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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Resistance exercises prevent osteoporosis Drinking milk may lead to breast cancer Beware of the changing weather Hectic work can cause heart disease
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Resistance exercises prevent osteoporosis Osteoporosis is charaterised by a reduction in the bone mass leading to bone fragility. Bones are strongest in the early twenties, but as an individual crosses mid-thirties, the strength of bones starts decreasing. One woman in every two older than 50 years are afflicted by this condition. One man in every three over the age of 75 years suffers from this disease. Menopause in women is characterised by the decreased production of a hormone called Estrogen leading to a reduction in the bone mass. It is now well established that long periods of inactivity also leads to a decreased bone mass density, which is confirmed from the studies conducted on astronauts. Certain conditions like cigarette smoking, increased alcohol intake, low body weight, steroids taken for a long period also aggravate this condition. Bone mass density testing helps in identifying the risk of fracture. Women suffering from menopausal osteoarthritis should take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) which decreases bone loss. Osteoporosis diet: It includes milk, cheese, yogurt and dark green vegetables. Earlier, it was considered that one only needs dairy products to have strong bones, but this has been dispelled by cows, Elephants and horses who are vegetarian but have strong bones. Apart from the intake of calcium, it is important to take diet which includes vitamin-D and facilitates the absorption of calcium. Calcium supplements: Apart from food sources, calcium supplements in the form of calcium carbonate and gluconate can be taken. The estimated daily calcium intake for menopausal women should be around 1200 mg. per day. Exercises for osteoporosis: Exercise is an effective, inexpensive and healthy way to prevent osteoporosis. Exercises can slow bone mass loss, help to maintain posture and improve overall fitness. It is of utmost importance to know which exercise is to be done, and the correct method is to be applied. The exercises that prevent bone loss are weight-bearing exercises and resistance-training ones. Weight-bearing exercises: These can be as simple as step training, i.e. eight minutes’ stepping up and down from a six inches’ high stepper. Brisk walking is the ideal weight-bearing exercise, which carries the minimum risk of injury. Apart from walking, jogging and stair climbing, racquet sports help in the building of bones. Resistance-training exercises: Resistance training should involve major muscle groups so that it can affect the bones of the upper and lower body. Exercise tips
Exercises 1. Sitting knee extension: This exercise strengthens thigh muscles i.e. quadriceps. Sit with your back straight. Tie 1-2 pounds weight around ankle. Slowly straighten one knee while lifting your heel a few inches from the floor. Repeat 8 to 10 times for three sets. 2. Upper back lift: This exercise strengthens upper back muscles. Lie face down on the floor with arms at sides with a rolled towel under the forehead. Inhale and raise head and chest a few inches from the floor for five seconds and return to the starting position. Repeat five to 10 times. 3. Shoulder strengthening: This exercise strengthens the upper back muscles of the arms i.e. triceps. Stand with one leg in front of the other. Hold the chair with one hand. Hold one to two Pound weight in the other hand. Move this hand backward as far as possible and return to the starting position. Repeat this exercise eight to 10 times. 4. Wall exercise: This exercise stretches the shoulders and tones up upper back. * Stand facing the wall, arms at the side’s 6" from the wall. Place hands on the side. * Inhale and raise the right hand upward and stretch down the left arm. * Exhale and lower the right arm at the starting position and raise the left arm. Repeat this exercise eight times. 5. Exercise for lower back: Lie on your back with knees bend. Tighten your abdomen muscles and push your pelvis down to the floor. Hold for five seconds and return back. Repeat this exercise five times. Wrist and forearm
Fingers: Wrap a rubber band around fingers and thumb. Spread the fingers and the thumb apart. Hold and return to the starting position till you get tired. Foot - towel curls: Place a small wet towel on the floor and curl it towards you with toes. Repeat this exercise five times. In order to prevent osteoporosis it is imperative to integrate the strengthening exercise regimen with the intake of adequate amounts of calcium.
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Drinking milk may lead to breast cancer Tall, thin teenage girls who put on a growth spurt at puberty are at the highest risk of breast cancer, and milk may be the culprit, researchers suggest. Their shorter, chubbier sisters are at lower risk and remain so throughout their adult lives until they reach the menopause. The findings from a large Danish study of more than 117,000 women confirm that height is a risk factor for breast cancer and show that it is growth in childhood that has the greatest influence. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, could help explain one of the greatest puzzles of breast cancer — why the disease has seen a global increase over the last 50 years. The answer may be that it is linked to the global increase in average heights, driven by changing diets. And the journal calls for more research into one possible dietary factor behind both trends: the consumption of milk. An increase in milk drinking has been suggested as a factor behind the large increase in average heights in Japan. As the Japanese adopted a more Western diet in the two decades after World War II, 12 year old girls gained 15 cms in height on an average. That gain has been paralleled 30 years later by an increase in breast cancer in the same generation of women which has doubled from 40 to 80 cases per 100,000 population. Writing in the Journal, Karin Michels and Walter Willett of Harvard Medical School, Boston, say that milk may play an important role because it contains animal protein and a high level of anabolic hormones. The researchers also found that girls who were overweight at puberty had a lower risk of breast cancer. Overweight girls tend to start menstruating earlier which is known to increase the risk. But the new findings suggest that that effect is outweighed by the oestrogen hormones produced by the extra fatty tissue which alter the growth of the breast. After the menopause, overweight women are at higher risk of breast cancer.
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Beware of the changing weather
With summer gradually making the way for winter, and the night temperature dipping to a new low, doctors are advising people to keep themselves warm to avoid severe chest infections. They want that the use of fans and airconditioners should be minimised, and warm clothes should replace the flimsy layers, especially to protect the chest from catching infections. “There is a lot of variation in the temperature as the difference between the day and night temperatures is increasing. Children are more prone to falling ill and catching cold in this weather as they do not cover themselves properly. The elderly persons with low body resistance too can catch infections very easily,” says Dr G. Dewan of the Sector 16 Government Hospital, Chandigarh. Switching on fans or working with your airconditioner on will make things even worse. “The common ailments in this condition are cold, sneezing and cough. If these complications become severe among children then they can have acute chest infections which require medication,’’ adds the doctor. The seasonal variation may cause an acute body-ache, fatigue and tiredness among the adults. Cases of viral fever too are common in this season, which require immediate medical attention. “The symptoms of cold and viral infections are almost the same, though both ailments are different. While cold is not contagious, viral fever is,’’ says a doctor. . The changing weather can aggravate the condition of asthmatic patients, as the pollen in the air increases, especially in the months of October and April. “Generally, it is seen that the cities like Chandigarh, which are cleaner, have more cases of asthma and bronchitis. The patients in such cases should make a liberal use of inhalers and try to avoid early morning walks so that they should not catch infection,’’ says Dr Digambar Behera of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGI, Chandigarh. Talking about the acute cases of asthma, bronchitis and such respiratory disorders, Dr Behera advises the patients to pay extra attention in case their cold and cough are not cured by the regular dosage of medicine taken over a period of time. Equally important is to see if the sputum is yellowish in colour. “The aggravated cases of respiratory disorders should be managed only by experts, rather than by general physicians,” cautions Dr Behera.
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Hectic work can cause heart disease London: Your work may be worship for you, but it can lead to your dying prematurely if you don’t eat on time or have regular exercise, claims a new research. According to the Daily Mail, the study, conducted by Alpro Soya, found that almost half of all heart disease deaths are caused by high cholesterol, but very few people are aware of the link between their work patterns and heart disease risks or what can be done to avert such hazards. Medical guidelines recommend that cholesterol levels should be 4mmol and below. However, the study found that a majority of the 500 people it had observed had much higher cholesterol levels than normally prescribed. Taxi drivers and estate agents were found to have the highest cholesterol levels, followed by lawyers and teachers. People with higher cholesterol blamed it on their dependence on takeaways and regular drinking. “Everybody has the ability to try to adapt his lifestyle to be as healthy as possible. If you are eating on the hoof that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a salad or something like that. You have got to put forethought into your diet so you can plan ahead and not just eat junk food when you’re on the go,” Eve Knight of campaign group Cholesterol UK was quoted as saying. “It may be that it is difficult to exercise, especially for taxi drivers who get very frustrated in traffic all day and just want to sit and relax. But even doing a bit more walking or anything to increase activity is of benefit,” she added. — ANI
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