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Research

Study Reveals Why 7 Hours of Sleep is Optimal in Middle Age

London: Seven hours is the ideal amount of sleep for people in their middle age and upwards as a new study has found that both insufficient or excessive sleep is associated with poorer cognitive performance and mental health, including dementia. The study, published in the journal Nature Aging, indicates that one possible reason for the association between insufficient sleep and cognitive decline may be due to the disruption of slow-wave 'deep' sleep. Disruption to this type of sleep has been shown to have a close link with memory consolidation as well as the build-up of amyloid a key protein which, when it misfolds, can cause 'tangles' in the brain characteristic of some forms of dementia. Additionally, lack of sleep may hamper the brain's ability to rid itself of toxins, said researchers from the University of Cambridge and Fudan University. For the study, the team examined data from nearly 500,000 adults aged 38-73 years from the UK Biobank. Participants were asked about their sleeping patterns, mental health and well-being, and took part in a series of cognitive tests. Brain imaging and genetic data were available for almost 40,000 of the study participants. By analysing these data, the team found that both insufficient and excessive sleep duration was associated with impaired cognitive performance, such as processing speed, visual attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Seven hours of sleep per night was the optimal amount of sleep for cognitive performance, but also for good mental health, with people experiencing more symptoms of anxiety and depression and worse overall wellbeing if they reported sleeping for longer or shorter durations, the researchers said. (Agency) Read More► Women More Likely to Have Asthma Attacks, Deaths Than Men: Report
Health News

Fatty Liver Likely Causing A Surge in Serious Liver Diseases in India

Liver disease has become a lifestyle disease in India, with the incidence of non-alcoholic and alcoholic fatty liver disease now much higher than hepatitis B virus as the main cause of liver disorders, said experts here ahead of the World Liver Day. World liver day is observed on every April 19, to spread awareness about liver related disease. The liver is the second largest and the most complex organ in the body, after the brain. It is a key player in our body's digestive system. Fatty liver condition occurs when fat builds up in the liver that can cause liver inflammation, and damage your liver and create scarring. In severe cases, the scarring can lead to liver failure. Among people who drink a lot of alcohol, the condition is known as alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD), while among those who don't drink a lot, it's metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), earlier known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). MAFLD is associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Lifestyle changes involving obesity, sedentary lifestyle, food rich in sugar, calories and fat, and alcohol are the main reasons behind the poor liver health. According to Dr Bhaskar Nandi, HOD - Liver & Digestive Sciences, Sarvodaya Hospital, Faridabad, till a few decades back, the most common cause of chronic liver disease in India was hepatitis B infection, that led to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. "However, fatty liver, a metabolic disorder, now constitutes the largest burden of liver disease today due to changing lifestyle of people," he said. Nandi added that as many as "80 per cent of people coming for an ultrasound checkup today are found to have fatty liver disease". While about one in three of these will progress to chronic liver disease, liver cancer, cirrhosis, or end-stage liver disease, it is difficult to predict which ones will fall in that one-third bracket. "India is seeing a significant rise in liver problems due to lifestyle changes. To fight liver disease, it is necessary to change our lifestyle - proper and healthy diet, exercise, avoid drinking alcohol or drink in moderation, increasing our screening," Dr. Pankaj Puri, from Fortis Escorts Liver and Digestive Diseases Institute, told IANS. Often liver disease goes undiagnosed for years, as the initial stages generally have no symptoms and people feel well, and routine blood tests may not show liver abnormalities. Globally, liver condition is seen in about 25 per cent or one in four adults that often goes undiagnosed, raising the risk for heart disease, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement. Nandi said that liver disease is fast becoming a public health problem for India. In 2015, acute and chronic liver diseases accounted for 2 million deaths worldwide, 18 per cent of whom were from India. The burden of liver disease has consistently been increasing in the country since then. While hepatitis B vaccination is commonly given to children for immunisation, it is not popular among adults. "Every year, more than 115,000 people die in India due to hepatitis B related complications. About 4 crore people in the country are carriers of this virus but remain asymptomatic and unaware of the risk they pose to others," Nandi said. "Unlike in the West where main causes of transmission of hepatitis B virus include infected needles and sexual contact, in India, the spread is due to horizontal transmission by staying in proximity with an infected individual, like a family member who is asymptomatic," he noted. Read More► How Exercise Keeps Dementia at Bay
Disease and Treatment

कब्ज के लक्षण, कारण और

टेलीविजन पर आपने वह विज्ञापन जरुर देखा होगा जिसमें एक कब्ज(Constipation) दूर करने वाली एक आयुर्वेदिक औषधि के प्रचार में मशहूर कॉमेडियन राजू श्रीवास्तव कहते हैं  कि, ‘पेट सफा तो हर रोग दफा’। ये लाइनें वैसे तो विज्ञापन के पंचलाइन को आकर्षक बनाने के लिए लिखी गयी है लेकिन देखा जाए तो वास्तविकता के बेहद नजदीक है। आयुर्वेद में भी अनेकानेक रोगों के मूल में उदर यानी पेट को माना गया है। यदि आपका पेट यानी पाचन तंत्र ठीक है तो बीमारियाँ आपको छू भी नहीं सकती। देह को जीवित रखने के लिए जिस प्रकार प्राणवायु का महत्व है, उसी प्रकार शरीर के निर्माण और उसे बलशाली बनाने में खाना यानी अन्नपान का महत्व है। इस आहार का पाचन अग्नि द्वारा होता है जिससे आहार रस का निर्माण होता है और जो शरीर को बल प्रदान करता है। आयुर्वेद के ग्रंथों में पाचन तंत्र में स्थित अग्नि को समस्त चयापचय का प्रमुख कारक माना गया है। यदि अग्नि ठीक से काम नहीं करेगा तो पाचन तंत्र में समस्या पैदा हो जायेगी और हम कब्ज समेत पेट और आँतों की कई समस्याओं से ग्रस्त हो सकते हैं जिसका असर पूरे शरीर पर पड़ेगा। लेकिन आधुनिक समय में खराब खान-पान और दिनचर्या के कारण बड़ी संख्या में लोग कब्ज जैसी पेट की बीमारी से ग्रस्त हैं। विडंबना ये है कि शुरूआती दौर में लोग इस बीमारी के लक्षणों को पहचान नहीं पाते या फिर उसे अनदेखा करते हैं। बाद में यही समस्या विकराल रूप धारण कर लेती है।  इसलिए ये बेहद जरुरी है कि इसके शुरूआती लक्षणों को पहचानकर तुरंत उपचार किया जाए। कब्ज के लक्षण - Symptoms of Constipation in Hindi कब्ज़ का अर्थ बहुत कड़ा मल या मल त्याग करने में कठिनाई होना है. यह भी हो सकता है कि आपको पेट खाली करने के लिए (मल त्याग के लिए) ज़ोर लगाना पड़े। शौचालय जाने के बावजूद मन हल्का न लगे और ऐसा लगे कि पेट पूरी तरह से साफ़ नहीं हुआ है। बार-बार पेट दर्द, ऐठन, गैस बनना, डकार आना, जीभ में छाले आना व पीलापन आना, आलस्य , सिरदर्द  व उलटी का होना भी कब्ज के ही लक्षण है। यदि हफ्ते में तीन दिन से अधिक आप मल त्याग नहीं कर पाते तो यह कब्ज के स्पष्ट लक्षण है. खाने में अरुचि का बढ़ना भी कब्ज का ही संकेत है। कब्ज के कारण - Causes of Constipation in Hindi कब्ज के कई कारण हो सकते हैं। लेकिन इसका सबसे बड़ा कारण खराब खान-पान और गलत दिनचर्या है। फास्टफूड की संस्कृति ने इस रोग को बढ़ाने में खासी भूमिका निभायी है। भोजन में अपर्याप्त मात्रा में रेशों (फाइबर) का सेवन, कम पानी पीने, व्यायाम की कमी, लंबे समय तक एंटीबायोटिक व गैस की दवाओं के सेवन और  समय पर मलत्याग करने न जाना कब्ज की समस्या के प्रमुख कारण है। महिलाओं में प्रसव के दौरान भी पेट की आतंरिक समस्याओं की वजह से यह रोग हो सकता है. दूध की चाय, कॉफी, तंबाकू या सिगरेट के लगातार सेवन से कब्ज की समस्या पैदा हो जाती है। पाचन ठीक न होने के बावजूद पेटभर कर खाना खाने और लगातार आलस्य की मुद्रा में बैठे रहने से भी कब्ज की समस्या पैदा हो सकती है। इसके अलावा समय पर भोजन न करने और समय पर न सोने-उठने की वजह से भी कब्ज की समस्या दीर्घकाल में हो जाती है। कुछ लोग शौचालय में अखबार लेकर देर तक गलत तरीके से बैठते हैं जो इस रोग को एक तरह से बुलावा देना है। कब्ज की समस्या का उपचार - Treatment of Constipation in Hindi कब्ज की समस्या का यदि सही समय पर उपचार न शुरू किया जाए तो आगे चलकर यह शरीर के त्रिदोषों (वात, पित्त और कफ) को असंतुलित करने के अलावा और कई गुदा रोगों मसलन बवासीर, फिशर आदि का कारण भी बनता है।  इसलिए इसकी अनदेखी बिलकुल नहीं करनी चाहिए. शुरूआती दौर में इसका इलाज आहार-विहार में परिवर्तन करके ही आसानी से किया जा सकता है। एक दिलचस्प मिथ्या है कि कच्चे फल और सब्जियां खाने मात्र से कब्ज ठीक हो जाएगा जबकि ऐसा होता नहीं है, उलटे कच्चा खाने से वायु बढ़ेगा. आइये जानते हैं कि कब्ज की समस्या का क्या-क्या आयुर्वेदिक उपचार हो सकते हैं: कब्ज की समस्या से निजात पाना है तो सबसे पहले पर्याप्त मात्रा में पानी पीना शुरू कर दे। यदि गुनगुना पानी पीते हैं तो अति उत्तम। गुनगुना पानी आँतों को सुचारू रूप से काम करने में मदद करता है। भोजन में फाइबर की मात्रा बढ़ा देनी चाहिए। चोकरयुक्त आटे की रोटी खाना श्रेयस्कर होगा। दूध में गाय का घी डालकर पी सकते हैं, इससे फायदा होगा क्योंकि घी वात का शमन करता है अर्थात घटाता है। अमरूद का सेवन भी लाभकारी होगा। त्रिफला को गर्म दूध या पानी के साथ लेने से भी कब्ज का उपचार संभव है। समय पर उठे–जगे और खाए–पीयें।  रात्री जागरण और फास्ट फ़ूड से बचे।  मैदे से बनी चीजों को खाने से परहेज करे। शारीरिक सक्रियता बढायें, व्यायाम करें। फिर भी कब्ज की समस्या ख़त्म न हो तो आयुर्वेद चिकित्सक की सलाह से अभ्यारिष्ट और द्राक्षारिष्ट जैसी औषधियों भी ली जा सकती है। अनुवासन बस्ती जैसी पंचकर्म थेरेपी भी करवाई जा सकती है. उसके अलावा गुनगुने पानी से भरे टब में बैठने से भी फायदा होगा। यह भी पढ़े► इम्युनिटी कम होने के कारण, लक्षण और आयुर्वेदिक उपाय  
Research

8 Hours of Sleep May Not Be Necessary, Quality Matters: Study

New York: You must have heard one should sleep for eight hours, but researchers say that it depends on a person's genetics. When it comes to sleep, quality matters over quantity. People with Familial Natural Short Sleep (FNSS) prefer to sleep just four to six hours a night, and yet have the ability to function fully on. According to researchers at University of California, San Francisco, these "elite sleepers" show psychological resilience and resistance to neurodegenerative conditions that may point the way to fending off neurological disease. It means that the brain accomplishes its sleep tasks in a shorter time. In other words, less time spent efficiently sleeping may not equate to a lack of sleep, said Ying-Hui Fu, from the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. The researchers have shown that it runs in families and, thus far, have identified five genes across the genome that play a role in enabling this efficient sleep. "There's a dogma in the field that everyone needs eight hours of sleep, but our work to date confirms that the amount of sleep people need differs based on genetics," said neurologist Louis Ptacek, from the Institute. In the study, published in the journal iScience, the team chose to look at mouse models of Alzheimer's disease because that condition is so prevalent. They bred mice that had both short-sleep genes and genes that predisposed them to Alzheimer's and found that their brains developed much less of the hallmark aggregates associated with dementia. To confirm their findings, they repeated the experiment using mice with a different short-sleep gene and another dementia gene and saw similar results. The team believe that similar investigations of other brain conditions would show the efficient-sleep genes confer comparable protections. improving peoples' sleep could delay progression of disease across a whole spectrum of conditions, they said. "Sleep problems are common in all diseases of the brain," Ptacek said. "This makes sense because sleep is a complex activity. Many parts of your brain have to work together for you to fall asleep and to wake up. When these parts of the brain are damaged, it makes it harder to sleep or get quality sleep." Understanding the biological underpinnings of sleep regulation could identify drugs that will help ward off problems with sleep disorders. In addition, improving sleep in healthy people may sustain wellbeing and improve the quality of time we each have, the researchers said. (agency) Read More► Regular, Moderate Physical Activity Enough for Healthier Brain
Ayurveda News

Cancer Cure: BHU Scientists Develop New Variety of Rishyagandha

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) scientists have developed a new variety of medicinal plant Rishyagandha which has the properties to treat all types of cancer, especially cervical. After eight years of long research, the new variety was developed using nano-biotechnology. The research done on the basis of Indian Ayurveda is now being approved by scientists of many countries. Rishyagandha is mainly available in the dry hot climatic conditions of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Rishyagandha is commonly known as 'Paneer flower' or 'Paneer bandha' and in scientific language as 'Withania coagulans'. Generally, its seeds are used for making paneer in dairy industry, as it has enzyme protease. Studies related to these findings have been published in the prestigious international research journals such as 'Material Science and Engineering C', 'Plant Cell Reports' and 'Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants'. The plant has been included into endangered category due to indiscriminate use and various other reasons. Currently, to maintain the sustainability of this endangered plant and to improve the pharmacological efficiency with high efficacy, various researches are being carried out. Prof. Shashi Pandey from Department of Botany, BHU told IANS, "scientists at Banaras Hindu University have grown high quality medicinal plant Rishyagandha in their lab by uitlising nano-biotechnological approach. This is a latest example of integrating technology in Ayurveda research and taking the ancient medical science of India to the masses." Prof. Shashi Pandey undertook a research with her student Dr. Deepika Tripathi eight years ago. The study of Dr. Pandey suggested the potential role of Nano-biotechnology in the improvised version of Rhishygandha along with the high content of bioactive pharmacological compounds withanolides. Prof. Pandey said that initially they developed an efficient protocol to propagate this endangered plant using in-vitro plant tissue culture methods. Further, under collaboration with Prof. Gopeshwar Narayan of Molecular and Human Genetics Department, efficiency of green synthesised nanoparticles were also studied using laboratory grown plant extracts as a potent drug against cervical cancer. Continuing this research work, Prof. Pandey found that synthesised nanoparticles and UV-B treatment in the laboratory conditions enhanced the yield of Rishyagandha with a quantitative increase of about 50 per cent in its medicinally useful compounds withanolides. Prof. Pandey told IANS: "By integrating nano-biotechnological approaches, we can conserve the plant in nature along with its enhanced medicinal potential. New researchers of lab are now extending this work towards finding out the effect of different exnvironment factors on the production of the compounds Rishyagandha." Recognising Pandey's effort, recently she has been elected as a member of Genome India International (GII). "Banaras Hindu University offers a unique amalgamation of education and research in traditional Indian knowledge and modern sciences at one place. This specialty makes BHU truly the capital of knowledge, not only in India but all across the globe," Prof. Pandey added. (agency) Read More► BHU to Conduct Research on Economical Anti-Diabetic Drugs
Food and Nutrition

5 Superfoods to Boost Immunity

In todays day and age with the kind of food available, nutrition is generally lacking in the growing kids. To build a strong immune system, children need the right and enough nutrients. Below are a few Superfoods which can help kids boost their immunity and help in their growth. 1. OZiva kids Superfood immunity Multi Gummies- OZiva Superfood Immunity Multi is a clean blend of powerful superfoods with Ayurvedic Herbs specially created to support enhanced immunity in children. It boosts and strengthens the immune system with plant-based Vitamin C, supports the production of white blood cells and antibodies to fight infections, reduces chances of infection with Zinc's anti-inflammatory properties, helps keep the immune system balanced with Vitamin D by preventing it from overreacting, combats illnesses, increases immune cells and maintains healthy immune system with plant-based extracts of Elderberry, Amla and Acerola Cherry. These delicious gummies are easy to chew and are vegan with no preservatives, gelatin free, no artificial sweeteners, no artificial colour, soy-free. Recommended 1 gummy daily for children of age 5 years and above. 2. Fast&Up Charge Kids- Fast&Up provides high-quality supplements and vitamins to increase performance. Fast&Up Charge Kids has a triple action formula with Immunity Booster Herbs like Curcumin, Ginger and Tulsi which helps strengthen the body's defence system. It has essential nutrients, Active Vitamin C Complex, Natural Amla, 100% RDA Vitamin C which helps to boost immunity. Kids above the age group of 4+ can consume Fast&Up Charge Kidz. 3. NutriBears Daily Multivitamin Gummies- This advanced NutriBears Kid's Multivitamin Gummy supplement helps in filling the gaps in your child's diet. Fortified with a vitamin complex that contains Vitamins A, B5, B12, C, D, and E, as well as Folic Acid, Iodine, Magnesium and Zinc, our vitamin gummies taste great and give your child the boost they need to be at their physical and mental best. 4. Patanjali Nutrela Kid's SuperFood Nutrition Drink- Patanjali Nutrela Kid's Superfood is a scientifically designed advanced formula as per ICMR guidelines for every growing kid for 4-12 years in delicious chocolate flavour. An ideal blend of milk protein and vitamins with botanical extracts. It is 100 per cent vegetarian, GMO-free, gluten-free, no artificial colour, preservative-free and trans-fat-free. Balanced nutrition for active growth with essential amino acids. 5. Amazing Grass Kidz Superfood - Berry Blast- This nutritional smoothie combines the farm fresh greens with a rainbow of over 30 wholesome fruits and veggies providing kids with the whole food nutrition their growing bodies need and the amazing taste they'll love. This plant-based drink is dairy-free, Certified Organic by CCOF - Non-GMO and More. (Agency) Read More► What to Feed Your Baby in Year One?