HYDERABAD | THURSDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2013

| HEALTH |5

Addiction equals subtraction of quality from life

NAGA SUNDARI ubstance abuse in any form drugs, nicotine, alcohol needs to be treated like any other disease, but with more care simply because addictions not just affect health but family as well. Meanwhile, apart from medications and other treatment procedures like aversion therapy, experts feel that both yoga and meditation also act as panacea for the addicts. Suresh is an acute alcohol

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Pesticides - intentional poison

Children who eat substantial amounts of organic fruits are known to have measurably lower pesticide exposure than children who eat conventionally grown foods
cent fruits and vegetables in both the domestic and imported categories... Concentrations of agricultural pesticides in the air may exceed both acute and chronic health standards depending on season, weather, local climate, and geographic location. Of increasing concern is the potential damage from pesticide exposures to the immature nervous system and possible increased risk of neuro-development disabilities and behavioral problems in children. According to a study, the link lies between early life stage pesticide exposures and increased risk of Parkinsons disease later in life. Acute lymphocytic leukemia and total brain tumors have been increasing slightly over the past several decades. Pesticide exposures to parents have been

l 7 per cent of students below 15 years get initiated to tobacco and four in ten students have parents who either smoke or chew tobacco. It simply reflects the risk of exposure of tobacco among adolescents is more prevalent. l Chewing tobacco, smoking cigarettes and beedis result in about one million deaths a year in India. l One in five adult male deaths and one in 20 of all adult female deaths at the age of 30-69 years are due to smoking.

SHOCKING FACTS

addict. What started as a weekend relaxation is today an addiction. Prolonged years of alcohol abuse has resulted in liver cancer. Doctors have declared that alcoholism has resulted in malignancy in his body. His family also has fallen into severe debt trap, thus causing not just physical but societal disturbances as well. Addiction is a complex disease. It is a chronic relapsing disorder for people abusing substances like nicotine, alcohol, rave drugs, medical drugs etc. It affects brain functioning and behaviour. It is treatable, but requires multiple-treatment approaches. Medications are also important component of treatment along with counselling and behavioral therapies. By inculcating individual activities and hobbies, people can save themselves from such addictions. Addictions begin as a habit and ends up as addiction. The craving for all these substances make individuals mentally and physically dependant erratically

irrespective of their age, gender etc. Those harmful substances ultimately become an integral part of life of persons. As they cannot cope up with withdrawal symptoms, many individuals get back to their addictions thus making it tough to cope with life itself. It is unfortunate that Andhra Pradesh does not have the right kind of de-addiction centres to provide appropriate and comprehensive treatment procedures to the patients. De-addiction

HOW TOBACCO KILLS YOU

l Tobacco addiction leads to cardiovascular diseases, cancers and strokes. l Damages reproductive health causes foetal abnormalities. l Affects brain speedily. About 33 per cent of nicotine addicts fall prey to acute diseases such as cancers.

process involves many stages such as admission, treatment of detoxification through anti-abuse therapy and aversion therapy, therapeutic interventions, individual, family and group counselling and psycho education and follow-ups. We focus on cleansing system, organ repairing and strengthening of systems of the body. In many cases, follow ups are not stringently practiced by addicts. Medications used during treatment procedure must be monitored without break. The aim of treatment is to enable patients to abstain from drugs and substance abuse for the rest of their lives. For example, in antiabuse therapy, alcohol is given to the patient for consumption along with the medications known as antiabuse. In this process patients may have faced severe side-effects also that virtually develop an aversion towards habit of alcohol. According to one study, two out of ten people who start drinking become physically dependent and mentally addicted to alcohol. It is really a challenge to bear withdrawal symptoms such as sleeplessness, tremors, hallucinations, convulsions, nervousness etc. When alcohol stands as central of patients thoughts,

ADVANTAGES
l Development of personal cognitive skills l Healthy future l Overcoming substance abuse l Counselling instills confidence l Boost up economic stability

ACTIONS TO TAKE
l Eliminate all pesticide use for cosmetic purposes in the home and yard. l Prevent infestations by carefully maintaining household structures. l Trim plants and shrubs to keep them at least one foot away from buildings. l Remove piles of scrap wood etc., l Drain standing water and wear protective clothing to avoid mosquitoes. l Limit food to kitchen and dining areas.

they simply crave for it uncontrollably. Substance abuse damages organs and tissues of the body dangerously. It leads to muscle weakness, stomach gastritis, peptic ulcers, cancers, neurological defects, unstable blood pressure, irregular pulse rate, hallucination, lung infections such as TB, anemia and affects brain functioning. etc. All these are a result of prolonged drug exposure. Behavioral treatments such as cognitivebehavioral therapy, motivational interventions, multidimensional family therapy etc play key role to get rid of drugs abuse says Dr Srinivas, psychiatrist at Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda, Hyderabad. Yoga and meditation would produce good results in the addicts. But what requires more here is patients should have positive attitude towards these methods. says Dr Satyalakshmi, Professor in Naturopathy.

Dr Saxena, Toxicologist
esticides are intentional poisons. Pesticide formulations are composed of one or more active ingredient(s). Inert ingredients such as water, petroleum distillates, talc, corn meal, or soaps are intended as vehicles to convey the pesticide to the target organism. Many are chemically and biologically active and may cause health and environmental problems. The newer synthetic pesti-

linked to some forms of childhood cancer. Prenatal exposure in humans has been linked to reduced birth weight and birth length.

l In Homes: 3 to 9 pesti-

PESTICIDE LEVELS

cide residues found.

l In Air: indoor levels are

higher than outdoor.

l In Water : >90% stream

samples, 50% of wells. cides can be found in water, air, and food weeks to months after application. 140 pesticides considered neuro toxic, 37 are used on food or feed. For eg, in Food, residues of at least one pesticide on 72 per

l l

HEART FACTS

Fat should not exceed 30 per cent of your total calorie intake. Use non-fat or low-fat milk and milk products instead of fullcream milk Avoid sources of saturated fatty acids like lard, butter, cream, coconut oil, ghee. Take foods like mackerel, tuna, and soya bean regularly in small quantities to prevent atherosclerosis.

NUTRITION ZONE

Five must-have foods for super health

Dr Janaki, Nutritionist
mmunity builders: To build up immunity, you must have proteins, fatty acids and vitamins and minerals. You can get all the goodness with this immune boosting recipe Eat an omelette made with spinach, egg and Dates olive oil and flush it down with 100% orange juice. Those who have low immunity can try this recipe for 15 days to get back on track. Disease preventing agents: While immunity helps prevent contracting so many communicable diseases, non communicable diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle and by changing the composition of your diet. Add fibre-rich foods to every meal you take. For example take vegetable salad as a side dish in all three meals i.e.

What food gives you visible positive changes and imparts perfect health? Experts identify top five aspects of our life that need utmost attention and care
as this will help you get stamina and improve oxygen carrying capacity. During workout keep sipping water to revive energy. After exercise, take protein shake within 15 minutes. This will increase the Eggs muscles intake of nutrients. Sexual Health promoters: All foods good for heart are good for sex. Fibre rich foods and nuts help the blood circulation. So do cardiac workouts. People who eat healthy and exercise are the best love makers and the after glow is unmistakably visible. Weight maintenance: People who are under-weight should have a sweet made of milk after lunch, or have a snack like peanut chikki or til laddu in between meals or at the end of the meal.

Spinach breakfast, lunch and dinner. Energy boosters: Physical activity varies with individuals. When you are straining yourself physically, appropriate diet helps to scale up your fitness to another level. Before starting exercise, have energy boosters such as handful almonds and couple of dates

Stroke can affect sex

hen somebody has a heart attack, the first question is survival. After survival, he is bothered about routine activities and job. After settling well he craves for sex. He ponders whether he can perform or not. He feels shy to ask. He imagines that the doctor didnt tell anything and so it is not permitted. Even if he wants to, his wife fears that he may have heart attack at sex and so refuses or discourages him. As per a mass based survey after recovery from heart attack, one-fourth of men avoid sex, half of the men perform sex infrequently and unsatisfactorily. Only one in four has sex just as he does before heart attack. Erection problems and heart diseases have the same causative factors. Onset of erection problem gives a clue that the heart also may have vessel block. Half of the men who had erection problem may develop coronary heart disease after ten years. So those with erectile dysfunction better get their heart checked up. Everybody fears that sex precipitates heart attack.

HEALTH NEWS

Unborn babies learn sounds of speech

rench scientists say babies in the womb are able to distinguish the differences between speech sounds three months before they are born. Using optical scanning at 28 weeks gestation, the team from the University of Picardie showed that babies could discriminate between different sylla-

are intimate with an exciting, young, new, casual partner in a new place. Hence all men after six weeks of heart attack can have intercourse safely if they are able to do routine activities. Precautions: l Discuss the issue with your doctor or sexologist. l If you can climb steps of two floors without discomfort, then you can tolerate the stress of intercourse. l Do it in your house with your partner in your routine way, not with new people in new places. l Don`t do after heavy meal. A three-hour gap after food or with empty stomach is preferable. l Do your regular exercise. l Continue your routine diet and drugs. l Have sex for pleasure, not to prove your potency. l If necessary, use drugs like Viagra on the advice of sexologist. l If there is discomfort or pain in chest at sex, stop it, lie down quiet, get medical help. Inform the doctor about sexual activity and the drugs used.

Dr Alla Satyanarayana Reddy MD., DGo., MSc (Psychology), MHse (Sex Med), Leo Institute of Sexual Medicine Rajbhavan Road, Somajiguda, Hyderabad 040-23301007, 9030203616 For a healthy individual the probability of heart attack while doing sex or immediately after is one in one million. For men who suffered heart attack or underwent operation for heart problem the probability of another attack during sex is two per a million men. Of the people who had heart attack during sex--in 25% it happened when they are with their wife at their home. For 75% it happened when they

bles and also male and female voices. Doctors already know babies can hear noises inside the womb. The ears are formed by the sixth month of pregnancy and they learn the rhythm and pitch of their mother's voice and are then soothed by it. What is not clear is whether humans are born with

the capacity to understand speech or whether this is learned later. The French team scanned the brains of babies delivered prematurely and found that they appeared to be able to discriminate between sounds such as "gah" and "bah" and between the voices of women and men. The findings suggest the ability to learn language is innate. IANS

Broccoli may help women fight PMT W

omen who eat food rich in non-heme iron - found in plants food like Broccoli - are less likely to suffer from pre-menstrual tension (PMT), researchers have claimed. They said that iron might be related to PMS as it is involved with the production of the brain chemical serotonin, which helps regulate mood. The researchers looked at the health of about 3,000 nurses, who they followed for 10 years. At the start all the nurses said that they did suffer from PMT but by the end of the 10-year period, a third had been diagnosed with it and two-thirds had not. When researchers at Massachusetts University and Harvard looked at their diets, they found a link between high consumption of non-heme iron and a

lower chance of developing PMT . Specifically, those whose intake exceeded 20mg a day were 30 to 40 per cent less likely than those with low intakes to suffer from PMT.

HEALTH TIP
GARLIC FOR ASTHMA
Garlic is an effective remedy for asthma. The patient should consume garlic cloves boiled in thirty gm of milk as a cure for asthma daily.