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Health guide
Compiled by Shanika Sriyananda

Politicians much prone to throat problems :

Bellow and lose your voice

by Shanika Sriyananda

Only few weeks to go for the election. Politicians who support their nominated leaders, who run for the presidency, are very 'talkative' voicing their future pledges to the people to get more votes for their leaders. Switch on a TV or a radio or while travelling in a bus, you can hear them talking non-stop.

One of their leaders will definitely come to power while some supporting politicians might end up with voice problems, especially hoarseness due to 'endless aggressive talk' during the election period.

Once voice is definitely the most valuable asset that one has in his or her life. Apart from producing the voice, the throat is a very complex structure which is the passage for food to the stomach through the oesophagus and a passage for air into the lungs through the trachea.

The larynx, which is the voice producing part of the throat, contains vocal cords that move apart during inspiration. When vocal chords move together during expiration, sound is produced.

"Any disease involving the vocal chords can produce hoarseness of voice and most probably people get hoarse if they do not control their breath properly", Consultant, Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon Dr. (Mrs) Chandra Jayasuriya of the Colombo National Hospital says.

According to Dr. Jayasuriya, people who strain their voices such as politicians, teachers, lawyers, bus conductors and those who use their voices to earn a living can get hoarseness due to nodules or polyps in their vocal chords. "To have a good voice you need to have good functioning lungs, healthy vocal chords and a healthy nervous system. If you overuse your voice you will have problems", she says.

Healthy vocal chords will produce a better voice but when you are down with fever, cold or cough, you need to take extra care. When we talk the vocal chords become dry. "The best solution is to sip water while talking. A lecturer, a teacher or a person who uses his or her voice frequently should have a bottle of water by the side and from time to time should sip the water to ease dryness of the throat", Dr. Jayasuriya says and advices to take deep breaths to fill your lungs and slowly release the air through vocal chords to have an effective voice.

According to Dr. Jayasuriya, people who experience voice problems will have problems in their lungs, vocal chords or in the nervous system or could be due to problems in their minds. "There is a relation between the voice and mind, and, a sudden voice change may be due to emotional impact, especially the those who happen to lose their loved ones who may have a temporary loss of their voice.

When a person coughs but does not speak, then that person is having psychological problems", she adds.

Some people, according to her, get voice problems because they do not sit properly while talking. "When you are sitting on a chair with chest curled up, the lungs won't expand and we do take in proper air through vocal chords. So it is very important to put your chest forward and allow proper breathing while you talk. The other thing is speak less number of words and try not to complete one set of words in one breath", Dr. Jayasuriya cautions.

"When you have a cold or a cough you should not talk much because the chords are not healthy. Professional voice users should always rest when they are suffering from such aliment. If a lecturer addresses a gathering or a singer sings at a show with a voice problem, the tendency for permanent damage in the chords are inevitable", she says.

Polluted air in the environment according to latest findings is also a cause for vocal chord damage. A small cilium or hair inside the nostrils will strain all the pollutants that try to enter but when they are damaged due to smoking or due to pollution of toxic chemicals it can easily enter through the nostrils.

These pollutants which enter through the lungs will result in chronic changes in the vocal chords which is covered with a thin and very sensitive layer called epithelium.

There is a regeneration of epithelium, where the mature cells fall off. This natural phenomena produce fresh epithelium over vocal chords to have a better voice. "Among smokers there are changes in the epithelium and they have chronic laryngitis and frequent changes in their voices", says Dr. Jayasuriya.

Those who have voice problems should not clear the throat as the vocal chords flap together and sometimes, this may result in bleeding. If neglected those who shout, especially vendors, politicians, private bus conductors and those who are in the teaching profession will suffer bleeding in vocal chords.

Some people have been taught how to project their voices but those who are not should go for such training. We advise mainly the teachers with voice problems not to shout when there is a teacher in the next class but to take the students to a quiet place where she or he can teach them in harmony", she explains.

Dr. Jayasuriya says that it is always better teaching with diagrams which replaces thousands of words and which is easy to understand. "Especially dance teachers who sing 'vannam' will suffer voice problems because they sing continuously. They can use cassette players if they are going to repeat the same vannam every day. There are short cuts to minimise talking. They can use leaflets, photo copies or printed materials rather than talking", she adds.

To have a good voice and to protect the vocal chords the professional voice users as well as the ordinary people need to maintain vocal hygiene. Say 'no' to food that increase mucus production in the stomach while avoiding cool items like chilled beverages, milk and milk products. According to Dr. Jayasuriya when they have a cold they should strictly avoid food that is categorised by 'vedamahaththaya' (Ayurvedic practitioner) as 'cool' things.

Those who have catarrh, sinusitis must seek treatment early, otherwise clearing of throat due to post nasal drip may be harmful to the voices. People who have acid reflux will also have problems with vocal chord. "If you do not have meals on time there will be acid reflux and that will affect your vocal chords.

Food with yeast, which ferments in the stomach will make the acid reflux worst. They should also avoid food with lots of oil and flour, especially short eats", she says, adding they should eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

If one does not follow these instructions, the vocal chords due to friction could get nodules and one will end up with permanent hoarseness. They can not produce a normal voice and will need to undergo surgery. 'Sore throats which are caused by infections also give rise to hoarseness that settles spontaneously following voice rest.

If the voice is strained during a sore throat, it can cause changes in the vocal chords and chronic hoarseness. "While having a rest they can communicate with people by writing. They should also remember to avoid lengthy discussions or frequent calling by telephone during the rest", Dr. Jayasuriya adds saying that early cancers of vocal cords commonly appear with hoarseness and they can be cured easily by radiotherapy.

According to Dr. Jayasuriya, if hoarseness persists for more than two weeks the patient needs to be get an opinion from an ENT specialist.

Things that you can do to stay sharp

Why is it we can remember the words of our favourite teenage hits, but not where we kept the keys, the name of the person we met a couple of days ago or even our best friend's birthday?

Minor but very irritating memory lapses are a natural part of the ageing process and happens to everyone, according to Sandra File, Professor of psycho-pharmacology at King's College, London. The explanation, she says, is partly biological and partly that we don't use our memories enough.

By the time we reach middle age around 50 per cent of us have impaired memory say the experts. As we age our powers of recall certainly start to decline. 'This is not because brain cells die,' says Dr David Weeks, consultant clinical neuro-psychologist at The Royal Edinburgh Hospital. 'We do lose brain cells at a rate of up to 10,000 per day after about the age of 40, but the majority of memory problems associated with age are caused by poor concentration or motivation or by anxiety and stress.'

Dr. Weeks believes regular exercise is key to keeping your memory in good shape. Exercising for half an hour at least three times a week will help to keep you on the ball, according to research carried out at the Duke University Medical Centre in North Carolina.

Exercise gets the circulation going which also results in an improved blood flow to the brain. It is also thought that eating certain nutrients can significantly boost concentration, attention span and memory, and more recent research suggests supplementing your diet could also help boost memory skills.

Another new research shows that isoflavones, the natural plant oestrogens found in soya foods, might act on oestrogen receptors in the human brain, particularly those in the hippocampus, a crucial area for memory.

Foods rich in the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E are particularly good for brain health and memory. They help to mop up free radicals, rogue molecules which can cause extensive cell damage in the body, including the brain. Good sources include richly coloured vegetables such as bananas, red peppers, spinach and oranges.

The secret to good memory is activity and diversity, says Dr Weeks. The more active your brain is, the better your memory is likely to be, and the more different ways you use your mind, the easier you'll find remembering. It's all to do with being active rather than passive: whether you actively concentrate and focus on things or whether you just let them wash over you. Try the following exercises to sharpen up your mental faculties:

Do a mental exercise every day - crossword, word search or quiz. If you don't know an answer, look it up then try to remember it the next day.

When doing your finances, ditch the calculator - use your brain to work them out.

Take up new activities - gardening, knitting, anything active involving brain, eye and hand co-ordination.

Make shopping lists, then memorise them before going to the shops.

Engage in activities that stretch your brain such as chess, bridge or anything that pushes you mentally that little bit further.

Work for as long as you can, keep up with your friends and join local social groups.

Studies have shown that those who maintain social contact, especially at work, fare significantly better in memory and concentration tests.

Source :internet

'Sunshine vitamin' good for osteoporosis

Recent Scottish research found that up to 97 percent of patients with hip fracture had vitamin D deficiency. The vitamin is essential for healthy bones, but our sedentary indoor lifestyles mean that we're missing out on the so-called 'sunshine vitamin', while many women already being treated for osteoporosis, were deficient.

Karen Winterhalter, executive director of Women's Health Concern (WHC) said "Bone fractures take a terrible toll - especially after the menopause - and many could be prevented with lifestyle measures and proper treatment." Each year in the UK, over 180,000 women break a bone as a result of osteoporosis, and from the age of 50 onwards, half of all women, will suffer a broken bone.

"Most people already know that calcium is important to protect their bones but fewer are aware of vitamin D's contribution to bone health," says Winterhalter. "We want to make women aware of osteoporosis, let them know about the benefits of vitamin D and encourage them to make sure they are getting enough."

Vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium from the intestine, but unlike calcium, vitamin D is not readily available from diet. In fact, to get the required daily amount of vitamin D from diet alone, an adult would need to eat nine eggs or drink 30 litres of milk, so exposure to sunlight is the most important source, although as people grow older, the body's ability to convert sunlight to vitamin D decreases.

"Vitamin D inadequacy does appear to be a risk factor for bone fractures as people get older, and simple steps can be taken to correct this," said Dr Richard Keen, a senior lecturer in medicine and director of the Metabolic Unit at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, London.

"Even if post-menopausal women are already being treated for osteoporosis, vitamin D is often overlooked. Patients should ask their GP or the practice nurse about the importance of vitamin D to bone health."

He also advises all women to take general health measures that have a positive effect on their bones.

These include regular, weight bearing exercise, eating a healthy diet that is high in vitamin D and calcium, avoiding excess alcohol, and avoiding smoking.

Holistic Healing : Skin gives beauty and lustre

by Dr. Danister L. Perera

Ayurveda has also mentioned briefly about Twak (Skin) being an Upadhatu (Sub-tissue) of Rasa Dhatu and has been categorised to 7 layers taking into account the different types of skin diseases involved in different layers of the skin.

Twak is the end organ of the body; derives all the nutrients needed for a flawless skin from Rasa dhatu. All the 18 types of skin diseases described by Charka; involves the 3 dosha and 4 Dhatus; Vata, Pitta, Kapha along with Twak (Skin tissues), Rakta (Blood), Mamsa (Muscle) and Lasika (Lymphatic). The skin as we all know is the largest organ of our body.

The skin has functions in thermoregulation, protection, metabolic functions sensation, absorption and excretion. It is the only organ, which is directly exposed to all the elements of the outer environment. Our skin has an exceptional ability to protect and heal itself. It is not merely an outer cover, which gives the beauty and lustre to the body. It is very important is a vital function and a physical barrier to the outside environment full of pathogens.

Ayurveda has considered all skin diseases under "Kusta Roga". The literal meaning of Kusta in Sanskrit is "Sariram Kushnati Kuschitan Karoti" means the roga that causes discolouration, disfiguration, bringing discomfort to the bearer.

This simple definition of all Kusta roga emphasis is its social implication and how both the physician and the patient should put in utmost efforts to cure the diseases from its roots. Ayurvedic texts have described some skin diseases under the "Khsudra Roga" or minute ailments, where there is minimum involvement of dosha and dhatu resulting lesser symptoms and easy to treat.

The chronicity and difficulty in the treatment of skin diseases depends on the number of dosha and the Dhatu involved. It also emphasises skin is the reflection of the underlying metabolism of the body. The more the skin is disfigured in colour, texture, touch and radiance; the more we get the hint of a serious faulty metabolism going on, inside the body.

Food and digestion play an important role in skin health. Your food and food pattern will clearly indicate its good and bad impacts on the skin. According to the nutritional wisdom of Ayurveda "the science of life", even if you follow this recommended diet to the letter, you still might be eating the wrong foods.

Good dietetics will cause balanced liver function, pure blood cells and high quality nutrition for the skin temperature and glow digestive fibre moisture and suppleness of skin and less internal toxins (Amavisha) due to improper digestion (Ama) aggravating the skin functions.

The followers of this ancient tradition are sceptical about the healing power of many foods that today's scientists deem terrific.

According to ayurveda, perfect skin and healthy hair are the result of good digestion that leads to proper absorption of nutrients by the body and efficient elimination of wastes.

Both absorption of nutrients and elimination of toxins are equally important, and the skin needs lots of nourishment on an ongoing basis. Good digestion creates good rasa, the nutrient fluid that is the basis of healthy body tissue. Rasa is responsible for skin moisture level and plumpness. Good digestion also creates good rakta dhatu, pure blood. Rakta governs skin clarity, colour and glow.

So when the nutrients from the foods you eat are properly absorbed by the body, your skin shows the results in glowing healthy colour, vibrant good health and clear tone. When toxins build up in the body, your skin and hair look dull, lifeless and unhealthy. Skin eruptions and lack of clarity often stem from toxin build-up either inside the body or on the skin. Skin is a sensitive organ, which really reflects the signs of aging and allergic conditions.

By ayurvedic standards, the idea that everybody should eat the same diet for optimal health is nonsensical. You are an individual, and you have unique needs that must be satisfied in order that you to feel good. Most of us probably think about our uniqueness in terms of our personalities.

But ayurveda says that your body also has a personality, and therefore it requires a highly personalised diet.

According to the ayurvedic texts, fresh vegetables and fruits, grains, nuts, honey, milk, coconut milk and cream are excellent sources of nutrients for your skin and hair. Extracts, powders and pastes made from these natural materials, topically applied, deliver their healing benefits from the outside to all the layers of the skin.

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