old age

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150622/jsp/knowhow/story_26985.jspOld and wise

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Your Health - Dr. Gita Mathai

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Life expectancy in India has now reached 66 years. This is around 10 years less than in China and the US. If you are educated, financially stable, do not have a life threatening infection (septicaemia, brain fever) or a chronic lifestyle illness, are not exposed to physical violence, unregulated traffic and war, you can probably — irrespective of your nationality — expect to live to 85. Living beyond that involves a combination of genetics and lifestyle factors.

Our national policy of retiring at 60 is counterproductive. It hastens aging, illness and death. Retirement should be the start of a second life on your own terms, without the constraints of finances and family responsibilities. Those who live to be a hundred are alike in many respects, even when their race or sex differs.

They do nothing to excess: they may have the occasional drink or cigar, but these habits that have taken over their lives. They avoid “killers” like chewing tobacco, snuff, gutka or betel leaves. They eat well, but only till they are three-fourths full. They have 8-10 helpings of fruit and vegetables a day. Their carbohydrates tend to be fibre filled. They stick to water and fresh juice and avoid carbonated beverages. They eat fish and chicken, but their consumption of dairy foods and red meat is comparatively less.

Teeth should be brushed twice a day and flossing should be done regularly too. The mouth should be thoroughly rinsed after eating.

Longevity requires a positive attitude to life. Companionship extends the life span. It can be found with a spouse, friends or family. Having a social life is important. Religion and meditation provide comfort, hope and mental recuperation.

Centenarians remain intellectually active, keeping abreast with the times. Solving puzzles, doing Sudoku, crosswords or scrabble has benefits. Just solving one puzzle a week is enough to keep the brain stimulated and active.

Health requires both mental and physical activity. This does not necessarily mean going to the gym or running a marathon. It can be 15-minute bursts of activity interspersed throughout the day, or standing and walking instead of sitting.

Brain cells recuperate during sleep. This should be natural and stress-free. This means no sleeping pills and waking up without alarms.

Pollution destroys brain cells. People who live in the countryside have longer and healthier lives. Pollution can be transported to the place of residence though, (even in the countryside) particularly if you or people around you smoke, use wood fires, agarbattis or vapourising mosquito repellents. It can be reduced by having indoor plants even in cities.

Remember you have only one life. Do the work you like, if necessary switch jobs (or wait till retirement) to find the work you love. That way, you will be happier, more efficient and successful and it will contribute to a long, full and contented life.

Dr Gita Mathai is a paediatrician with a family practice at Vellore. 
Questions on health issues may be emailed to her at yourhealthgm@yahoo.co.in

toxic food

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150615/jsp/knowhow/story_25776.jsp

The food we eat

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Your Health - Dr. Gita Mathai

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A particular brand of instant noodles was recently banned for containing higher than permissible levels of lead and MSG (monosodium glutamate). But why are higher levels of lead and ajinomoto or MSG bad for health?

Lead is a non biodegradable heavy metal, naturally present in the soil, which the human body cannot eliminate efficiently. Adverse health effects are seen when the blood levels are as little as 10 µg/dL in children and 40 µg/dL in adults. Lead interferes with the oxygen carrying capacity of blood by causing anaemia. If there is a coexisting deficiency of iron, zinc or calcium, the absorption and ill effects of lead increase.

In children, the IQ reduces, the attention span is short and hearing may be affected. Fatigue may set in. Physical growth is stunted. Later in life kidney damage and hypertension may occur.

Until recently, our petrol was not "unleaded." This meant that we breathed in lead contaminated fumes every day. Much of the paint used commercially and domestically is still lead based. The idols sold during festivals are often painted with lead based paints, as are inexpensive toys. Electronic waste and batteries are indiscriminately dumped. Small-scale industries and soldering units use lead.

The dumping of lead-based products into the environment lets lead seep into the soil. It then contaminates the ground water (which we all drink) leading to a slow build up of this poison in our body.

MSG, or its more primitive form glutamic acid, has been around for centuries as a taste enhancer. It is naturally present in foods such as tomatoes and mushrooms. No definite link has been established between this compound and cancer. It can cause allergies though. Some reactions may be mild, such as flushing and a headache. Others like palpitations, increased heart rate, chest pain and wheezing can be severe and require hospitalisation.

The food we eat every day is laden with toxins. Cooked dishes may have artificial colours like tartarazine, allura red or food yellow added to enhance their appearance. Small quantities of these can cause food intolerance and allergies. Children who consume large quantities of these colours in beverages, sauces, jams, pastries and biscuits can become hyperactive.

Fruits and vegetables are shipped out from farms before they ripen because of logistics (ripe fruits are fragile and have a short shelf-life). Farmers tend to use high doses of pesticide during transportation to protect the crop. These pesticides affect the brain, breathing and can cause cancer. After the fruits reach the market, a chemicals such as calcium carbide, ethephon and oxytocin are used to hasten the ripening process. Calcium carbide is contaminated with carcinogenic chemicals like arsenic and phosphorus hydride. Ethephon gas is safer but as it is expensive farmers tend to dip fruits into impure and dangerous solutions of the product instead of using the gas. Oxytocin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter that can affect the brain.

Dr Gita Mathai is a paediatrician with a family practice at Vellore. Questions on health issues may be emailed to her at yourhealthgm@yahoo.co.in

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Set a reminder

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150601/jsp/knowhow/story_23145.jsp

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Your Health - Dr. Gita Mathai

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I receive many letters from patients distressed over infections of chickenpox, typhoid or jaundice. All these infections are preventable with timely immunisation. If only parents did not forget!

For the first two years of a child's life, forgetting the infants or their needs is difficult. Even their immunisations are a priority both in families and by the government and given automatically on time.

The BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) is used for the prevention of tuberculosis. It does protect against severe and lethal forms of tuberculosis like meningitis. It has a protective effect against leprosy. Hepatitis B vaccine prevents liver infection, which can be life-threatening. The vaccine is free. One dose is given at birth along with BCG. Repeat injections are given a month and then 4-6 months later. The vaccine prevents infection and the development of chronic liver disease like cirrhosis and cancer. This vaccine can be combined from the second dose onwards with HiB - the vaccine against the bacteria H. Infuenzae (this is not the flu vaccine). This protects the child from meningitis, throat and lung infections. Also combined with HiB is "triple" antigen (DPT). This protects against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus.

Polio has been eradicated from our country (as per government statistics and WHO certification) since May 2014. This has been achieved through an aggressive free immunisation campaign with OPV (Oral Polio Vaccine) or IPV (Injectable Polio Vaccine). IPV is considered superior, but unlike OPV but is not yet free. Even if the doses are given on schedule, all children under the age of five years should attend mass immunisation campaigns.

Influenza (flu) vaccine has to be taken every year in October after the age of six months. Measles vaccine (also free) is given between the ages of 9-12 months.

At this point, immunisation schedules may start to fall by the wayside. The immunisations are no longer every month so parents do forget. Rotavirus causes severe diarrhoea. Breast-fed babies have some degree of immunity. The vaccine is given by mouth in three doses at two, four and six months of age. Varicella vaccine is given soon after the first birthday with a booster at the age of 10. MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) has to be given at 15 months of age with a booster at 4-5 years.

Typhoid is endemic in India. The vaccine is inexpensive and efficient. It is given after the age of two years with a booster every three years. Now even 97 per cent of cervical cancers can be prevented if HPV (Human Papillomavirus) injections are given between the ages of 9-11.

Dr Gita Mathai is a paediatrician with a family practice at Vellore. Questions on health issues may be emailed to her at yourhealthgm@yahoo.co.in