Circumcision reduces HIV risk

In an "extraordinary development" in the fight against AIDS , a medical journal article published Friday says that conclusive data shows there is no question circumcision reduces men's chances of catching HIV by up to 60 percent.

In an extraordinary development in the fight against AIDS, a medical journal article published Friday says that conclusive data shows there is no question circumcision reduces men's chances of catching HIV by up to 60 percent.

Circumcision has long been suspected of reducing men's susceptibility to HIV infection because the cells in the foreskin of the penis are especially vulnerable to the virus.

The breakthrough's significance is on par with the identification of the virus and the use of lifesaving combination drug therapy.

In the Kenyan study, 1,391 circumcised men were compared to 1,393 who were not. And in Uganda, 2,474 circumcised men were compared to 2,522 men who were not. The men were tracked for two years and found that those who were circumcised were 51-60 percent less likely to contract HIV.

The question now is how to put that fact to work to combat AIDS across Africa.

Benefits of eating vegetarian food

The word “vegetarian” was not derived from vegetable as popularly believed but from Latin word “vegetari” which means enliven. It is a complete myth that people who are devoid of animal foods would have nutritional deficiency. People on vegetarian diets have no danger of health problems or nutritional deficiencies.

Benefits of vegetarianism:

1. Low caloric content that maintains ideal weight.
   
2. Lower intake of fats - vegetarian diets are generally low in fats if dairy products, nuts and seeds are taken sparingly. Due to this vegetarians have lower serum cholesterol levels which reduces their risk of getting heart diseases, breast and colon cancer.
3. High Fiber content. High fiber consumption leads to decreased risks of diseases of colon, appendicitis, cancer of colon and rectum, hiatus hernia, varicose veins and piles.
4. Vegetarians have higher endurance.

Facts :
Protein: 22 amino acids are essential components of proteins required by body for its normal functioning. Out of these 13 is synthesized by the body and the remaining 9 need be supplied by diet. Body can use 100% of these proteins if all the essential amino acids are in ideal proportions. If any of these are in less then their ideal amount, the value of entire protein is reduced same proportion.

Quality rating scale for proteins in between 1-100:
> Egg: 95
> Milk: 82
> Poultry: 67
> Fish: 80
> Grains: 50 - 70
> Legumes, nuts and seeds: 40-60

Television poses risk to childrens' health

Watching television can harm children much more than previously thought as it raises the risk of bad eyesight, obesity, premature puberty and autism.

Watching television inhibits the production of the hormone melatonin, which affects the immune system, sleep cycle and the onset of puberty. Melatonin is a hormone that is normally produced only at night.

Lower melatonin levels may be one reason that girls are reaching puberty much earlier than in the 1950s. It is also because the average weight levels of girls has increased. Lower levels of melatonin may also make it more likely that cell DNA will produce cancer-causing mutations.

Key notes regarding television viewing risks :

-- may trigger for autism, cause of permanent eyesight damage;

-- big factor in causing obesity than diet or exercise.

-- the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease increases with each extra daily
hour of television viewing among people aged 20 to 60.

-- TV watching is associated with irregular sleeping patterns among infants.

-- and it significantly increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.


Need of the hour : Restricting childrens watching TV .

Your Odds of Dying (Pic)

Your odds of dying by a stroke is 1 in 24. Your odds of dying by fireworks discharge are 340,733. So whatever you do, don't eat fried chicken during the 4th of July. If you're not American, you'll probably never die.

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