Music therapy restores vision

A majority of stroke victims loses the ability to track objects in their visual field on the side opposite to the part of the brain damaged by the stroke. This condition is known as VISUAL NEGLECT and the cause of this visual impairment is damage to those areas of the brain responsible for the integration of vision, attention and action, not the actual area of the brain responsible for sight itself.

UK researchers led by Dr. David Soto from Imperial College London in a study on 3 patients with visual neglect found that all 3 could identify colored shapes and red lights in the impaired side of vision when they are listening to music they liked. The researchers believe that listening to pleasant music give rise to positive emotions which help efficiency in signaling in the brain. Here is another case of music being the best medicine

Exercise intensity guideline for good health

Health specialists are agreed that one need half an hour of moderate exercise for 5 days a week to stay healthy. However, what is moderate exercise (intensity of the exercise) is not stated. Researchers at the San Diego State University led by Simon Marshall did a study on 97 healthy young men published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine gave a rough guide - average of 100 steps per minute of brisk walking.

Actually, to be more specific, they concluded that men needed to walk at a pace of 92 to 102 steps per minute while for women it is 91 to 115 steps per minute to achieve a moderately intense workout for their hearts. According to Simon Marshall, health will benefits with bouts of exercises of 10 minutes, a good starting point will be to walk 100 x 10 = 1000 steps within that 10 minutes and gradually increasing it to 30 minutes, that is 100 x 30 = 3000 steps within 30 minutes.

Diabetes cure? Liver regulates blood sugar

Insulin used to regulate blood sugar is produced by the pancreas. If the pancreas is damaged, the body is unable to produce insulin thus leading to diabetes. Recently, Dr. Lawrence Chan and his research team at the the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, succeeded in injecting a gene into mice which converted stem cells in the liver to be capable of producing insulin. According to Dr. Vijay Yechoo, co-author of Dr. Lawrence Chan, mice injected with the gene responded within a week and their blood sugar falls to normal level and stayed normal throughout their normal life. This raise the hope that they may be on the way to a cure for diabetes. The only problem is they used a virus to cause the liver stem cells to bond with the gene called neurogenin3. That virus which can be deadly to human. Let us hope they find a way around that problem.

Vitamin C for gout prevention

According to a report by US researchers published in the Archives of Internal Medicine for s 20-year study of 47,000 men given daily supplements of vitamin found in sprouts, peppers and oranges (vitamin C), it is believed that daily supplements of can reduce the risk of getting gout, a form of arthritis. It seems Vitamin C can reduce the blood uric acid levels (a build up of uric acid in blood can lead to crystal formations and swelling in and around joints). Lead researcher Dr. Hyon Choi thinks that vitamin C increases uric acid expulsion by the kidneys.

Source: Vitamin C a 'gout preventer'

World Kidney Day Health Screening

Thursday 12^th March 2002 is World Kidney Day (WKD). Various National Kidney Foundations (NKF) around the world will be holding various events to help promote Kidney Health Awareness around the world. The theme for this year's WKD is Amazing Kidneys - Are Yours Healthy

The Malaysia Kidney Foundation will be holding Kidney Health Checks at various locations around the country. Check for your country's NKF health screening at World Kidney Day.

High pesticides food and substitutes

Organic fruits and vegetables may be a better alternative to conventionally grown ones, but they are expensive and not everyone can afford them as a regular fare. They are also not easily available. One may be forced by circumstances, financial or otherwise, to fall back on conventionally farmed fruits and vegetables.

However, not all fruits and vegetables are equal. Some when grown conventionally, fruits and vegetables are treated with more pesticides than others or may retain more of the pesticides. Here is a list of the top 10 foods containing the most pesticides, according to the Environmental Working Group:

High-pesticide food: Strawberries
Main nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy alternatives: Blueberries, raspberries, oranges, grapefruit, kiwifruit, watermelon

High-pesticide food: Bell peppers
Main nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy alternatives: Green peas, broccoli, romaine, lettuce

High-pesticide food: Spinach
Main nutrient: Vitamins A and C
Healthy alternatives: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus

High-pesticide food: Cherries
Main nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy alternatives: Oranges, blueberries, raspberries, kiwifruit, blackberries, grapefruit

High-pesticide food: Peaches
Main nutrient: Vitamins A and C
Healthy alternatives: Nectarines, watermelon, tangerines, oranges, grapefruit

High-pesticide food: Mexican cantaloupe
Main nutrient: Vitamins A and C
and potassium
Healthy alternatives: U.S. cantaloupe grown from May to December, watermelon

High-pesticide food: Celery
Main nutrient: Carotenoids
Healthy alternatives: Carrots, broccoli, radishes, romaine lettuce

High-pesticide food: Apples
Main nutrient: Vitamin C
Healthy alternatives: Watermelon, nectarines, bananas, tangerines

High-pesticide food: Apricots
Main nutrient: Vitamins A an C and potassium
Healthy alternatives: Nectarines, watermelon, oranges, tangerines

High-pesticide food: Green beans
Main nutrient: Potassium
Healthy alternatives: Green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, asparagus

Bionic eye for the blind

I have always held that those who champion natural remedies over conventional medicine should not be to rigid or dogmatic about it. Just tell me what can natural remedies do for the blind. However, conventional medicine and/or modern technology has created a bionic eye for the blind. Ron who was made blind because of retinitis pigmentosa (a group of inherited eye diseases that cause degeneration of the retina) who had been blind for 30 years now can see with the aid of the bionic eye nicknamed Argua II. Ron was fitted with the bionic eye when he operated upon by consultant retinal surgeon Lyndon da Cruz in July last year at London's Moorfield's eye hospital. Ron says he can now follow white lines on the road and sorts out white socks, gray socks and black socks, using the bionic eye and his wife says that he can do his own washing now using the washing machine.

The bionic eye called Argus II was developed by US company Second Sight. It consists of a camera and video processor mounted on sunglasses which can send captured images wirelessly to a tiny receiver on the outside of the eye. The receiver in turn sends the data via a tiny cable to an array of electrodes which sit on the retina at the back of the eye. When these electrodes in the retina are stimulated they send messages along the optic nerve to the brain, which is then able to perceive patterns of light and dark spots corresponding to which electrodes have been stimulated.

Source: BBC News

Root Vegetables for Health

Root vegetables are grown underground away from pests and pesticides and are very good source of nutrition and fibers. Although technically root vegetables are confined to tuberous roots like beets, cassava (tapioca), carrots, horseradish, radish, rutabagas, salsify, turnips and parsnips, it is not wrong to extend them to bulbs like onions and garlics, rhizomes like ginger, tumeric and galangal, tubers like potatos and all edibles cultivated underground. Since they retains little pesticides, I would classify them as better alternatives to the above ground fruits and vegetables like stawberries, tomatoes etc which have very high pesticides residues.