Veggie
eaters more optimistic!
Thanks
to higher levels of plant compounds called carotenoids in their blood, people
who prefer to eat fruit and vegetables are likely to be more optimistic, says a
new research. Previous studies have shown that high blood levels of
antioxidants, of which carotenoids are one form, may be a marker of good
health.
A
commonly-known carotenoid is beta-carotene, found in high levels in orange
fruit and green, leafy vegetables. Antioxidants help keep other molecules in
the body from producing free radicals, which can damage cells and contribute to
disease.
‘Individuals
with greater optimism tended to have greater levels of carotenoids such as
beta-carotene,’ said Julia Boehm, of the Harvard School of Public Health, who
led the study, the journal Psychosomatic Medicine reports. ‘This is the first
study of its kind to report a relationship between optimism and healthier
levels of carotenoid concentrations,’ she added.
One
theory is that antioxidants might have a de-stressing effect, according to the
Daily Mail. The current study evaluated blood concentrations of nine different
antioxidants, including carotenoids such as beta-carotene and vitamin E in
nearly 1,000 American men and women aged between 25 to 74 and 74 years.
Participants filled out a questionnaire about their life attitudes and provided
blood samples to the researchers. People who ate two or fewer servings of
fruits and vegetables a day were significantly less optimistic than people who
ate three or more servings a day. They also measured the degree of optimism in
the same group. Researchers found that people who were more optimistic had up
to a 13 percent increase in carotenoid concentrations in their blood compared
with people who were less optimistic.
The
researchers believe that higher levels of fruit and vegetable consumption among
more optimistic people may at least partially explain the results.
19.01.2013
India,
Britain to sign health agreement
India
and Britain will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the health
sector for greater cooperation between the two countries, said a senior
official. Speaking to reporters here Friday Keshav Desiraju, additional
secretary for health, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said: ‘The MoU will
cover areas of common interest like the primary health-care, strengthening of
non-communicable disease prevention, health research and the need for exchange
of professionals – doctors.’ He said there should be two way exchanges of
doctors between India and Britain. Queried about government’s plans to provide
incentives to doctors to serve in rural areas, Desiraju referring to the
Britain’s National Health System (NHS) said a regulatory mechanism is present
for doctors to serve in areas where there is an acute need.
‘In
India, health is a state subject. We have to persuade the state to look at the
ways to reach doctors and others to rural areas,’ Desiraju said. Queried about
NHS and her government’s plans to have private partnership Minister of Health,
Britain, Anna Soubry said: ‘Medicines and equipment are bought from the private
sector.’ She said under NHS, the health-care is provided free to the people and
the funds are met out of taxes. Stating that the previous government had
brought private sector into the NHS fold, Soubry said the present government is
taking action so that a balance is maintained between public and private
sectors.
Earlier
inaugurating the two day Indo-UK Diabetes Summit Soubry said the NHS had faced
several challenges. She said India is a generation ahead in terms of medical
technology. According to her, diabetes is six times more common in South Asian
ethnic groups in Britain.
19.01.2013
The road to success and the road to failure are almost
exactly the same
Colin R. Davis
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