future.

"In the breath of patients with lung cancer, there are likely to be different chemicals to normal breath samples and the dogs' keen sense of smell can detect this difference at an early stage of the disease," said Thorsten Walles, who led the study and published its findings in the European Respiratory Journal on Thursday.

Lung cancer, mostly linked to smoking, is the second most common form of cancer in men and women across Europe and causes more than 340,000 deaths per year. It is also the most common cause of death from cancer worldwide.

The disease is notoriously hard to detect in its early stages and scientists have been working on using breath tests for possible future screening programmes. The sniffing method relies on identifying so-called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are linked to the presence of cancer.

The researchers explained that although many different possible breath test techniques have been tried, they are very difficult develop for use in practice in clinics because patients are not allowed to smoke or eat before the test, sample analysis can take a long time and there is also a high risk of interference. Because of these reasons, no lung cancer-specific VOCs have yet been identified.

In this study the researchers worked specially-trained dogs and with 220 volunteers, including some lung cancer patients, some patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and some with no lung health problems.

The results show the dogs successfully identified 71 samples with lung cancer out of a possible 100, and correctly detected 372 samples that did not have lung cancer out of a possible 400.

The animals were also able to detect lung cancer independently from COPD and tobacco smoke.

Walles said their results confirm that there is a reliable and stable "marker" for lung cancer in the breath, but there is still a lot of work to do to find out exactly what that is.

"This is a big step forward...but we still need to precisely identify the compounds observed in the exhaled breath of patients. It is unfortunate that dogs cannot communicate the biochemistry of the scent of cancer."

Src.http://www.punjabstarnews.com/Men-Health/Study-finds-sniffer-dogs-can-smell-out-lung-cancer.html

Despite orders, phone calls go unattended Principal Secy to the Chief Minister had ordered that all phones were to be attended by officials

In the hometown of Health and Family Welfare Minister Satpal Gosain, officials and employees of the health department do not seem to attend phone calls. All this despite the fact that on August 13 (after heavy rainfall in the city on the night of August 11 in which some people were killed), DS Guru, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, had made an announcement at a press conference that officials of all departments were supposed to attend the calls and any laxity would not be tolerated.

All this was revealed when this correspondent started contacting different officials of the health department yesterday, but none attended the phone. Today, when Dr Amit Verma, district epidemiologist, was contacted, he said,"I am on leave, please contact Dr Balwinder Singh. You can also contact Gurmel Singh at 9988473476 or Bhag Singh at 9876179400 for information on spray in dengue-affected areas."

ReadMore:http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110819/ldh1.htm#1

PUNJAB TO APPOINT CHAIRPERSON FOR CHILD PROTECTION COMMISSION

The Punjab government has invited applications from the persons of eminence who have done outstanding work for promoting the welfare of children, for the appointment of chairperson for the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

The state government has constituted the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights under sub section 1 of section 17 of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 to stop violation of the child rights in the state of Punjab. An official said that the detailed information regarding selection and eligibility of chairperson was given in the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 available at http://ncprc.gov.in. and www.wcd.nic.in.

He said prospective candidates could apply with bio data to the Principal Secretary to the Government of Punjab, Department of Social Security and Women and Child Development in person or by post or by mail to sarangal185@gmail.com within a period of two weeks from posting on the website or latest by September five whichever was earlier.

Src.http://www.punjabmailonline.com/Punjab_News_news2.aspx#52422

Watching TV for long hours shortens life expectancy

People sitting in front of TV for hours on end could shorten their life 

expectancy by almost five years, says an Australian study published Tuesday by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers from the University of Queensland have estimated that for every hour adults spend in front of TV, their life expectancy shortens by almost 22 minutes. Those who watched six hours a day lived 4.8 years less than those who don't watch TV.

The study is first of its kind in Australia looking into TV habits' effect on longevity. The researchers found that watching TV could have a similar negative impact on life expectancy to that of obesity, smoking and low physical activity.

"People don't realise how it all adds up," the study's lead author Lennert Veerman told the Australian Associated Press (AAP)." They should try not to watch too much TV and find alternative things to do, preferably things that are light activities," Veerman said.

The study was based on data from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study. It asked over 11,000 people aged over 25 about their weekly TV viewing time. The study found that in 2008, Australian adults watched 9.8 billion hours of TV.

Read More:http://punjabnewsline.com/content/watching-tv-long-hours-shortens-life-expectancy/32878

Dengue larvae found in city -Bathinda

Though the larvae of mosquitoes causing dengue are normally found in the post-monsoon season, the district health authorities found them breeding in desert coolers at four places in a locality here today.

During a routine checking, an insect collector of the office of the Civil Surgeon went to the Street No 9 on the Ajit Road here to check the desert coolers and other breeding places of mosquitoes.

During the checking, he found larvae of the mosquito causing dengue in the desert coolers of four houses and immediately informed the officiating Civil Surgeon, Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa.

Later, Dr Randhawa along with a team, including epidemiologist Dr Nisha and sanitary inspector Sukhchain Singh, visited the houses and inspected the places. He also got the larvae destroyed. He educated the owners of the houses to dry the water tanks of their desert coolers every seventh day so that the cycle of breeding of larvae could be broken.

Dr Randhawa said it was pertinent to note that the larvae found in the desert coolers of four houses had been hatched from the eggs that had been laid during the previous year.

He said when the climatic conditions (increased humidity and fall in temperature) became favourable recently, the larvae hatched from the eggs after coming into contact with water.

He said it was the first instance during this season that the larva of mosquito causing dengue had been detected so early in the city. He said that so far, no case of dengue from the Bathinda district had been reported this season though in the neighbouring Muktsar district over 50 cases of dengue had been reported and one case was reported in Mansa district.

Dr Randhawa urged the city residents to store water in covered utensils as dengue mosquitoes bred only in clean water. He also asked them not to allow accumulation of water in open earthen pots, waste tyres, small water tanks built outside houses for animals etc.

src.http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110722/bathinda.htm#1

Patients given infected blood in Punjab

Around 30 thalassaemic patients have been administered Hepatitis C-infected blood in various cities of Punjab, a hospital said Saturday.

The thalassaemia patients, who require regular transfusion of blood, are currently admitted at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) here.

'There are around 30 thalassaemic patients who were given infected blood at various blood banks across the state. They have tested positive for Hepatitis C during the screening examination conducted at DMCH recently,' in-charge of the thalassaemia wing of the hospital, Praveen Sobti, said.

'The union health ministry has made it mandatory for blood banks to conduct Hepatitis C tests of blood donors. But many people do not adhere to the rules. We are trying our level best to treat the 30 patients, who are between 5 to 26 years. Hepatitis C virus causes damage to the liver,' Sobti added.

According to DMCH officials, the patients were administered infected blood in various parts of the state, including Jalandhar, Moga, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Faridkot and Amritsar.

'Monthly expense for the treatment of a thalassaemic patient go up to Rs.4,000. However, treatment of Hepatitis C for a thalassaemic patient would cost above Rs.2 lakh. We are contacting various NGOs and pharmaceutical companies and seeking their help,' a DCMH official said.

Ludhiana, the industrial hub of Punjab, is around 100 km away from state capital Chandigarh.

src.http://in.news.yahoo.com/patients-given-infected-blood-punjab-073627149.html

ENERGY DRINKS WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG MUSICIANS

Musicians who frequently use energy drinks are more likely to indulge in binge drinking, have alcohol-related social problems and misuse prescription drugs, according to a new research.

University at Buffalo research scientists Kathleen E. Miller and Brian M. Quigley examined substance use by 226 Western New York professional and amateur musicians aged 18-45. In the sample, 94 percent were caffeine users and 57 percent reported use of energy drinks specifically.

 Sixty-eight percent of the musicians surveyed reported heavy binge drinking at least once or twice a year and 74 percent reported experiencing at least one alcohol-related social problem.

Musicians who used energy drinks reported significantly more misuse of legal substances than those who did not use energy drinks. For example, 31 percent of energy drink users misused prescription drugs (compared to 13 percent of nonusers) and 76 percent reported binge drinking (compared to 59 percent of nonusers). Manufacturers of popular energy drink brands appear to target actual or aspiring musicians as a niche market for their products.

With names like Monster, Daredevil and Havoc, edgy energy drink marketers consistently use brand naming, packaging, and advertising messages to tie the products to themes of rebellion, risk taking, and even illegal drug use, Miller points out. This may help to explain the unique associations between substance misuse and energy drinks, she suggests.

It may also give energy drinks a special appeal for musicians, who tend to score high on the personality trait of sensation-seeking. The study was published in the Journal of Caffeine Research.

SRC.http://www.punjabmailonline.com/