Health

Vitamin C is beneficial against common cold particularly for people under heavy physical stress.

In five randomized trials of participants with heavy short-term physical stress, vitamin C halved the incidence of the common cold.

Three of the trials studied marathon runners, one studied Swiss school children in a skiing camp and one studied Canadian soldiers during a winter exercise.

Furthermore, in a recent randomized trial carried out with adolescent competitive swimmers, vitamin C halved the duration of colds in males, although the vitamin had no effect on females.

Outdoor air pollution has become the fifth largest killer in India after high blood pressure, indoor air pollution, tobacco smoking and poor nutrition, according to a Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report.

The report says that about 620,000 premature deaths occur in India from air pollution-related diseases. It also highlights that annual premature deaths caused by particulate air pollution have increased by six times since 2000 and accounts for one fifth of global deaths.

The air pollution-induced premature deaths are caused by respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Tomato juice could be better than energy drinks at helping the body rejuvenate after exercise, a new study has claimed.

Experts said that tomatoes provide vital chemicals to help muscles recover and blood levels return to normal after being stretched and strained.

Experts from a number of health institutions in Greece conducted tests on 15 athletes over a period of two months, looking at vital signs before, during and after exercise.

Nine of the athletes drank tomato juice after exercise and six consumed their regular fizzy energy drink.

When the amount of calories burned is the same, standing and walking for longer stretches could actually be better than high intensity exercise in improving cholesterol and preventing diabetes, researchers suggest.

Hans Savelberg and colleagues from Maastricht University, Netherlands recruited eighteen normal-weight 19 to 24-year-old participants for their study and asked them to follow three regimes.

With only around 3,000 maxillofacial surgeons in India and rising incidence of oral cancer, there is need for more such medical specialists both in urban and rural areas, experts said Wednesday.

“There are around 3,000 maxillofacial surgeons registered with the Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons of India (AOMSI). This number is not sufficient at all,” said Srijon Mukherji, a leading maxillofacial surgeon, on the occasion of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon`s day here.

Folic acid supplements during early pregnancy could reduce risk of having a child with autism, says a study by Norwegian scientists.

Women who took folic acid supplements in early pregnancy almost halved the risk of having a child with autism. Beginning to take folic acid supplements later in pregnancy did not reduce the risk.

This is shown in new findings from the ABC Study and Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study published in the Journal of The American Medical Association (JAMA).

SRM University here plans to launch its US patented herbal diabetic drug in about six months.

Vice Chancellor M. Ponnavaikko told IANS: “We have incorporated a company, SRM Pharma Ltd. In another six months we may launch the drug. We can get the drug manufactured from a unit in north India.”

In December, the US Patent office granted patent for a herbal formulation for prevention and management of type-2 diabetes mellitus and vascular complications associated with the disease.

An international research team coordinated at the IRCM in Montreal has found a possible alternative treatment for lymphoid leukemia.

Led by Dr. Tarik Moroy, the IRCM`s President and Scientific Director, the team discovered a molecule that represents the disease`s “Achilles` heel” and could be targeted to develop a new approach that would reduce the adverse effects of current treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

The researchers` results have direct implications for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), one of the four most common types of leukemia.

A breast cancer survivor has become pregnant after she was reimplanted with her frozen ovarian tissue, which was removed prior to chemotherapy.

But a doctor has warned that such “invasive” procedure should not be pursued by young women wanting to have a child later in life, according to the Herald Sun.

The woman, who was 37 when diagnosed with breast cancer, opted to undergo the cyropreservation procedure in 2005 before starting a type of chemotherapy that would severely reduce her chances of falling pregnant.

Cold hands and feet reflect a perfectly natural process by which the body keeps your vital organs safe and warm, researchers have revealed.

The problem is that if you`re a woman, this happens much more easily and dramatically – we do feel the cold more, and it`s all down to hormones.

All of us – men and women – feel cold when our skin gets cold.

Thermo-receptor cells, less than a millimetre below the surface of the skin, are what cause us to experience changes in temperature, Michael Tipton, professor of human and applied physiology at the University of Portsmouth said.

As many as a half a million American lives could be saved if they all ate a fraction of a teaspoon of salt less every day, according to a new study.

The study found that a gradual decrease in salt consumption over a decade – ending in a 40 percent reduction – would prolong the lives of between 280,000 and 500,000 people by decreasing the risk of hypertension and heart disease.

“It certainly confirms the enormous potential value in reducing the consumption of sodium,” Michael Jacobson, executive director of the consumer watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest said.

Amlexanox, an off-patent drug currently prescribed for the treatment of asthma and other uses, also reverses obesity, diabetes and fatty liver in mice, a new study has found.

The findings came from the lab of Alan Saltiel, the Mary Sue Coleman director of the University of Michigan’s Life Sciences Institute.

“One of the reasons that diets are so ineffective in producing weight loss for some people is that their bodies adjust to the reduced calories by also reducing their metabolism, so that they are ‘defending’ their body weight,” Saltiel said.

Age-related hormonal changes can cause frustrating symptoms, such as vaginal dryness, loss of orgasm and low libido.

Identifying the root cause of these symptoms can help you build a treatment plan to manage your hormones and ensure lifelong wellbeing – in and out of the bedroom.

Fox News has suggested that a guide called “Rewire Your Desire” can help women can reclaim their sexual health through healthy hormone management.

The virus used in the vaccine that helped eradicate smallpox is offering new hope to liver cancer patients.

Researchers have found that a genetically engineered version of the vaccinia virus tripled the average survival time of people with a severe form of liver cancer, with only mild, flu-like side effects, according to the New Scientist.

Thirty people with hepatocellular carcinoma received three doses of the modified virus – code-named JX-594 – directly into their liver tumour over one month. Half the volunteers received a low dose of the virus, the other half a high dose.

Amlexanox, an off-patent drug currently prescribed for the treatment of asthma and other uses, also reverses obesity, diabetes and fatty liver in mice, a new study has found.

The findings came from the lab of Alan Saltiel, the Mary Sue Coleman director of the University of Michigan`s Life Sciences Institute.

“One of the reasons that diets are so ineffective in producing weight loss for some people is that their bodies adjust to the reduced calories by also reducing their metabolism, so that they are `defending` their body weight,” Saltiel said.

Researchers have used molecular genetic engineering to optimize heart performance in models of diastolic heart failure by creating an optimized protein that can aid in high-speed relaxation similar to fast twitching muscles.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota`s Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology and the Lillehei Heart Institute were behind the breakthrough.

Scientists have discovered 24 new genes that cause refractive errors and myopia (short-sightedness).

Myopia is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide, and currently there is no cure.

These findings could lead to finding better treatments or ways of preventing the condition in the future.

A healthy diet and avoiding eating for two during pregnancy helps limit excess weight gain for both women and their babies, says a new research.

“Big babies become big children and big adults later on. If we can reduce that happening, we can have a big public health impact,” says Lesley McCowan, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

The study, led by McCowan, showed that 74 percent of women pregnant for the first time, gained excessive weight.

Raiding your kitchen for skincare solutions might not be such a good idea!

Honey, toothpaste and lemon juice are included by many in their household beauty regimes but these `natural` remedies might actually be damaging your skin, experts have claimed.

Pharmacists have warned against believing old wives` tales and said that using vinegar to tackle pimples, or mayonnaise to sooth eczema, could actually aggravate the conditions.

In a survey, two out of three people admitted to raiding the fridge or the larder to tackle their skin complaints, the Daily Mail reported.

It”s been said that food is the language of love but a Kansas State University nutrition expert and registered dietitian has asserted that food aphrodisiacs may not promote romantic feelings or sexual desire.

The aphrodisiac effects of certain foods seem to be based on placebo effect more than anything, said Linda Yarrow, assistant professor of human nutrition in the university”s College of Human Ecology.

Yarrow noted that the Food and Drug Administration has long maintained that there is no scientific support for claims that food aphrodisiacs can boost sexual desire.

A new study has for the first time shown that certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration and that people who report eating a large variety of foods – an indicator of an overall healthy diet – had the healthiest sleep patterns.

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania analyzed data from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which includes demographic, socioeconomic, dietary, and health-related questions..

Eating a diet packed with oily fish, eggs, nuts and wholegrains could delay or even prevent Alzheimer`s disease, according to a new research.

Writing in the Journal of Alzheimer`s Disease, researchers stated that the foods contain vitamin D3 and omega-3, which can boost the immune system`s ability to clear the toxic and deadly plaques, which destroy the brain of Alzheimer`s sufferers.

They have identified genes and signalling networks regulated by the two nutrients that may control inflammation and improve plaque dispersal, the Daily Express reported.

A euphoric high delivered by party drug mephedrone not only makes it extremely addictive but also prompts users to quaff massive doses to maintain the kick, says a study.

“Combined with the fact mephedrone is skyrocketing in popularity worldwide, our finding that high doses can cause ongoing cognitive impairment spells a significant risk for users,” said Craig Motbey, doctoral candidate at the The University of Sydney School of Psychology, who led the study.

A euphoric high delivered by party drug mephedrone not only makes it extremely addictive but also prompts users to quaff massive doses to maintain the kick, says a study.

“Combined with the fact mephedrone is skyrocketing in popularity worldwide, our finding that high doses can cause ongoing cognitive impairment spells a significant risk for users,” said Craig Motbey, doctoral candidate at the The University of Sydney School of Psychology, who led the study.

With a success rate of nearly 40 percent, in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) has been steadily gaining popularity among rural couples suffering from infertility, an expert said here Wednesday.

“On an average, one out of every 14 couples suffers from infertility in the country. With a success rate of nearly 40 percent, IVF has been a boon for infertile couples and the treatment has been steadily gaining popularity among the rural population,” said gynecologist and IVF expert Gautam Khastgir.