How to take care of your cough & cold

Drink warm fluids. Inhale warm mist. (Reason? Both relax the airway and loosen up the phlegm). Suck on cough drops or hard candy to coat the irritated throat. Drink plenty of liquids – about six to eight glasses of water daily. Avoid tobacco smoke. Smoking or being exposed to smoke makes the cough worse.

Some home remedies for your cough:

Grapes tone up the lungs and act as an expectorant, relieving a simple cold and cough in a couple of days. A cup of grape juice mixed with a teaspoon of honey, is advised for cough relief. Also, use onions. This vegetable should be chopped fine and its juice extracted from it. One teaspoon of the juice should then be mixed with one teaspoon of honey and kept for four or five hours – it will make an excellent cough syrup and should be taken twice daily.

Mobiles linked to brain tumours

The potential link between mobile phones and brain cancer could be similar to the link between lung cancer and smoking — something tobacco companies took 50 years to recognize, according to a warning by US scientists. Researchers are currently split on the level of danger the biological effects of the magnetic field emitted by cellphones poses to humans. However, society "must not repeat the situation we had with the relationship between smoking and lung cancer where we ... waited until every ‘i' was dotted and ‘t' was crossed before warnings were issued," said David Carpenter, director of the Institute of Health and Environment at the University of Albany, in testimony before a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform. "Precaution is warranted even in the absence of absolutely final evidence concerning the magnitude of the risk" — especially for children, said Carpenter. Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute — one of the top US cancer research centers — said that most studies "claiming that there is no link between cellphones and brain tumors are outdated, had methodological concerns and did not include sufficient numbers of long-term cellphone users." Many studies denying a link defined regular cellphone use as "once a week", he said. "Recalling the 70 years that it took to remove lead from paint and gasoline and the 50 years that it took to convincingly establish the link between smoking and lung cancer, I argue that we must learn from our past to do a better job of interpreting evidence of potential risk," said Herberman. A brain tumour can take dozens of years to develop, the scientists said. Carpenter and Herberman both told the committee the brain cancer risk from cellphone use is far greater for children than for adults. The committee were shown several European studies, particularly surveys from Scandinavia — where the cellphone was first developed — which show that the radiation emitted by cellphones have definite biological consequences. For example, a 2008 study by Swedish cancer specialist Lennart Hardell found that frequent cellphone users are twice as likely to develop a benign tumor on the auditory nerves of the ear most used with the handset, compared to the other ear. A separate study in Israel determined that heavy cellphone users had a 50% increased likelihood in developing a salivary gland tumour. In addition, a paper published this month by the Royal Society in London found that adolescents who start using cellphones before the age of 20 were five times more likely to develop brain cancer at the age of 29 than those who didn't use a cellphone. "It's only on the side of the head where you use the cellphone," Carpenter said.

Source: TOI

Hair care for the bride-to-be

Brides do go for a makeover before their wedding. From losing those extra kilos to getting that peache and cream complexion, everything is paid attention to by them. But they often do little to improve the look and feel of their hair. According to Dr Raksha, Amazing Herbal Remedies, hair treatments should be prioritised over anything before one’s wedding for it takes longer to show results. Getting rid of dandruff or split ends, etc, actually amounts to social-graces that no new bride must ignore. Can you imagine leaving a dandruff trail on your man’s black suit… or refusing to let your hair loose when he wants it like that because you don’t want him to see those split ends? Brides-to-be therefore, must take professional help for all hair-related problems as a part of their wedding preparations. All this to ensure they look stunning irrespective of the occassion. And this is where Dr Raksha comes in with her herbal pre-bridals. Pre-bridal hair rejuvenation is perhaps the most long lasting of all other D-day makeovers. The herbal treatment actually looks at permanent solutions rather than temporary make believers. Dr Raksha also offers remedies for falling hair and claims to have treated over a lakh patients suffering from various hair-related maladies. She aslo warns that women in particular ought to seek professional help at the first signs of hair loss, because for a woman, hair loss and patchy baldness lead to emotional trauma and loss of self esteem. Dr Raksha who refuses to divulge names has treated a number of film stars, TV personalities, even young models and beauty contest aspirants over the last many years. The treatment centre has an efficient team of experts and specialists handling issues like alopecia, patchy baldness, thinning & falling of hair, fungal infection, dandruff and premature graying. Apart from hair related problems, herbal solutions are also given for pigmentation, acne, and complexion enhancement, memory and grasping power improvement, rejuvenation/energy and weight loss treatment – just what a bride-to-be cannot afford to ignore. Hundreds of people from all over the country come every week to consult her at her treatment centre. D-13, South Extn. I, New Delhi. Dr Raksha can also be contacted online at www.amazingherbalremedies.com. Appointments can be sought at 011-24648617/18, 9911777409

Source: TOI

INNER VOICE

Meditation: A balancing act

The concept of meditation is as old as civilisation. Saints and seers have taken refuge in solitude and meditation to get peace of mind. Meditation frees us from tenacious and persistent preoccupation with the past as well as the future and its benefits are provenly far-reaching and profound.

Some of the interesting findings about meditation are that it actually helps in promoting the development of cortical matter in the brain and strikes a fine balance between action and restraint,n effort and effortlesness.It is said to elevate you to the higher plane where you are connected to your inner voice. In terms of how it works, meditation takes away attention from the periphery of your consciousness into the centre.

The brain has two centres that are relevant to understand the effects of meditation, the left frontal cortex and right frontal cortex. Meditation helps shift activity from the stress prone area (right frontal cortex) to a calmer area (left frontal cortex).
Importantly, meditation increases serotonin production, which results in reduction in anxiety. This means it filters out sorrows from the mind and renders the mind neutral. Meditation slows down breathing which aids relaxation. Since it slows down breathing, it makes you thoughtful, introspective, dynamic, peaceful and versatile. It allows you to penetrate the inner recesses of your mind where there is nothing but peace.It does this by increasing brain wave coherence. Coherence is the state of synchrony between the waves generated in the different regions or hemispheres of the brain, which leads to reduced anxiety and greater creativity.

Since meditation lowers oxygen consumption, it lowers stress.A person then radiates joy and links positively with his surroundings, very much like how a beautiful flower is good and does good to the world around it by its sheer presence and the radiance of its blooming. Meditation is the missing link in your life. Beat the blues and embrace life with meditation.
It awaits like a mantra of healing to get you out of negativity into a realm of positivity and sunshine, achievement and energy.

-Devendra Khurana

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Sitting in the front (L to R):
Meghana & Maheeja D/os of MS Dikshitulu; Harshit s/o Swati in the lap; Pallavi D/o MV Ratnam; Kadambari D/o MH Sarma; ......... S/o.... in the lap; and ....... d/o

Sitting in the chair (L to R):
Shakuntala Devi; MVH Sarma, Late Smt. Janaki Dev, MH Sarma and P. Anjana Devi

Standing first row (L to R):
MS Dikshitulu, Sarada w/o MSD; Lalita w/o MVH Sarna; Savithri w/o MH Sarma; Padma w/o MV Ratnam; MV Ratnam and Pramadangi Mohana Krishna Prasad, H/o Anjana Devi

Standing last row (L to R):
Lavanya d/o Shakuntala Devi; P. Vamsidhar & Swati (Son and daughter of PMK Prasad); Visala d/o Shankuntala; Venkatesh H/o Visala; Sidhu S/o MH Sarma and Pavan S/o MV Ratnam

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