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| Sunday, 14 July 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Forgetting to remember ... by Dr. R. A. R. Perera ,Consultant Psychologist dementia or forgetting is becoming more common as our population becomes older. Dementia causes clinical problems that interfere with work, social activities and relationships. The main feature is a memory loss which impairs judgement, thinking and personality change.
Main task of a psychologist is to differentiate dementia from depression and a confuse state due to other reasons specially medications. Some of the medications used for other illnesses can cause a confused state, which will show as a dementia. A person with dementia can have both depression and a confuse state due to other medications or due to illness. Main causes of dementia are Alzheimer's disease and due to vascular problems like high blood pressure. If the dementia is progressing and causes problems to the family members and others, a psychological intervention like behavioral therapy is a useful non-pharmacological treatment. But sometimes medication is necessary despite their considerable risks in older people. Alzheimer's disease is a condition of brain degeneration leading to irreversible decline of cognitive functions and personality changes. Some drugs (used in arthritis, cholesterol reducing drugs, vitamin E and estrogens used in hormone replacement therapy) can cause delay in development of dementia. prevention In the area of prevention, the reduction of vascular risk factors such as highblood pressure, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol states, and smoking, reduce strokes and heart diseases but also contribute to a lessening risk in developing dementia. As patients age and some start to lose their mental faculties, legal issues arise concerning their decision-making capacity, especially regarding to decide and consent about a particular medical procedure. In Sri Lanka the consent for medical treatment is usually obtained from the patient's relatives. If the patient has appointed a surrogate decision-maker before the patient became incompetent, that person may consent or refuse medical procedure. If no one has been appointed by the state or by the patient - the most common case - a relative or carer has the legal authority to consent. Decision makers for the patient must act in the patient's best interest
and if there is a doubt about this, their decisions can be reviewed and
overturned by the state. Benefits of eating rice by Dr. D. P. Atukorale Rice can be broadly divided into two types (a) long grain and (b) short grain. You should choose the long grain when you want the grains to stay separate during cooking and short grain if you want a stickier more viscous appearance.
To produce white rice further processing is necessary. Polishing machines which do this strip each grain of rice of its protective transparent outer covering producing the so-called refined polished white rice. These machine strip each grain of rice of its intermediate and inner shells as well, all of which contained precious minerals and nutrients. This processing of our perfect natural food has been extended further through packaging until little is left but the perishable hydrate of carbon core-stripped of its preservative hulls - which cannot be stored without the use of the chemical additives. It should never be forgotten that the large and continued consumption of white polished commercial rice is likely to be injurious to health. There are several types of rice in the main rice - producing countries Some of these are. Brown rice ("Rathu Kekulu Haal"): is the most commonly consumed rice in Sri Lanka and is very popular among the rural folk. It has a neutral flavour and good cooking qualities. This is the most nutritious variety of rice available in Sri Lanka. Parboiled rice : is similar to brown rice commonly consumed by people in up-country and some parts of Southern province. From nutritional point of view this is supposed to be as nutritious as brown rice. Polished rice: white rice which has been still processed to remove any trace of flour still sticking to the grain. Polished rice is popular among people in urban areas of Sri Lanka especially among the children and teenagers. It is not so wholesome as brown rice and lacks most of the minerals, vitamins and other nutrients you get in brown rice and continued use of this polished rice can be injurious to the health of Sri Lankans. Basmati rice: Long grain "Indian" rice with a highly individual aroma and taste, a good choice for all types of cooking. Rice Bran: The discarded and nutritionally most valuable portion of brown rice after it is turned into white rice. This is used as animal food. Rice bran has the ability to lower blood cholesterol. Puffed rice: This is used in the manufacture of breakfast cereals and rice cakes. Pleasant tasting with a reasonable nutritional value and low in calories. Rice flour: is an excellent substitute for those who are allergic to gluten. Organic Rice: Any kind of rice can be grown organically. Wild rice: Wild rice is extremely high in protein. Nutritional value of rice One cup of brown rice cooked (195g) has 216.4 calories 1.76g of fat, 0.64g of monosaturated fat, 0.63g of polyunsaturated fat, 0.35g of saturated fat, 44.8g of carbohydrate, 5.03g of protein, 0.66g of fibre, 0.19mg of thiamine (B1), 0.05mg of riboflavin, 2.98mg of nicotinic acid, 0.28mg of pantothenic acid, 0.28mg of vit B 6, 7.80mg of folic acid, 19.50mg of calcium 0.83mg of iron, and 1.23mg of zinc. Brown unpolished rice is a healthy food because it provides us with rice bran which contains b-sitosterol, a naturally occurring substance which lowers blood cholesterol. It can reduce the risk of bowel cancer and it diminishes the frequency of kidney and bladder stone formation in people who are prone to kidney and bladder stones. Brown rice can help insulin dependant diabetes patients to normalize
the blood sugar levels. It can stimulate the production of mucus which has
been shown to fight diarrhoeal infections. Therefore rice should be a
staple food for all of us. Colonoscope at Ceylinco Cancer Detection Centre The Ceylinco Cancer Detection Centre (CDC) has acquired a sophisticated flexible colonoscope used in screening for colorectal cancer, one of the most common cancers in Sri Lanka. The new facility, uses an illuminated fiber optic scope that allows a surgeon to examine the inner lining of the large intestine in a minimally invasive procedure. The colonoscope transmits a picture to a colour monitor that enables the surgeon to produce sharp images of the inside of the colon, Dr. Shyama Fernando, The Senior Medical Officer, Ceylinco Cancer Detection Centre explained. The scope may also be used for minor procedures like biopsy and removal of small growths like polyps. "The screening procedure is performed with mild sedation of the subject, and takes just 30 minutes," "Colonoscopy is one of the most important tests in screening for colorectal cancer and the colonoscope is an important addition to the facilities available at the Centre. "Dr. Sureshini de Fonseka, Medical Officer, Ceylinco Cancer Detection Centre said. Colorectal cancer results from out-of-control growth of cells in the colon or rectum and could be caused by a combination of lifestyle, personal traits or hereditary conditions. Early detection is particularly important because the chances of successful treatment are high when colorectal cancer is detected at an early stage. Established in collaboration with the Washington Cancer Institute, the
Ceylinco Cancer Detection Centre has the latest available medical
facilities for comprehensive screening for several types of Cancer. The
centre is equipped for Oral, Breast, Colorectal, Stomach, Oesophageal and
Cervical cancer screening and provides tests such as mammography,
endoscopy, laryngoscopy, ultrasound scanning, x-ray and pap smear testing. Cancer link in Potato chips/French fries Basic foods eaten by millions of people round the world such as bread, biscuits, potato chips and French fries contain alarmingly high quantities of acrylamide, a substance believed to cause cancer according to Swedish scientists. It has been shown that an ordinary bag of potato chips contain up to
500 times more of this substance than top level allowed in drinking water
by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Gamblers sought for new psychology study Problem gamblers who have sought help for their addiction are needed for a new University of Adelaide study. The study is being conducted by Department of Psychology Masters student Ms Lyn Evans, who says it aims to examine why problem gamblers seek help, with a view to possibly decreasing the large percentage of problem gamblers who do not request assistance. "Problem gamblers only usually seek help at the time of a crisis, like a family or relationship breakdown, financial ruin, and health problems including contemplating suicide," Ms Evans said. "With this study, I'm hoping to talk to as many problem gamblers as I can who have sought help, and with the findings, possibly make it easier for others to seek help before they reach the crisis stage. "I am interested in finding out what motivated people to overcome their gambling problems. What made it hard for them to seek help? Were they able to deal with the problem without formal counselling and treatment? "Recent studies have shown that compared to the general population, problem gamblers are in significantly poorer physical and mental health, have higher rates of smoking and alcohol use, a higher incidence of psychological distress and were more than three times as likely to have contemplated suicide. "Quite clearly it would be of enormous benefit to not only the people involved, but also society in general if we were able to decrease the number of problem gamblers because it was easier for them to seek help". Courtesy: Adelaidean From our readers ..... We are grateful to the Sunday Observer for enriching the readers on health education and specially regarding cardio vascular diseases. The facts and hints given by the eminent cardiologist Dr. D. P. Atukorale, from time to time, is also extremely useful to the laymen. However, there are some problems faced by Sri Lankans, regarding these diseases. Therefore, it will be beneficial, if some reliable authority can furnish some solutions, to the following problems: (1) Some Sri Lankans, who are pure vegetarians also develop hypertension and high cholesterol levels, although they do not consume saturated (bad) fats. (2) There does not seem to be a consensus of opinion about coconut and avocado although doctors quote facts and figures from various sources, they are not according to a real scientific analysis. Therefore I appeal to the research institutions, like MRI, CRI (Coconut Research Institute) CISIR and the research sections of our universities, to do a real chemical analysis of the coconut kernel and the avocado flesh, and publish the factors. (3) There are various types of cholesterol like HDL, LDL, VRDL etc. Can you give us the properties of them separately and their limits in blood. As it is now, the ordinary person is unable to draw a conclusion, as the views of doctors differ. S. Jayakody (Retd Asst. Director of Education),Kiriwattuduwa We invite more readers to send in their views - Editor |
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| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
Psychologists diagnose memory loss by a test called Mini Mental State
Examination. This assess orientation for time and place, short term
memory, language and attention span.
All varieties of rice even the brown rice is processed to some extent
because the tough outer husk which protects the rice while it is growing,
is inedible. Rice thus threshed is termed paddy rice and this after
cleaning becomes brown rice.
