<![CDATA[India Journal - Lifestyle]]>Thu, 06 Apr 2023 01:25:21 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Bharat Thakur to set up yoga centre in Kashmir]]>Mon, 12 Aug 2019 18:01:18 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/bharat-thakur-to-set-up-yoga-centre-in-kashmirNEW DELHI - Renowned yoga guru Bharat Thakur on Monday said he will invest in setting up an "Artistic Yoga" centre and retreat in the Kashmir Valley in partnership with local entrepreneurs and start a venture under the skill development programme of the Central government. "We will make more than 500 youngsters, into trainee yoga instructors," Thakur said. 
Trainees will be hired on the basis of a fixed stipend, and after the training period, will be offered jobs of handling yoga centres in India and abroad, he added.
"We will also encourage enterprising youth to independently run centres on a revenue share basis," said Thakur, who is the Chairman of the Bharat Thakur Artistic Yoga companies worldwide. As for plans to set up a centre in the Valley, Thakur said his team will start the process soon. "We have centres in most states of the country. In Jammu and Kashmir, we are looking at our flagship venue, which will be a fusion of yoga and traditional Indian wellness for domestic as well as international travellers," he said.
]]><![CDATA[Vogue Wedding Show brings fashion designers, jewellers under one roof]]>Mon, 05 Aug 2019 17:28:14 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/vogue-wedding-show-brings-fashion-designers-jewellers-under-one-roofNEW DELHI - As promised, the seventh edition of the Vogue Wedding Show was the perfect platform to design one's fairytale wedding. Brides-to-be were seen lining up to be the first to enter the three-day shopping extravaganza, which curates and brings together India's most sought after fashion designers and jewellers under one roof. 
Designers Manish Malhotra, Shantanu & Nikhil, Falguni Shane Peacock, Gaurav Gupta, Rahul Mishra, Shyamal & Bhumika, Tarun Tahiliani and Ritu Kumar were present to cater to and satisfy any wedding query or desire that one might have. 
The invite-only exhibition, which was held from August 2-4 at the Taj Palace here, also showcased wedding planners, hair and make-up artistes, decor experts and gifting specialists to take care of every whim.  The invitees had the privilege to personally interact with the designers and jewellers on a one-on-one basis and get a perspective of what actually works for their big day. 
Grooms-to-be were saved the trouble of trudging to jewellers as the best of all things related wedding was available under one roof. 
]]><![CDATA[High Vitamin A intake can lower skin cancer risk]]>Fri, 02 Aug 2019 18:51:40 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/high-vitamin-a-intake-can-lower-skin-cancer-riskNEW YORK - Researchers have found that people who intake high levels of Vitamin A were 17 per cent less at risk of getting a skin cancer as compared to those who ate modest amounts of foods and supplements rich in Vitamin A. "Our study provides another reason to eat lots of fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet. Skin cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma, 
is hard to prevent, but this study suggests that eating a healthy diet rich in Vitamin A, in addition to wearing sunscreen and reducing sun exposure, may be a way to reduce the risk," said Eunyoung Cho, Associate Professor at the Brown University.
Vitamin A is known to be essential for the healthy growth and maturation of skin cells but prior studies on its effectiveness in reducing skin cancer risk have shown mixed results.
In the study published in the Journal of American Medical Association Dermatology, the researchers analysed data from two long-term observational studies in which 121,700 US women were followed from 1984 to 2012 and 51,529 US men from 1986 to 2012.
The research team looked at the diet and skin cancer results of the participants. Between the two studies, around 123,000 participants were white (and thus had a significant risk of developing skin cancer), had no prior history of cancer and completed the dietary reports multiple times. 
A total of 3,978 cases of squamous cell carcinoma were reported and verified within the 24 to 26 year follow-up periods.
Participants' hair colour, the number of severe sunburns they had received in their lifetime and any family history of skin cancer were also taken into account.
After grouping the participants into five categories by their Vitamin A intake levels, the researchers found that people in the category with the highest average daily total Vitamin A intake were 17 per cent less likely to get skin cancer than those in the category with the lowest total Vitamin A intake.
The team also found that the majority of Vitamin A came from the participants' diets, particularly from fruits and vegetables, rather than from animal-based foods or vitamin supplements.
]]><![CDATA[Red wine can treat depression, anxiety: Study]]>Mon, 29 Jul 2019 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/red-wine-can-treat-depression-anxiety-studyNEW YORK - In a good news for wine lovers, researchers have found a compound present in red wine which can treat depression and anxiety. The plant compound resveratrol displays anti-stress effects by blocking the expression of an enzyme which controls stress in the brain. "Resveratrol may be an effective alternative to drugs for treating patients suffering from depression and...
anxiety disorders," said Ying Xu, Associate Professor, University at Buffalo in the US.
The findings, published in the journal Neuropharmacolog, shed light onto how neurological processes are impacted by resveratrol -- a compound having numerous health benefits and found in the skin and seeds of grapes and berries. 
While research has identified resveratrol to have antidepressant effects, the compound's relationship to phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4), an enzyme influenced by the stress hormone corticosterone, was unknown. Corticosterone regulates the body's response to stress. Too much stress, however, can lead to excessive amounts of the hormone circulating in the brain and, ultimately, to depression or other mental disorders.
The research also reveals that PDE4, induced by excessive amounts of corticosterone, causes depression- and anxiety-like behaviour.
The enzyme lowers cyclic adenosine monophosphate -- a messenger molecule that signals physiological changes such as cell division, change, migration and death -- in the body, leading to physical alterations in the brain.
Resveratrol displayed neuroprotective effects against corticosterone by inhibiting the expression of PDE4. The research lays the groundwork for the use of the compound in novel antidepressants.
According to the researchers, although red wine contains resveratrol, consumption of alcohol has various health risks, including addiction.
]]><![CDATA[Head injury may cause loss of smell, anxiety: Study]]>Thu, 25 Jul 2019 21:05:36 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/head-injury-may-cause-loss-of-smell-anxiety-studyTORONTO - While it is already known that people who suffer a major concussion can lose their sense of smell temporarily, researchers have found that even minor head injuries may lead to olfactory and anxiety problems. The study, published in the journal Brain Injury, found that even minor accidents like falling off a bike with a helmet on, taking a tumble on the ski slopes, 
slipping on ice and hitting one's head can provoke the same kind of problems as in major head injuries. "A lot of people suffer a mild concussion at some point in their life, so realising they have trouble smelling is the first step to telling their doctor about it," said study lead author Fanny Lecuyer Giguere from the University of Montreal in Canada.
"It's important that patients report any loss of smell, because it's not something their general practitioners normally ask about," she said.
For the study, the researchers compared 20 hospital patients who had mild concussions with 22 who had broken limbs but had no concussion. 
Within 24 hours of their accident, just over half of those with mild concussions had a reduced sense of smell versus five per cent of the patients with broken bones. 
A year later, although their sense of smell was back to normal, the first group of patients had significantly more anxiety than the control group.
To test their capacity to identify smells, the researchers visited hospital patients in the alpine ski resort of Visp, Switzerland between December 2016 and February 2017. They were asked to identify synthetic odour of roses, garlic, cloves and more. A year later, the patients were sent a follow-up questionnaire. By comparing the two groups of patients' results on the day following their injury and 12 months later, the researchers were able to determine that most who had lost their sense of smell gained it back within six months of their accident.
What did not significantly diminish, however, were their symptoms of anxiety. About 65 per cent of the concussed patients reported such symptoms, researchers said.
]]><![CDATA[Diabetic women at greater risk of heart failure]]>Mon, 22 Jul 2019 21:37:48 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/diabetic-women-at-greater-risk-of-heart-failureNEW DELHI - While doctors know that diabetes raises the risk of heart failure, a global study of 12 million people has found that this risk is greater for women than men. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), currently 415 million adults world-wide live with diabetes - with approximately 199 million of them being women. 
In India, which is often called the diabetes capital of the world, there were over 72 million cases of diabetes in 2017 - which means about 8.8 per cent of the country's adult population had the disease. While Type-1 diabetes is associated with a 47 per cent excess risk of heart failure in women compared to men, Type-2 diabetes has a nine per cent higher excess risk of heart failure for women than men, said the study published in the journal Diabetologia. 
There are a number of reasons why women with diabetes are at greater risk of heart complications, said study co-author Sanne Peters of The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford.
"Women were reported to have two years' longer duration of prediabetes than men and this increased duration may be associated with greater excess risk of heart failure in women" said Peters. "Some major concerns are that women are also being undertreated for diabetes, are not taking the same levels of medications as men and are less likely to receive intensive care," Peters said. The IDF reports that girls and women with diabetes experience a range of challenges. Gender roles, power imbalances, socioeconomic inequalities resulting in poor diet and lack of physical activity can all influence vulnerability to diabetes. Women's limited access to health services and lack of pro-activity when it comes to seeking treatment for health problems can also amplify the impact of diabetes, particularly in developing countries. The IDF expects by the year 2040 around 313 million women will be suffering from the disease.  Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death in women and claims 2.1 million female lives every year, more so than men. The number one leading cause of death for women is heart disease.
]]><![CDATA[Dietary supplements may do more harm than good: Study]]>Fri, 19 Jul 2019 18:13:59 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/dietary-supplements-may-do-more-harm-than-good-studyNEW DELHI - Researchers have found that intake of some vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements may not benefit the heart and, in some cases, may even prove to be injurious. According to the study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, supplements combining calcium and vitamin D may be linked to a slightly increased stroke risk. ed.
However, there was no evidence that calcium or vitamin D taken alone had any health risks or benefits. "Our analysis carries a simple message that although there may be some evidence that a few interventions have an impact on death and cardiovascular health, the vast majority of multivitamins, minerals and different types of diets had no measurable effect on survival or cardiovascular disease risk reduction," said study lead author Safi U. Khan, Assistant Professor at the West Virginia University.
For the study, the researchers used data from 277 randomised clinical trials that evaluated 16 vitamins or other supplements and eight diets for their association with mortality or heart conditions including coronary heart disease, stroke and heart attack. 
They included data gathered on 992,129 research participants worldwide.
The analysis showed possible health benefits only from a low-salt diet, omega-3 fatty acid supplements and possibly folic acid supplements for some people. 
"The panacea or magic bullet that people keep searching for in dietary supplements isn't there," said senior author of the study Erin Michos from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US. "People should focus on getting their nutrients from a heart-healthy diet, because the data increasingly show that the majority of healthy adults don't need to take supplements," Michos said.
According to Abhishek Singh, Consultant Cardiologist at Columbia Asia Hospital in Ghaziabad, dietary supplements do not have a measurably positive impact on cardiac health. 
"It's more important to follow a healthy dietary regimen and avoid foods that are bad for the heart. Trans fatty acids are harmful and have to be curtailed. Refined sugars and simple carbohydrates are to be kept at a minimum," Singh told IANS. The doctor suggested that people should include more green vegetables in their diet. They are rich in vitamin K and dietary nitrates, which help protect the arteries and reduce blood pressure, he said. 
"Studies like this raise concerns about harm from calcium and Vitamin D supplement use. As far as Vitamin D supplements (without calcium) are concerned, there has been no evidence on whether it has any impact on cardiovascular disease risk reduction," Anupama Singh, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine at Vimhans Nayati Super Specialty Hospital in Delhi, told IANS.
"The quality of the evidence base of these various nutritional supplements and dietary interventions still needs to be evaluated to ascertain the effectiveness of the study," she add
]]><![CDATA[High-fibre diet cuts preeclampsia risk during pregnancy]]>Thu, 11 Jul 2019 19:16:44 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/high-fibre-diet-cuts-preeclampsia-risk-during-pregnancySYDNEY - Ladies, please take note. Consuming a high-fibre diet may reduce the risk of preeclampsia during pregnancy, researchers have found. "Simple recommendation to 'eat real food, mostly plants and not too much' might be the most effective primary prevention strategy for some of the most serious conditions of our time. 
"The mother's gut bacteria and diet appear to be crucial to promoting healthy pregnancy," said study lead author Ralph Nanan, Professor at the University of Sydney.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed that pregnancy outcomes and infant immunity are linked to gut bacteria. Plant-based fibre is broken down in the gut by bacteria into factors that influence the immune system. The research team investigated the role of these metabolic products of gut bacteria during pregnancy.
The researchers found that in humans, reduced levels of acetate, which is mainly produced by fibre fermentation in the gut, is associated with the common and serious pregnancy-related condition preeclampsia. Preeclampsia occurs in up to 10 per cent of pregnancies and is characterized by high blood pressure, protein in the urine and severe swelling in the mother's body. It also interferes with the child's immune development whilst in the womb, with some evidence suggesting a link to higher rates of allergies and autoimmune diseases later in life.
The study found that preeclampsia affected the development of an important foetal immune organ - the thymus - which sits just behind the breastbone.
Foetuses in preeclamptic pregnancies were found to have a much smaller thymus than children from healthy pregnancies.
The cells the thymus normally generates -- called 'T' cells, and specifically those associated with the prevention of allergies and autoimmune conditions such as diabetes -- also remained lower in infants after preeclampsia, even four years after delivery.
The mechanisms of acetate on the developing foetal immune system were further examined in separate experiments involving mice that showed acetate was central in driving foetal thymus and 'T' cell development. The results showed that promoting specific metabolic products of gut bacteria during pregnancy might be an effective way to maintain a healthy pregnancy and to prevent allergies and autoimmune conditions later in life.
]]><![CDATA[Smoking may impair bp autocorrect system]]>Fri, 14 Jun 2019 19:52:54 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/smoking-may-impair-bp-autocorrect-systemNEW YORK - Smoking may increase the risk of developing hypertension by impairing the body's blood pressure autocorrect system, warn researchers. "The human body has a buffering system that continuously monitors and maintains a healthy blood pressure. If blood pressure drops, a response called muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) is triggered to bring...
blood pressure back up to normal levels," said Lawrence Sinoway from Penn State University in the US. An additional system -- called the baroreflex -- helps correct if blood pressure gets too high, he added. According to Sinoway, the study found that after a burst of MSNA, the rise in blood pressure in a chronic smoker was about twice as great as in a non-smoker, pushing blood pressure to unhealthy levels. The researchers suspect that impairment of baroreflex may be the culprit. "When the sympathetic nervous system fires, like with MSNA, your blood pressure rises and then a series of things happen to buffer that increase, to try to attenuate it," Sinoway said. 
"We think that in smokers, that buffering -- the baroreflex -- is impaired."
The results suggest that this impairment may be connected to hypertension, said Jian Cui, Associate Professor at Penn State College of Medicine.
"The greater rise in blood pressure in response to MSNA may contribute to a higher resting blood pressure level in smokers without hypertension," Cui said. 
"It's possible that this higher response to MSNA could also contribute to the eventual development of hypertension," Cui added. 
The researchers said that while previous research has found a link between chronic smokers and higher levels of MSNA bursts, less was known about what happened to blood pressure after these bursts. For the study, the researchers examined 60 participants -- 18 smokers and 42 non-smokers. None of the participants had hypertension. The results were published in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.
]]><![CDATA[Body shaming leads to more weight gain in kids]]>Thu, 30 May 2019 21:59:35 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/lifestyle/body-shaming-leads-to-more-weight-gain-in-kidsNEW YORK - Teasing and bullying overweight children could act as a catalyst in further increasing their weight by 33 per cent, compared to obese kids who do not suffer body shaming, a study suggests. The findings, published in the journal Pediatric Obesity, appear to contradict the belief that such teasing might motivate youth to change their behaviour and attempt to lose weight. The study involved over 100 youths who were an average...
of 11.8 years of age when they enrolled, according to Natasha A. Schvey, Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University in the US. The participants were either overweight (defined as a body mass index above the 85th percentile) when they began the study or had two parents who were overweight or obese. For the study, they completed a six-item questionnaire on whether they had been teased about their weight. They then participated in annual follow-up visits for the next 15 years.
The researchers found that youth experiencing high levels of teasing gained an average of .20 kg per year more than those who did not. The research team theorises that weight-associated stigma may have made youths more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviours, such as binge eating and avoiding exercise. 
Another possible explanation is that the stress of being teased could stimulate the release of the hormone cortisol, which may lead to weight gain, said the researchers.
]]>