Friday, January 18, 2013

Magh is Fertility Month

Magh is Fertility Month


1. Starting from lohri starts the fertility and the marriage month.
2. Other fertility months are Vaishak and Kartik
3. All fertility months involve sun bath (vitamin D) near Ganges or rivers (mental bath with detoxification of the mind), eating high calcium food ( sesame), eating high iron foods (jaggery) and consuming fertility friendly foods (black tulsi seeds and leaves, amla etc); positive thinking (most festivals are in Uttarayana or after Chaturmas in Dakshinayana); high intake of iron (jaggery), calcium (sesame), vitamin D (sunlight), physical, mental and soul detoxification ( vratas).
4. Tulsi is worshiped throughout the magh mela and in kalpvas.
5. Seeds of tulsi are effective in premature ejaculation .It also increases quantity of semen.
6. Tulsi contains small amount of Vitamin C and Folate.
7.  Tulsi can also take care of insulin resistance. One can take a paste made from 21 leaves each of neem, bail, tulsi at breakfast time to reduce insulin resistance. One can also soak 1 tsp fenugreek seeds at bedtime in a cup of water and take this water first thing in the morning.
8. A weight decrease of only 5 percent of total body weight is associated with decreased insulin levels, increased fertility, reduced hirsutism and acne, and lower androgen levels.
About the author: Dr K K Aggarwal is Padma Shri and Dr B C Roy National Awardee, President Heart Care Foundation of India and National Vice President Elect IMA

Most People Unaware That CT Radiation Can Cause Cancer In Future

Most People Unaware That CT Radiation Can Cause Cancer In Future


One-third of people getting a CT scan are not aware that the test carries radiation risk and future cancer.
The risk of cancer depends on how many scans a patient gets and which organs are exposed to CT radiation.
CT scans are high-powered X-rays that provide clearer images but expose patients to between ten and 100 times more radiation than a normal head or chest X-ray.
The radiation dose from one CT scans typically ranges from a couple of millisieverts – comparable to the yearly background radiation from natural sources – to close to 20 millisieverts, the annual exposure limit for nuclear industry employees.
Although each scan only has a small impact on a person’s long term risk of cancer, that risk can build over time with more scans and more radiation exposure. For examples repeated ct scans are being dine in kidney stones, nasal sinuses or for dementia without reasons.
As per JAMA there would be about 29,000 future cancers related to scans done in 2007 alone. That year, Americans had about 72 million total CT scans.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Uttarayana versus Dakshinayana Festivals

Uttarayana versus Dakshinayana Festivals

Most festivals involving vrat (fast) are held in the month of Dakshinayana i.e. from mid July to mid January. Dakshinayana is a period of longer nights, shorter days, depression and more negative thoughts in the mind. To balance this negativity of the mind, most of the festivals are so designed so as to detoxify the mind and the body.
On the other hand, in the months of Uttarayana, there are spontaneous positive thoughts in the mind and hence most of the festivals are positive in nature, full of enjoyment except Holi which is a festival of removing negativity from the mind. Holashtak is the only period in Uttarayana when auspicious functions and marriages are not held. In Dakshinayana, for four full months, marriages and auspicious functions are not held.

Fast For 12 Hours If Going For A Cholesterol Test

Fast For 12 Hours If Going For A Cholesterol Test


1. Getting a cholesterol test is easy.
2. Food and drinks affect cholesterol profile. Fast for 12 hours to get accurate readings of LDL (“bad” cholesterol), HDL (“good” cholesterol), and triglyceride levels.
3. Avoid drinking alcohol for at least 24 hours before the test.
Tell your doctor
  1. Flu or another illness shortly before the blood test can have a dramatic effect on your cholesterol levels.
  2. A change in diet in the last one week can make a difference. High levels of alcohol or carbohydrates can raise triglycerides.
  3. Did you forget to fast or sneak something to eat or drink before the test?  It can affect the cholesterol levels.
  4.  An underactive or overactive thyroid can affect cholesterol levels.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

A daylong conference on 20th January


eMedinewS and Heart Care Foundation of India will be organizing a daylong conference on 20th January, 2013 at Maulana Azad Medical College and will be attended by over 1000 doctors. The conference will revisit the happenings of the year 2012.

Addressing a press conference here Padma Shri & Dr. BC Roy National Awardee, Dr. KK Aggarwal, Group Editor-in-Chief eMedinewS and President Heart Care Foundation of India, and Dr Ganesh Mani, Dr Ashish Jain, Dr. Vivek Bhatia, Dr. Praveen Bhatia, Dr Jugal Mishra, Dr. N.K.Bhatia, Dr. Neeraj Jain, Dr Kailash Singla and Dr. Praveen Chandra, in a joint statement said that a lot has changed in the last one year. Following were a few of the new advancements:

1. The new mantra for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR10) – Over 25000 people in the city of Delhi alone have been trained in CPR10 to revive people out of sudden death. The mantra created by Dr. KK Aggarwal simplifies the course of action to be taken by people – “within 10 minutes of death (earlier the better), at least for the next 10 minutes (longer the better – upto 25 minutes), compress the centre of the chest of the victim effectively and continuously with a speed of 10x10 i.e. 100 per minutes”.
2. For patients whose blood pressure is not getting under control, new treatment is denervation of the nerves connected to the kidney.
3. For suspected rheumatic heart diseases, echo screening and not clinical screening is the answer.
4. Bypass surgery is better than drug quoted stents in patients with diabetes.
5. Pre-exposure prophylaxes with tenofvir and emtricitadine is now an established way of preventing HIV in high risk individuals.
6. New guidelines suggest that all patients of HIV+ should be treated regardless of CD4 T cells count.
7. Bacterial nasal sinusitis needs to be treated by anti-biotic and should be differentiated from viral nasal sinusitis.
8. In patients over the age of 70 years being treated with enema for constipation, one should use warm water enema rather than sodium phosphate enema.
9. In women of 65 years of age and older with a normal or slightly low bone mass at baseline measurement and with no risk factors of accelerated bone loss, follow-up bone densitometry should be done between 10-15 years.
10. Patients with high cholesterol on statin no more require monitoring of liver functions. They should be done only at baseline and not thereafter
11. Patients of depression on citalopriam should not be given a dose more than 40 mg and in 60+, it should not be more than 20mg.
12. Bio-absorbable polymers stent are now available in India.
13. Without surgery aortic valve replacement via catheter has now started in India.
14. Small intestinal transplant has been added to the list of transplant in the country.
15. Recently, a patient from Delhi who was brain dead donated his organs to 37 people.
16. A circular from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has clarified that under the PNDT Act, medical practitioners with post graduation in gynecology and obstetrics are qualified to do obstetric ultrasound.
17. Suspect bacterial infection if:
a. Persistent symptoms or signs lasting more than 10 days with no improvement.
b. Onset with fever of more than 102 degree and purulent nasal discharge lasting three consecutive days.
c. Onset with worsening symptoms following a viral URI lasting 5-6 days which was initially improving.

Mr Gursharan Singh former Indian Cricketer was the special guest of the day.

The conference will be followed by ‘Doctor of the year’ awards and cultural evening.

Bhagavad Gita 2.58

Bhagavad Gita 2.58


yadā saḿharate cāyaḿ kūrmo ‘ńgānīva sarvaśaḥ
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness.
Tortoise in mythology means the ability to withdraw one self. It requires control of senses.
1. In chapter 2.58, as above Krishna says that it is a fundamental requirement for meditation
2. As second avatar of Vishnu it means that it is an essential quality of a leader
3.In tortoise (disciplined sense) and rabbit (un-disciplined senses) race story it means that only those will win who knows how to control their senses.

High Court Bans Junk Food in Polythene Packs In Himachal

High Court Bans Junk Food in Polythene Packs In Himachal


The Himachal High Court has directed the state government to ban sale of ‘junk food’ in non bio-degradable packs from April 1 but exempted essential items like edible oil and milk from the ban, reports Express News Service.
The list of non-essential items (junk food) included chips, wafers, biscuits, namkeen, candy, chewing gum, ice cream, chocolates, noodles, sugary cereals etc.
The court however clarified that they are not banning the junk food because that is not within the purview of the court but the least the court can do is to direct that these harmful items, which are classified as junk foods, if sold in the state in packing condition should be sold only in bio-degradable packing. The Bench proposed use of options such as tetra packs, tin packing or biodegradable plastic of 20 micro metre thickness is proposed.