Beetroot Juice -- have you ever tried it out???

The rich color of beetroot is a testimony of the rich benefits it provides to the body. Various kinds of benefits ranging from blood cooling and purification to digestive help have been linked to beetroot. These days beetroot juice is gaining in popularity as it is believed to have a stimulating effect for warding off general weakness and specific ailments.

Given below is a detailed mentioning of the various benefits of beetroot juice and how its intake can enhance your health and well being.

Beetroot juice has lately been linked with digestive health. This is because it aids in the digestion of fat and also stimulates the nerves in the intestine. Moreover, the chlorine present in beet juices helps in regulating digestion.

Along with helping in the digestive process of the body, beetroot juice aids in absorption of iron. Thus, people with low Haemoglobin are often recommended the intake of beetroot, either in raw form or in the form of juices as beetroot are usually taken as a blood builder. The rich red color of beet roots help in the reddening and improvement of the quality of blood. If you are feeling low, fatigued and weak, then a glass of beetroot juice can ward off all your weakness.

Beetroot juices are also seen as natural remedies for sexual weakness, kidney stones and for problem of liver and gall bladder. Beetroots are also believed to be a powerful recovery agent in case of cancers.
Along with providing you various benefits, beetroot also contains good amounts of folic acid, vitamin C, potassium and silica which helps in lowering blood pressure, thereby keeping your heart healthy and fit. Thus, drinking a glass of beneficial beetroot juice daily can help you to remain energetic, healthy and fit throughout your life.

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Video-game-playing kids showing addiction symptoms

Nearly one in 10 children and teens who play video games show behavioral signs that may indicate addiction, a new study reports.

The study found 8.5% of those who played had at least six of 11 addictive symptoms, including skipping chores and homework for video games, poor test or homework performance and playing games to escape problems. The research, which is published in the May issue of the journal Psychological Science, is based on a 2007 Harris poll of 1,179 U.S. youngsters, the first nationally representative poll on the subject.

Exhibiting six of 11 symptoms can lead to a diagnosis of addiction, such as pathological gambling. Iowa State University researcher Douglas Gentile adopted the addiction criteria for gambling because there is no current medical diagnosis of video-game addiction.

"This study shows there are a substantial number of kids ... taking damage to multiple areas of their life," Gentile says.

On average, the number of symptoms per person was small: boys, typically more than two, girls, less than two. But more boys exhibited at least six symptoms — 12%, vs. 3% of girls. Other symptoms included excessive thinking about games and planning the next opportunity, trying to play less and failing, restlessness or irritability when trying to reduce or stop playing, lying about play time, stealing a game or stealing money to buy a game.

The survey does not end the debate over whether gaming can be addictive in the way gambling or substances can be, Gentile says. Nor does it "tell us who's most at risk (or) how long it lasts. Is it something that only lasts for a couple months when the game system is new, then the kids learn to get it back into balance?"

Jerald Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health Science University, called the study "valuable" to the American Psychiatric Association's decision on whether compulsive computer and Internet use should be considered a mental disorder.

Block, an APA adviser, warns that the study has weaknesses. The research should be replicated because it is supported by the National Institute for Media and the Family, which he likens to a lobbying group. And the survey could have found higher game use because it was collected in January as opposed to summer. It also classifies 8.5% as addicted without a physician interview: "The people they are claiming have a problem, it's not entirely clear that they do have a problem."

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Fish may be brain food for teenage boys

Teenage boys who regularly eat fish may be doing their brains some good, a new study suggests.

Swedish researchers found that among nearly 5,000 15-year-old boys they surveyed, those who ate fish more than once per week tended to score higher on intelligence tests three years later.

The findings, published in the journal Acta Pediatrica, add to evidence that fish may indeed be brain food.

Researchers believe that the omega-3 fats found in fish -- particularly oily fish like salmon, mackerel and, to a lesser extent, albacore tuna -- are important to early brain development and to maintaining healthy brain function throughout life.

Past studies have found, for instance, that children whose mothers who ate fish regularly during pregnancy tend to have higher intelligence scores than their peers, and older fish-eaters have been shown to have a lower risk of cognitive impairment.

The new study appears to be the first large-scale one to look at the effects of fish on teenagers' intelligence, lead researcher Dr. Maria Aberg, of Goteborg University, told Reuters Health.

This is important, she explained, because the late-teens are a critical period for the brain "plasticity" that underlies intelligence and emotional and social behavior. Plasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize the connections among cells in response to normal experience, like learning a new skill, or to injury.

The findings are based on data from 4,792 male adolescents who completed detailed questionnaires on diet and lifestyle when they were 15 years old, then underwent standard intelligence tests when they were 18.

On average, Aberg's team found, those who ate fish more than once per week scored higher than those who ate fish less than weekly. This remained true when the researchers accounted for several other factors that influence both children's diets and their intelligence scores -- like parents' education levels and the family's socioeconomic status.

"These findings are significant," Aberg said, "because the study was carried out between the ages of 15 and 18, when educational achievements can help to shape the rest of a young man's life."

It's too soon to make specific diet recommendations for teenagers, according to the researcher. "But for the time being," she said, "it appears that including fish in a diet can make a valuable contribution to cognitive performance in male teenagers."

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What is Dementia?

The term dementia originated from the Latin word de- "apart, away" + mens (genitive mentis) i.e. "mind", often we call dementia as the memory disorder disease. Wherein a person going through dementia experience from a gradual loss of memory, it also affects that persons capability to solve problems, discuss and yet use language.

Dementia adversely affects main functions of a person like the motor skills, comprehension, as well as executive functioning. Dementia mostly refers to the multiple sets of disorder and not to some specific set(s) of reason. Dementia mostly causes damage to the mind and leads to a gradual decrease of the cognitive performance of the brain. Dementia might be caused via scarcity of oxygenated blood flow, glucose, minerals, plus vitamins to the brain and as a consequence of which there is an increase in toxins within the brain.

Effect of dementia on the patients

Particularly affected parts could be attention, memory, language along with problem solving, though particularly in the further stages of the condition, the affected persons might be disoriented in time such as not knowing exactly what day or what week, or perhaps what month or what year it is, sometimes he might not remember the place: not knowing where he is and person by not knowing who he is. Sign of dementia are categorizing as either on the reversible or irreversible factor all depending upon the etiology of the dementia disease.

Less than 10% of every dementia is reversible. Thus, Dementia is an imprecise term that encompasses numerous disease procedures, just as fever is attributable to a lot of etiologies.

Symptoms of Dementia

You will see patients often suffering from dementia that occurs in the later period of ones life, when a person is going through his 60ies. The affected person occasionally recognizes the primary signs of dementia. Frequently family or friends formerly notice the problem. Distinctive early symptoms might include memory loss, plus difficulty in performing complex tasks. Dementia patients may perhaps mislay items, turn out to be lost while driving, find confused in between conversation or lose a previous capability to poise a checkbook. As the state progresses, the deficits turn out to be more distinct as well as interfere more with every day activities Most common form of symptoms of dementia is:

Clear Loss of recall for fresh Events

* Losing items.
* Getting lost in ‘known’ Places
* Absent in Appointments


Loss of aptitude for Abstract thinking,

* Planning plus Doing intricate Tasks
* Problem with Cooking, Driving, Paying Bills,
* Can’t recognize Movies, Books, or News Items

Difficulty Finding Common Words and Names

* Replacement of Approximate saying
* Misidentifying common People (Confusing own sister amid [deceased] mother)
* Employ of "unfilled Phrases" for ex "You know", "That thing".

Difficulty restraining Behavior
The Impulsivity, patients is ‘Thoughtless’ commentary, and have communally Inappropriate Behaviors. These symptoms are commonly seen on various form of dementia such as

#senile dementia
# vascular dementia

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Cocoa for Diabetes??

A cup of hot cocoa may seem like a no-no for people with diabetes, but the beverage may actually serve up a healthy dose of prevention and ward off heart disease, the leading cause of diabetes-related death.

New research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology provides substantial evidence that compounds in cocoa called flavonols improve the function and overall health of blood vessels. Unhealthy blood vessels are a leading cause of cardiovascular complications in people with diabetes.

Flavonols are naturally occurring plant compounds found in chocolate, red wine, and certain fruits and vegetables. A growing body of evidence suggests that cocoa flavonols have circulatory health benefits.

For the study, Malte Kelm, MD, a professor and chairman of cardiology, pulmonology and vascular medicine at the University Hospital Aachen and the Technical University Aachen, in Aachen, Germany, and colleagues examined the effect of a specially made flavonol-rich cocoa on patients with stable, treated type 2 diabetes.

The study participants randomly received cocoa containing either 25 milligrams or 321 milligrams of flavonol per serving. They drank the cocoa three times a day for 30 days. Researchers calculated each patient's blood vessel function before and after cocoa consumption at the start of the study and on days 8 and 30, using a combination of ultrasound images and blood pressure measurements.

Patients who drank the high-flavonol cocoa for one month had their blood vessel function improve from severely impaired to normal. Drinking the low-dose flavanol cocoa did not result in any significant changes in blood vessel function.

Researchers caution that the high-dose flavonol cocoa used in their study greatly exceeds the typical U.S. dietary intake of 20 to 100 milligrams daily, and you can't buy the extra-strength version in stores. Rather, they are optimistic that flavonol-containing diets offer an innovative approach to preventing heart disease.

"This research focuses on what's at the true heart of the discussion on 'healthy chocolate' -- it's about cocoa flavonols, the naturally occurring compounds in cocoa," Kelm writes. "While more research is needed, our results demonstrate that dietary flavonols might have an important impact as part of a healthy diet in the prevention of cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients."

In an accompanying editorial, Umberto Campia, MD, calls the study "important and thought-provoking," adding that "this is the foundation we need for doing a much larger prospective study that looks at the effect of cocoa flavonols not just on endothelial function, but also on the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other serious forms of cardiovascular disease."

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Brush your teeth regularly for healthy heart

Brushing teeth regularly not only provides protection against tooth decay but can also help reduce an individual’s chances of developing heart disease, a new study has revealed.

In recent years, some studies indicated a link between gum disease and an increased likelihood of suffering from heart disease or a stroke, but they were failed to explain the connection.
Now researchers from the University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand, have found that similar link between gum disease and heart disease but they claim their findings may help find ways to save lives.

The researchers discovered that the body's own defenses could "overreact" to the threat of gum disease and destroy its own protective cells. This chronic gum infection can lead to a build up of the arteries called atherosclerosis, the primary cause of cardiovascular attacks.

"This is a significant step towards a more complete understanding of heart disease and improving treatment and preventive therapies," said lead researcher Greg Seymour of the University of Otago in New Zealand.

"An understanding of all the possible risk factors could help lower the risk of developing heart disease and lead to a significant change in disease burden."

Seymour and colleagues reached their findings after analyzing the effects of brushing on a group of people with heart disease that can cause heart attacks and obstruct or blocks the flow of blood to the vital body organ.

Several theories have been put forward to explain the association between oral infection and heart disease, said Seymour. One of those theories is that certain proteins from bacteria initiate atherosclerosis and help it progress. Inorder to prove this theory, we looked at the role of heat shock proteins, which are produced by humans as well as bacteria, he added.



As the heat shock proteins are produced by both humans and bacteria, the immune system define may not be able to differentiate between those from the body and those from invading pathogens, leading it to launch an attack on its own proteins.

"When this happens, white blood cells can build up in the tissues of the arteries, causing atherosclerosis," said Seymour.

"We found white blood cells called T cells in the lesions of arteries in patients affected by atherosclerosis. These T cells were able to bind to host heat shock proteins as well as those from bacteria that cause gum disease. This suggests that the similarity between the proteins could be the link between oral infection and atherosclerosis," he added.

Presenting their findings at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting at Trinity College, Dublin, Seymour and colleagues said they believe their breakthrough research could alter health policy, underlining the significance of oral hygiene to overall well being.

Tooth decay, also known as dental decay and dental caries, is one of the most common health complaints in the world. Particularly common in children and young adults, the condition results from a bacterial infection of human teeth. The problem occurs when our teeth are frequently exposed to foods containing carbohydrates such as starches and sugars like soda pop, candy, cake and even sticky fruits.

Tooth decay is one of the most widespread health problems in the UK, where more than 2.5 million people suffer from heart disease.

The best way to keep your teeth healthy is to ensure that you clean them regularly to get rid of any plaque build up. Most dentists recommend that you clean your teeth at least twice a day. Using a toothpaste containing fluoride is probably a good idea as this provides the teeth with added protection from the effects of acid.

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