Tuesday, September 29, 2015

WORLD HEART DAY

10 secrets to great heart health

- Eat a variety of food items, but not in excess: Different coloured vegetables and fruits, pulses and legumes, low fat dairy products are some of the ways to prevent your food from becoming boring.
- Check your weight: Overweight can be the reason behind high blood pressure or disease like diabetes. To avoid such problems, it is best to keep a check on your weight. Eat slowly and take smaller portion, opt for low calories, but rich in nutrients food.
- Keep away from food rich in fat: Use skimmed or low fat milk and milk products. Bake, roast or boil rather than frying.
- Eat food with adequate fiber: Fruits and vegetables like carrot, cucumber and apple have skin. They should be consumed along with it.
- Avoid sugar in excess: White sugar, soft drinks, candies, chocolates, cakes and cookies should be avoided. Don’t eat sweets between meals.
- Sodium should be taken in less quantity: Use small amount of salt to prepare dish, try more natural ways to add flavour to food items. Go with spices, lemon juice, tomatoes and curds, don’t munch chips and fried foods constantly.
- Don’t encourage exercises such as push-ups and sit-ups. Such exercises involve straining muscles against other muscles or an immovable object.
- Don’t exercise outdoors when the temperature becomes extreme. High humidity may cause you to tire more quickly; extreme temperatures can make breathing difficult, and cause chest pain. Indoor activities such as mall walking are better.
- Exercise in hilly areas is a big no. If you are located in such places then slow down when climbing up the hill. 
 - If your exercise programme has been interrupted for a few days due to illness, vacation, or any other reason, start with a reduced level of activity.

This symptom of high cholesterol will shock you!


This is a fat deposit on your eyelids and is usually not painful and doesn’t have any ill effects. They can be removed by a trained physician. But it is important to pay attention to this symptom as it is a very good indicator of excessive fat or cholesterol in your blood stream 




List of Proposed Sustainable Development Goals to be attained by 2030

 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2. End hunger, achieve food security and adequate nutrition for all, and
promote sustainable agriculture

3. Attain healthy life for all at all ages

4. Provide equitable and inclusive quality education and life-long learning
opportunities for all

5. Attain gender equality, empower women and girls everywhere 

6. Secure water and sanitation for all for a sustainable world

7. Ensure access to affordable, sustainable, and reliable modern energy
services for all

8. Promote strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and decent
work for all

9. Promote sustainable industrialization

10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

11. Build inclusive, safe and sustainable cities and human settlements

12. Promote sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Promote actions at all levels to address climate change

14. Attain conservation and sustainable use of marine resources, oceans
and seas

15. Protect and restore terrestrial ecosystems and halt all biodiversity loss 

16. Achieve peaceful and inclusive societies, rule of law, effective and
capable institutions


17. Strengthen and enhance the means of implementation and global
partnership for sustainable development
 

Delayed Cord clamping also helps premees.





Please refer to my post on 1st June 2015 Why not to ask for a delay to your baby's cord being clamped? All LABOUR ROOM  should display the poster.
Delayed cord clamping leaves the cord alone after birth and avoids disrupting the normal birth process. While the cord is pulsating, placental transfusion is supplying the baby with oxygen, nutrients and an increased blood volume to support the transition to life outside the womb.
Delayed cord clamping confers many benefits to the newborn baby including higher number of red blood cells, stem cells and immune cells at birth. In premature or compromised babies, delayed cord clamping may provide essential life support, restore blood volume and protect against organ damage, brain injury and death. Now evidence has been documented in a study published 0n Sept. 24, 2015
" Delayed clamping of the umbilical cord benefits extremely premature newborns" 
In most cases, clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord occurs within 10 seconds of birth. But waiting longer to clamp offers a number of advantages to these smallest infants, according to Nationwide Children's Hospital researchers.
"Infants born prior to 28 weeks' gestation represent a high-risk subgroup, so efforts to improve outcomes remain critically important," study author Dr. Carl Backes, a cardiologist and neonatologist at the Columbus, Ohio-based hospital, said in a Nationwide Children's news release. "There is increasing evidence that delayed cord clamping may give infants in many categories a better chance."
The investigators looked at 40 infants who were born between 22 and 27 weeks of pregnancy, and had an average birth weight of about 1.4 pounds.
Compared to those whose umbilical cords were immediately clamped, those whose cords were clamped 30 to 45 seconds after birth had higher blood pressure readings in the first 24 hours of life and required fewer red blood cell transfusions in the first 28 days of life, the findings showed.
Delayed clamping had no effect on the safety of an infant immediately after delivery, according to the study published online Sept. 24 in the Journal of Perinatology.
"Further research is needed in both of these infant populations to see whether the short-term benefits translate to reductions in long-term" health problems, Backes said. "The early results are promising, though."
SOURCE: Nationwide Children's Hospital, news release, Sept. 24, 2015

From MDG to SDG: health is global child health? The health gap: SDG 2030

   
      September 8 marked 15 years to the day since the United Nations adopted the millennium development goals (MDGs). Soon the world will adopt a new regime in global milestones, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that extend for the next 15 years, from 2015 to 2030. Given the way the MDGs captured the imagination of the developing world, it is perhaps safe to say that the SDGs will be a similar rallying point on a series of development issues.
       Of the eight MDGs, three relate directly to health. The first goal was to reduce mortality among children under the age of five; this is only moderately on-track. The second goal was to reduce maternal mortality. On this India is off-track. India is on-track for the third goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, and only moderately on-track on the fourth goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of malaria and other major diseases. In short, we have achieved only one out of four targets. Globally, this is a worry, because if India does not achieve the MDGs, given its size, neither will the world.
        Are the SDGs any different from the MDGs? For one thing, only one SDG addresses health, as compared to three MDGs. On maternal and child health, the SDGs extend the MDGs, since they have largely not been met in many developing countries. Non-communicable diseases have been included, reflecting concern for the growing incidence of non-communicable disease even among the poor. Alcohol abuse and tobacco have also been targeted.
       Interestingly, the targets that have a specific timeline mentioned are those for which cost-effective interventions have been identified — for example, institutional delivery to reduce maternal mortality. It raises the question: Are we adopting goals that have the “right” cost-effective interventions, rather than discovering cost-effective interventions for the right goals? For instance, mental illness is one of the most prevalent morbidities in India, and suicide is the leading cause of death among people between 15 and 29. There is only a passing mention of this in the SDGs. Perhaps because there is no cost-effective intervention against mental illness and suicide?
         If the SDGs are seeking to complete and extend the task of the MDGs, they should learn from the experience of the last 15 years. The failure of the MDGs has been blamed on a lack of adequate financing and governance failure. This seems to be a simplistic answer. The critique should look also at the way the MDGs were structured. First, the goals and targets were interpreted too literally, without reference to the starting point from which different countries began the journey. Second, the cost-effectiveness analysis focused on addressing the biological causes of disease, with little recognition of the social determinants of health. It was this biological agent that was the target of the cost-effective intervention, maybe because biological causes are easier to tackle.
         Let us consider one of the key goals that India has failed to achieve — reduction in maternal mortality. Institutional delivery was the solution chosen to achieve this goal. Strengthening health infrastructure, training manpower and incentivising women who would otherwise have given birth at home to come to an institution for their delivery have been the goals of the health system since 2005. Yet we did not achieve the MDG for maternal mortality reduction. Why? The answer lies outside the health system: Poor women in rural areas face tremendous challenges in reaching an institution for delivery, despite government subsidies. There is evidence that skilled birth attendance inside the home can be just as safe. Many women find it more comfortable, less socially intimidating, and certainly less expensive. But it takes time and sustained effort to ensure the quality of care that will make it a credible choice.
          This should teach us that the goals we set should be informed by the realisation that health issues cannot be seen in isolation from the social context. Can we put in place strategies that may not bring quick wins, but over a period of time will ensure better health equity? Can we
liberate ourselves from time-bound targets? We need to recognise the flaws in the design of these targets and reflect on ways to address them if we are to fare any better in the next 15 years than we did the previous 15.
September 8 marked 15 years to the day since the United Nations adopted the millennium development goals (MDGs). Soon the world will adopt a new regime in global milestones, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that extend for the next 15 years, from 2015 to 2030. Given the way the MDGs captured the imagination of the developing world, it is perhaps safe to say that the SDGs will be a similar rallying point on a series of development issues.
Of the eight MDGs, three relate directly to health. The first goal was to reduce mortality among children under the age of five; this is only moderately on-track. The second goal was to reduce maternal mortality. On this India is off-track. India is on-track for the third goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, and only moderately on-track on the fourth goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of malaria and other major diseases. In short, we have achieved only one out of four targets. Globally, this is a worry, because if India does not achieve the MDGs, given its size, neither will the world.
Are the SDGs any different from the MDGs? For one thing, only one SDG addresses health, as compared to three MDGs. On maternal and child health, the SDGs extend the MDGs, since they have largely not been met in many developing countries. Non-communicable diseases have been included, reflecting concern for the growing incidence of non-communicable disease even among the poor. Alcohol abuse and tobacco have also been targeted.
Interestingly, the targets that have a specific timeline mentioned are those for which cost-effective interventions have been identified — for example, institutional delivery to reduce maternal mortality. It raises the question: Are we adopting goals that have the “right” cost-effective interventions, rather than discovering cost-effective interventions for the right goals? For instance, mental illness is one of the most prevalent morbidities in India, and suicide is the leading cause of death among people between 15 and 29. There is only a passing mention of this in the SDGs. Perhaps because there is no cost-effective intervention against mental illness and suicide?
If the SDGs are seeking to complete and extend the task of the MDGs, they should learn from the experience of the last 15 years. The failure of the MDGs has been blamed on a lack of adequate financing and governance failure. This seems to be a simplistic answer. The critique should look also at the way the MDGs were structured. First, the goals and targets were interpreted too literally, without reference to the starting point from which different countries began the journey. Second, the cost-effectiveness analysis focused on addressing the biological causes of disease, with little recognition of the social determinants of health. It was this biological agent that was the target of the cost-effective intervention, maybe because biological causes are easier to tackle.
Let us consider one of the key goals that India has failed to achieve — reduction in maternal mortality. Institutional delivery was the solution chosen to achieve this goal. Strengthening health infrastructure, training manpower and incentivising women who would otherwise have given birth at home to come to an institution for their delivery have been the goals of the health system since 2005. Yet we did not achieve the MDG for maternal mortality reduction. Why? The answer lies outside the health system: Poor women in rural areas face tremendous challenges in reaching an institution for delivery, despite government subsidies. There is evidence that skilled birth attendance inside the home can be just as safe. Many women find it more comfortable, less socially intimidating, and certainly less expensive. But it takes time and sustained effort to ensure the quality of care that will make it a credible choice.
This should teach us that the goals we set should be informed by the realisation that health issues cannot be seen in isolation from the social context. Can we put in place strategies that may not bring quick wins, but over a period of time will ensure better health equity? Can we
liberate ourselves from time-bound targets? We need to recognise the flaws in the design of these targets and reflect on ways to address them if we are to fare any better in the next 15 years than we did the previous 15.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/health-and-the-un/#sthash.kpfbsoQC.dpuf
September 8 marked 15 years to the day since the United Nations adopted the millennium development goals (MDGs). Soon the world will adopt a new regime in global milestones, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that extend for the next 15 years, from 2015 to 2030. Given the way the MDGs captured the imagination of the developing world, it is perhaps safe to say that the SDGs will be a similar rallying point on a series of development issues.
Of the eight MDGs, three relate directly to health. The first goal was to reduce mortality among children under the age of five; this is only moderately on-track. The second goal was to reduce maternal mortality. On this India is off-track. India is on-track for the third goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, and only moderately on-track on the fourth goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of malaria and other major diseases. In short, we have achieved only one out of four targets. Globally, this is a worry, because if India does not achieve the MDGs, given its size, neither will the world.
Are the SDGs any different from the MDGs? For one thing, only one SDG addresses health, as compared to three MDGs. On maternal and child health, the SDGs extend the MDGs, since they have largely not been met in many developing countries. Non-communicable diseases have been included, reflecting concern for the growing incidence of non-communicable disease even among the poor. Alcohol abuse and tobacco have also been targeted.
Interestingly, the targets that have a specific timeline mentioned are those for which cost-effective interventions have been identified — for example, institutional delivery to reduce maternal mortality. It raises the question: Are we adopting goals that have the “right” cost-effective interventions, rather than discovering cost-effective interventions for the right goals? For instance, mental illness is one of the most prevalent morbidities in India, and suicide is the leading cause of death among people between 15 and 29. There is only a passing mention of this in the SDGs. Perhaps because there is no cost-effective intervention against mental illness and suicide?
If the SDGs are seeking to complete and extend the task of the MDGs, they should learn from the experience of the last 15 years. The failure of the MDGs has been blamed on a lack of adequate financing and governance failure. This seems to be a simplistic answer. The critique should look also at the way the MDGs were structured. First, the goals and targets were interpreted too literally, without reference to the starting point from which different countries began the journey. Second, the cost-effectiveness analysis focused on addressing the biological causes of disease, with little recognition of the social determinants of health. It was this biological agent that was the target of the cost-effective intervention, maybe because biological causes are easier to tackle.
Let us consider one of the key goals that India has failed to achieve — reduction in maternal mortality. Institutional delivery was the solution chosen to achieve this goal. Strengthening health infrastructure, training manpower and incentivising women who would otherwise have given birth at home to come to an institution for their delivery have been the goals of the health system since 2005. Yet we did not achieve the MDG for maternal mortality reduction. Why? The answer lies outside the health system: Poor women in rural areas face tremendous challenges in reaching an institution for delivery, despite government subsidies. There is evidence that skilled birth attendance inside the home can be just as safe. Many women find it more comfortable, less socially intimidating, and certainly less expensive. But it takes time and sustained effort to ensure the quality of care that will make it a credible choice.
This should teach us that the goals we set should be informed by the realisation that health issues cannot be seen in isolation from the social context. Can we put in place strategies that may not bring quick wins, but over a period of time will ensure better health equity? Can we
liberate ourselves from time-bound targets? We need to recognise the flaws in the design of these targets and reflect on ways to address them if we are to fare any better in the next 15 years than we did the previous 15.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/health-and-the-un/#sthash.kpfbsoQC.dpuf
September 8 marked 15 years to the day since the United Nations adopted the millennium development goals (MDGs). Soon the world will adopt a new regime in global milestones, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that extend for the next 15 years, from 2015 to 2030. Given the way the MDGs captured the imagination of the developing world, it is perhaps safe to say that the SDGs will be a similar rallying point on a series of development issues.
Of the eight MDGs, three relate directly to health. The first goal was to reduce mortality among children under the age of five; this is only moderately on-track. The second goal was to reduce maternal mortality. On this India is off-track. India is on-track for the third goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, and only moderately on-track on the fourth goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of malaria and other major diseases. In short, we have achieved only one out of four targets. Globally, this is a worry, because if India does not achieve the MDGs, given its size, neither will the world.
Are the SDGs any different from the MDGs? For one thing, only one SDG addresses health, as compared to three MDGs. On maternal and child health, the SDGs extend the MDGs, since they have largely not been met in many developing countries. Non-communicable diseases have been included, reflecting concern for the growing incidence of non-communicable disease even among the poor. Alcohol abuse and tobacco have also been targeted.
Interestingly, the targets that have a specific timeline mentioned are those for which cost-effective interventions have been identified — for example, institutional delivery to reduce maternal mortality. It raises the question: Are we adopting goals that have the “right” cost-effective interventions, rather than discovering cost-effective interventions for the right goals? For instance, mental illness is one of the most prevalent morbidities in India, and suicide is the leading cause of death among people between 15 and 29. There is only a passing mention of this in the SDGs. Perhaps because there is no cost-effective intervention against mental illness and suicide?
If the SDGs are seeking to complete and extend the task of the MDGs, they should learn from the experience of the last 15 years. The failure of the MDGs has been blamed on a lack of adequate financing and governance failure. This seems to be a simplistic answer. The critique should look also at the way the MDGs were structured. First, the goals and targets were interpreted too literally, without reference to the starting point from which different countries began the journey. Second, the cost-effectiveness analysis focused on addressing the biological causes of disease, with little recognition of the social determinants of health. It was this biological agent that was the target of the cost-effective intervention, maybe because biological causes are easier to tackle.
Let us consider one of the key goals that India has failed to achieve — reduction in maternal mortality. Institutional delivery was the solution chosen to achieve this goal. Strengthening health infrastructure, training manpower and incentivising women who would otherwise have given birth at home to come to an institution for their delivery have been the goals of the health system since 2005. Yet we did not achieve the MDG for maternal mortality reduction. Why? The answer lies outside the health system: Poor women in rural areas face tremendous challenges in reaching an institution for delivery, despite government subsidies. There is evidence that skilled birth attendance inside the home can be just as safe. Many women find it more comfortable, less socially intimidating, and certainly less expensive. But it takes time and sustained effort to ensure the quality of care that will make it a credible choice.
This should teach us that the goals we set should be informed by the realisation that health issues cannot be seen in isolation from the social context. Can we put in place strategies that may not bring quick wins, but over a period of time will ensure better health equity? Can we
liberate ourselves from time-bound targets? We need to recognise the flaws in the design of these targets and reflect on ways to address them if we are to fare any better in the next 15 years than we did the previous 15.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/health-and-the-un/#sthash.kpfbsoQC.dpuf
September 8 marked 15 years to the day since the United Nations adopted the millennium development goals (MDGs). Soon the world will adopt a new regime in global milestones, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that extend for the next 15 years, from 2015 to 2030. Given the way the MDGs captured the imagination of the developing world, it is perhaps safe to say that the SDGs will be a similar rallying point on a series of development issues.
Of the eight MDGs, three relate directly to health. The first goal was to reduce mortality among children under the age of five; this is only moderately on-track. The second goal was to reduce maternal mortality. On this India is off-track. India is on-track for the third goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, and only moderately on-track on the fourth goal, which was to halt and reverse the spread of malaria and other major diseases. In short, we have achieved only one out of four targets. Globally, this is a worry, because if India does not achieve the MDGs, given its size, neither will the world.
Are the SDGs any different from the MDGs? For one thing, only one SDG addresses health, as compared to three MDGs. On maternal and child health, the SDGs extend the MDGs, since they have largely not been met in many developing countries. Non-communicable diseases have been included, reflecting concern for the growing incidence of non-communicable disease even among the poor. Alcohol abuse and tobacco have also been targeted.
Interestingly, the targets that have a specific timeline mentioned are those for which cost-effective interventions have been identified — for example, institutional delivery to reduce maternal mortality. It raises the question: Are we adopting goals that have the “right” cost-effective interventions, rather than discovering cost-effective interventions for the right goals? For instance, mental illness is one of the most prevalent morbidities in India, and suicide is the leading cause of death among people between 15 and 29. There is only a passing mention of this in the SDGs. Perhaps because there is no cost-effective intervention against mental illness and suicide?
If the SDGs are seeking to complete and extend the task of the MDGs, they should learn from the experience of the last 15 years. The failure of the MDGs has been blamed on a lack of adequate financing and governance failure. This seems to be a simplistic answer. The critique should look also at the way the MDGs were structured. First, the goals and targets were interpreted too literally, without reference to the starting point from which different countries began the journey. Second, the cost-effectiveness analysis focused on addressing the biological causes of disease, with little recognition of the social determinants of health. It was this biological agent that was the target of the cost-effective intervention, maybe because biological causes are easier to tackle.
Let us consider one of the key goals that India has failed to achieve — reduction in maternal mortality. Institutional delivery was the solution chosen to achieve this goal. Strengthening health infrastructure, training manpower and incentivising women who would otherwise have given birth at home to come to an institution for their delivery have been the goals of the health system since 2005. Yet we did not achieve the MDG for maternal mortality reduction. Why? The answer lies outside the health system: Poor women in rural areas face tremendous challenges in reaching an institution for delivery, despite government subsidies. There is evidence that skilled birth attendance inside the home can be just as safe. Many women find it more comfortable, less socially intimidating, and certainly less expensive. But it takes time and sustained effort to ensure the quality of care that will make it a credible choice.
This should teach us that the goals we set should be informed by the realisation that health issues cannot be seen in isolation from the social context. Can we put in place strategies that may not bring quick wins, but over a period of time will ensure better health equity? Can we
liberate ourselves from time-bound targets? We need to recognise the flaws in the design of these targets and reflect on ways to address them if we are to fare any better in the next 15 years than we did the previous 15.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/health-and-the-un/#sthash.kpfbsoQC.dpuf

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