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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Menopausal zone: Hot flashes may protect your heart!
Managing osteoarthritis
Listening to music while jogging, biking makes you deaf to dangers!
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Menopausal zone: Hot flashes may protect your heart!
Meeta, 45, was enjoying a night out with friends when it started; ‘first a flash, then a sensation of warmth crawling down her body. Soon she began perspiring and -- another hot flash’. She felt awful and hapless. She rang up her gynaecologist from her mobile, who assured her, ‘never mind, it could be normal menopausal symptoms at your age! There is no risk. You can discuss the details on your next consultation.’
Expert view
An estimated three out of four women experience hot flashes associated with menopause, and nearly all would agree that these are a nuisance. But experts say, ‘The women who suffer from hot flashes and night sweats may be at lower risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke and death. Hot flashes will never be enjoyable, but perhaps these findings will make them more tolerable’. Symptoms of menopause -mood swings, problem in sexual intimacy, hot flashes and night sweats - can be embarrassing, and in many cases they can interfere with daily life. It turns out that those women who have these episodes early in the menopausal zone have an 11% lower risk of heart disease over the next 10 years compared with the women who don't suffer the same symptoms. The current study also found that women reporting hot flashes years after menopause were 23% more likely to experience a heart event than women who weathered their most intense symptoms early in menopause. Because the heart disease risk increases in women's post-menopausal years as levels of the heart-protective hormone estrogen decline, this risk reduction is potentially lifesaving. However, it has been reported that the occurrence of early menopause entails an increased risk of heart diseases that may be asymptomatic and sub-clinical and all such cases require detailed investigations for heart ailments early. Researchers don't know why the hot flashes symptoms may reduce heart risk, but they theorise that the blood-vessel activity that occurs during flushing primes the heart and vessels to combat plaque buildup and hardening of arteries. This view has emerged after a study of 60,000 patients studied for 10 years by women’s health initiative and reported in the March 2011 issue of Time magazine. This study contradicts previous reports suggesting that menopause symptoms were associated with increased levels of risk markers for heart disease, such as blood pressure and cholesterol, and that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should be given in all cases. Does this mean that the women who treat their symptoms with HRT might be missing out on potential health benefits? Not quite. Hormone therapy has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, so doctors use it sparingly-in the lowest possible doses and for the shortest time-simply to alleviate symptoms. HRT is not known to reduce the risk of heart disease in menopausal women in any case. Do not indulge in self-medication with hormones.
What should you do?
Although about 6 in 10 women get hot flashes during the menopause, only 2 in 10 say the flashes bother them. If you are bothered by hot flashes HRT can help you, but it does have side-effects. It is recommended that you take HRT at the lowest effective dose and for the shortest possible time. You can look after your health as you grow older. You have to do the following:
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Eat a balanced, healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, and low amounts of fats and supplements of essential fatty acids, amino-acids and vitamins.
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No drinking of alcohol
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Maintaining a healthy weight
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No smoking
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Staying active, both physically and mentally
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Talking to your doctor and taking treatment for conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or osteoporosis.
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Regular advice from your gynaecologist during the menopausal phase
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Take HRT under medical supervision only The writer is a senior gynaecologist, based in Chandigarh.
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Managing osteoarthritis
Often referred to as the “wear and tear” condition of the joints, osteoarthritis is one of the most common degenerative disorders that affects the body during the normal journey of life. It is manifested by an erosion of the cartilage and the formation of the bony outgrowths at the edges of the affected joints. Though age is a risk factor and elderly people of either sex are more prone to develop osteoarthritis, it can occur due to other reasons much earlier also. Being overweight can also increase the chances of getting osteoarthritis in weight-bearing joints such as hips, knees and spine. Injury and occupational stress to the joint and certain other types of chronic arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis can also end up, in due course, in osteoarthritis. The onset of osteoarthritis is gradual and is accompanied by aching pain after the joint has been used. Later a patchy degeneration and eroding and ripping away of the cartilage that acts as cushion between the joints takes place. These changes are more marked at the points of maximum weight bearing, resulting in the exposure of the underlying bones. With the advancement of the disease, there are other manifestations also like muscular spasm, pain and swelling, resulting into the limitation of movement, bony outgrowths and friction sound. Like all other degenerative changes occurring in the body, osteoarthritis more or less comes to stay with the patient for the rest of his or her life. A balanced approach to manage the disease includes three main objectives : to relieve pain, maintain mobility and minimise disability. It is better to start getting treatment of osteoarthritis at the very onset because the delay only increases the underlying pathology. Many times a patient’s casual approach towards it results in carrying the disease to a condition where the scope of getting relief becomes limited. Patients should give special attention to their diet. Elderly people, especially the women going through the post-menopausal phase, need a food plan which is low in fat but rich in vitamins and minerals. Milk, curd and cheese are good sources of calcium which gives strength to the bones. All leafy and green vegetables and lentils contain sufficient quantities of vitamins, minerals and protein. Non-vegetarians should avoid red meat. Apart from the nutritional factor, Ayurveda advises the patients to take the food which is fresh, warm and unctuous, and in required quantity. There are many “anti-vata” and anti-oxidant herbs like ginger, turmeric, garlic, black pepper, fenugreek seeds (metha) and asafoeteda (hing) which are available in most Indian kitchens. Constipation adversely affects the psychological framework of the elderly people, and in case the patient is having limited mobility, he should be advised to take a light diet which doesn’t interfere with the normal functioning of the bowels. For the overall wellbeing of a patient, it is very important to maintain a healthy weight and adopt a proper exercise schedule. Early case of osteoarthritis responds well if the patient evolves an exercise agenda starting with simple movement of the joints — walking, swimming and cycling. Muscles and other tissues that hold joints together become stiff when they are not used enough. Exercise should be done regularly before it is too late. Sedentary habits should be replaced by an active lifestyle. To maintain mobility, reduce pain and swelling, and to nurture the joints, classic ayurveda prescribes a number of preparations and medicated oils for massage. This should be done under the supervision of a physician. It should be borne in mind that the pathological changes occurring in osteoarthritis are irreversible, but it is possible to alleviate symptoms, especially in the early stages of the disease. Apart from opting for right treatment, patients are advised to take care of their complete lifestyle when the time is on their side. The writer, a Ludhiana-based senior ayurvedic consultant, is a Guru at the Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth. E mail -
ayu@live.in
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Listening to music while jogging, biking makes you deaf to dangers!
Washington: Listening to music on iPods or mobile phones while walking, jogging or biking has its own set of perils, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Statistics have revealed that distracted exercising may come with risks similar to those of distracted driving, which is evident from the fact that for the first time in four years, pedestrian deaths have risen. According to Diana Deutsch, a psychologist at the University of California at San Diego, music isn’t distracting only because it siphons off your ability to hear other noises like a car or — super scary — an attacker approaching. “Music floods the brain and takes over your thought processes,” ABC News quoted her as saying. “You concentrate on the lyrics, or the music evokes certain memories or sends you into a daydream.” Some scientists speculate that music may even have the power to dampen your sight. Deutsch warned: “The tempo can interfere with the rate at which your brain perceives images that are passing by you, which could trip you up.” Keeping all this in view, New York lawmakers are considering to draft a piece of legislation that would make it illegal for walkers or joggers to use an electronic device while crossing the street. — ANI
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Health Notes Washington: US researchers have indicated that consuming snacks cannot be blamed for the rise in obesity. Their research revealed that snacks and beverage consumption between meals continue to increase among Americans, accounting for more than 25 per cent of calorie intake each day. Between 1977 and 2006, snacking in the American diet has grown to constitute “a full eating event”, or a fourth meal, averaging about 580 calories each day, said Richard D. Mattes, professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University. While snacking has increased in general, “there has been a significant increase in the amount of calories consumed through beverages,” he said. — ANI
Magnetic nanoparticles that can kill cancer cells
London: South Korean scientists have developed magnetic nanoparticles that can destroy cancer cells under the influence of a magnetic field. The magnetic nanoparticles developed by a Yonsei University research team led by Professor Cheon Jin-woo can convert external magnetic energy into heat with a significant increase in the efficiency of magnetic thermal induction, English.news.cn reported. The team performed an anti-tumour study in mice and found that the therapeutic efficacy of the nanoparticles is superior to that of a common anticancer drug. Heat therapy is often used in cancer treatment as cancer cells can be killed when exposed to temperatures above 42 degrees Celsius. — ANI
New Delhi: An international consortium of investigators has warned that people who appear trim and fit may unknowingly be at the risk of life-threatening conditions. They discovered that a gene associated with a lower body fat might be linked to an increased risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, reports English.news.cn. Scientists from Britain’s Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife compared the genetic codes of more than 75,000 people and identified a gene called IRS1 that is linked with having less body fat, but also with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. “People, particularly men, with a specific form of the gene are both more likely to have a lower per cent body fat, but also to develop heart disease and type 2 diabetes. In simple terms, it is not only overweight individuals who can be predisposed for these metabolic diseases,” said Douglas P. Kiel, a senior scientist at the Institute for Aging Research. — ANI
Now, a tiny gadget to end migraine, headache
London: A Danish research has indicated that a tiny gadget when surgically implanted into the gum can provide relief from severe headaches and migraines. According to the researchers, the device could save up to 17 billion pounds a year in lost working days. The device is surgically implanted into the gum in a nerve bundle behind the cheekbone. Once switched on by a remote control, it transmits electrical signals, which can bring total relief from the pain within 15 minutes. “If this device continues to work, it would be wonderful,” the Daily Express quoted Headache specialist Professor Rigmor Jensen, who led the Danish research, as saying. — ANI
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Dr Meenal Kumar
