Alcohol and longevity: Mystery Unravelled

Studies conducted on some animals have shown a positive correlation between increased longevity and moderate alcohol consumption. Former researches have also proved that both heavy drinkers and nondrinkers have higher risks of premature death than their counterparts who drink in temperance. Do you think ingesting a psychoactive toxin that can potentially flag severe health conditions like liver cirrhosis, dementia and cancer can really help you live longer? The answer maybe ‘Yesss’ !!!

Loss of life due to heavy drinking usually results from suicides, homicides, liver diseases and esophageal cancers—however—the cause of elevated death pattern among nondrinkers is not understood quite well.

 

According to an article published in Huffingtonpost.com, a recent study conducted by chemists at University of California, L.A ruled that small amount of alcohol increased longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans—a non-parasitic, transparent nematode that lives in temperate soil environments.   These worms, which normally live for 15 days, survived for about 20 to 40 more days when made to ingest very small amounts of ethanol – the alcohol found in your favorite wine, beer or whatever. While the researchers are not certain about the cause behind this, they found out that only a small amount of ethanol was required; exposing worms to an increased level of ethanol did not boost their lifespan.

 

Stress is the chief enemy of longevity. We’re exposed to a large number of stress causing agents in everyday life, and if these stressors are maintained, long-term physical and psychological effects show up. This in-turn affects our lifespan. A reason for why moderate alcohol consumption leads to increased longevity may be contributed to the fact that alcohol brings the level of stress down and facilitates the instant release of dopamine in brain—a neurotransmitter associated with stress reduction and arousal.

 

But drinking alcohol isn’t just about reducing stress. Apart from de-stressing, the customs surrounding alcohol provide yet another, and perhaps even more imperative function—socializing. Studies have shown that social interaction—along with physical exercise and nutrition—helps in expanding the lifespan of an individual.

 

I had mentioned in one of my blog posts that drinking beer in moderation is good for your health in general, and heart in particular. Nutrients such as folic acid, vitamins, iron and calcium present in beer exercises a 'protective' function over cardiovascular system. This may be another reason why alcohol leads to increased longevity.

 

Most people are afraid when it comes to consuming alcohol. They usually avoid liquor because they feel drinking can lead to health problems and chaos in family. As far as my views are concerned, well, excessive alcohol intake is not good for health. It can lead to esophageal cancer, liver cirrhosis and other fatal conditions: but again, if you don't drink at all, that's not good for you either.

 

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Can cosmetic surgery make you perfect?

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Plastic surgery is a medical field of expertise concerned with the "correction" or restoration of form and function—a surgery that involves doing everything feasible to make the subject feel good and self-assured. Often when you look in the mirror, you may spot a bodily attribute that displeases your eyes—in extreme cases, a disfiguration that lowers self-esteem to such an extent that you find yourself spiralling into depression. In such circumstances, cosmetic surgery can offer astounding possibilities to restore normal mental state and live a positive life thereafter.

But can cosmetic surgery really make a person look and feel perfect?

Cosmetic surgeries of face are basically carried out to improve someone's look or patch up facial blemishes to the point of perfection. Majority of the time the face improves, however, in rare cases it may also turn uglier, with a line of side-effects following. As far as perfection is concerned, cosmetic surgery can’t make you absolutely perfect. Since everyone's view of "perfect" is different, the results obtained through plastic surgery can make you look relatively faultless to yourself, but to others it may look freaky!

Struggling to mold oneself into social standards of perfectness is more of a fool's pursuit as these standards, being dynamic, changes with the shifting epoch. Chasing physical perfection is about as prolific as chasing a shadow, and even people who go about in pursuit of what they have theorized as perfection usually do not end up contented or feeling any closer to perfection.

I once interviewed a woman on social media who underwent a breast augmentation to restore the shape and volume of her breasts that had turned saggy after pregnancy. Augmentation usually involves implanting silicone gels into breasts thereby changing the cup size and breast shape to minimize the effects of pregnancy, nursing, physical deformity and aging. In case of my interviewee, surgery effectively refurbished the profile of her breasts, making it look even better. It boosted her self-esteem and improved her sex life a great deal. I asked her: Do you think you’ve now got the perfect breast a woman can have? She replied rather amusingly, “There is no such thing as "perfection" for me, it’s a subjective thing. The surgery has indeed made me feel better about myself, nevertheless, pleasing others means more to me than feeling perfect from within.” And that’s true of a majority of celebrities undergoing cosmetic surgery.

 

So here’s the bottom line: Cosmetic surgery can indeed fill you with self-esteem and confidence, but approaching the surgeon with right attitude and mind-set is crucial. While millions of people around the world benefit from cosmetic surgery every year, it is imperative to implement right decisions concerning the surgery and evaluate the risks implicated.

originally published in seshn.com

 

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What's your fetish?

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Want to know the secret of attracting someone and keeping their eyes fixated over only you? Cater to their most coveted turn-on—their fetishes.

A fetish is an unusual attraction towards something in particular, something that may not necessarily be a sexual preference in the mainstream society. The word is often used to mean any atypical sexual practice, sexual attraction to non-living and often non-sexual objects, body-partialism, or fixation that involves sexual identification or peculiar roles playing.

Having a fetish is normal, and everybody has some kind of or the other, though majority keeps it within their innermost self as a forbidden secret. While it’s true that every human has fetishes, the nature vary from common and acceptable to bizarre, weird or blatantly deranged.

Some fetishes have become quite acceptable in mainstream societies and are more likely to be shared readily; others are chained as prisoners behind the bars of subconscious, often repressed. The varieties of fetishes are vast and growing; while some are cool, others, quite disturbing. Some common fetishes include: BDSM, leather, schoolgirl, fishnets, cross dressing, spanking, feet/toes, panties (underwear), exhibitionism, voyeurism, biting, golden showers (piss-play)...And the list is endless.

While chatting (actually researching) with a girl on Internet, I was practically convinced that women are not purified of fetishes! Though their fetishes are few and common, they do give them huge turn-on, at least in their fantasies. After building a good rapport with my online subject, I asked her straightaway: What’s your fetish? She replied, “Oh lord I can’t...This is embarrassing…’ I pushed her further into revealing it. ‘WelI, I would like my boyfriend to rape me, not harshly, but somewhat in an abusive way. Just want to be little kinky…even though I’m against rape in real world”, she replied. She also mentioned about her girlfriend who had a fetish of playing a dominatrix while having sex.

It’s found out through studies that most woman fantasize about having sex in public places, being in pain, having hairs pulled, getting butts and thighs spanked, having ear-lobes sucked etc….

Psychologists have claimed that often fetishists are 'in love' with the fetish object (such as leather, underwear or whatever) instead of the person. However, fetishism is not considered a disorder unless and until it starts to interfere with the individual’s day-to-day life.

If the later happens, you might want to talk to a counselor. A normal mind should have the power to control the fetish, rather than the fetish controlling the mind. Often fetishistic practices are rendered forbidden on account of their ostensibly abnormal nature, however many culture promote some fetishes as a way to spice up sex life. It’s fair to keep in mind that fetishes are completely normal provided they don’t cause any physical or psychological harm to either oneself or to the others.

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The Charisma of Contact Lenses

You must have heard about miniature, lens-like object fixed over the cornea for improving vision. These are plastic-like curved lenses that are actually made up of fiberglass and are uses as a surrogate to spectacles. These are the contact lenses.

Let us thrash out some essentials of using contact lenses, as they are getting trendy among young generations these days.

If you peep into the well of history, you will find that the issues of contact lenses are at a depth of about hundred years down. It was Leonard who first envisaged about using contact lens in the nineteenth century, however, his aspiration became a veracity only recently with the tribute of accomplishment being given to Sir John F W Herschel who was first to recommend it. Today, contact lenses are not only used under medical conditions but also for the purpose of fashion.

 Among some of the common problems of the eye, Myopia stands out as the most common. In America, two out of ten people suffer from near sightedness. Also, it’s this very country where the use of contact lenses is most common. However, there are regions around the world where people avoid using contact lenses due to certain fabrications embedded into their mind. There are many people who have uncertainties regarding the use of contact lens and yet willing to welcome contact lenses into their fashion norms. Authentic information can help resolve the doubts regarding the use of this optical device.

Contact lenses are typically useful to myopic eye in the following three ways---

Firstly, since contact lenses come directly in contact with cornea, minimum stress is produced on the due to reduction of reflection.

Secondly, contact lenses are especially helpful to those with a greater degree of myopia because contrary to the thick glasses these lenses help eliminate effects like ‘prismatic effect’ and ‘oblique vision’.

Thirdly, when there is a great difference in the power of two eyes, the glass can cause irregularity in vision making the user uncomfortable. Contact lenses have proves to be a boon in such a situation.

Besides myopia, there are plethora of other eye disorders where contact lens can help: astigmatism, biopia,  hypermetrophia etc to name a few. A recent research has led to the development of  telescopic contact lenses that would prove very useful in dealing with problems like Macular degeneration.

The biggest advantage of using contact lens is that user doesn’t have to carry heavy spectacle on their noses. This has extended the realm of fashion for boys and girls who suffer from certain eye disorders. They can attend all sorts of parties and marriages without any hesitation. Most of the people wear contact lenses for appearing cool and sexy. Most of the television actors wear contact lenses to create special effects in a film. With colorful contact lenses, one can increase their attractiveness and appear more charismatic to the opposite sex!Hence, it can be said that contact lenses have come into the world as a boon for every people.

 One of the biggest advantages of using contact lens is that the user actually gets rid of their disorder due to continuous use. This cannot be guaranteed by thick glass spectacles. Over time, the use of glass can worsen the condition of eye making the user fully dependent on it. It can often lead to progression of disorders to a greater degree.

A contact lens once prescribed can be used for a sufficiently long period without having to change its power. It only needs to be taken care of responsibly. Now a days, different types of contact lenses have made their way into the optical stores; some of them are:

Daily disposable contact lens

Monthly disposable

Weekly disposable

Bi weekly disposable

Half-yearly disposable

Yearly disposable

And so on…

However, before getting a contact lens, it’s crucial to get your eyes tested by an optometrist. Even though you’re just using it as a style factor, a qualified optometrist will suggest the best lens for you and teach you how to fit it properly and take care of it so as to avoid damage to the lens and eye infections.

My personal experience says that contact lenses are better as compared to glasses, as it provides better field of vision and more crispiness in image. I’ve been using glasses for two years, but recently switched to contacts. It is cheaper and doesn’t make a hole in your pocket. There’s a myth in India regarding contact lenses that they are costly, but the truth is quite different. A monthly supply of ‘Baush and lomb’ contact lenses cost me around INR 350, not an extravagance for a college-going student like me. So if you’re still stuck in deciding whether to opt for glasses or contacts, I’d suggest the later. 

 

 

 

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Bulimia can be fatal, instant psychotherapeutic or pharmacological treatment recommended

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A 17 year old girl wrote about her condition seeking solution for Bulimia—an eating disorder characterized by consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time, followed by a shot to get rid of the consumed food, typically by vomiting, taking a medication and/or excessive exercise. She’d been suffering from the disorder for about 6 months as of then, and despite people kept on telling her how much weight she’d gained and that she looks good, she continued with her obsessive urge to consume more and more food. Bulimia was making her life miserable—but helplessly—she couldn’t do anything about it. Her relationship had already split up and parents were concerned about her snappiness. The girl knew she was suffering from an eating disorder, but since her parents didn’t had any clue about it, provision of psychological help seemed unfeasible. She didn’t really want to acknowledge people of her disorder of out fear of being embarrassed and scolded. She was gradually slipping into depression.

This is the story of one of the many victims who’re haunted by recurrent and frequent episodes of Bulimia. The fatalities of eating disorders are habitually overlooked. Deaths from Bulimia often get recorded as heart or kidney failure in certificates as a result of which obtaining statistical data becomes difficult.

Upon suspicion of such abnormality, instant visit to a treatment center is crucial. About 50 % of sufferers who avoid treatment ends up with depression, and a relatively larger percentage falls victim to plethora of physiological ailments including peptic ulcers, infertility, and electrolyte imbalance; the later can lead to cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, and even death.

Ease of availability of psychological aid has become call of the hour. We do need to establish mental therapeutic centers where sufferers can go on a daily basis, and have different types of affordable therapies to cure their condition and live a normal life.

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Yoga poses for a sexy, bubble butt !

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There're two approaches to getting a sexy, toned hips, one particular is to head for the gym and work your ass out, and the other is to indulge into yoga workout routines. If you’re a busy person and going to gym is not feasible, then in-house yoga exercises will certainly help you slender down your hips and thighs very efficiently.

There are many yoga poses that can give you a sexy, bubble butt, however you must select few poses and practice them regularly to see desirable effect. Here I’ve mentioned few poses that I usually recommend to people. You can click on the respective links to see a video demonstration.

 ‘Adho Mukha Svanasana’ or the Three legged dogpose

‘Utkatasana’or the chair pose

‘Trikonasana’or the Triangle pose

‘Alanasana’or the crescent-moon pose

‘Virabhadrasana’or the Warrior 3 pose

While much of the medical community view yoga as a way of improving mood and reducing anxiety, new researches have shown  that doing yoga regularly can provide impressive musculoskeletal advantage too. Combining the above yoga poses with other hip-oriented workout routines will help you achieve a great looking butt you’ll feel proud to move around with; a butt that will not only attract the attention of your significant other, but also fill you with  self confidence.

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Placebo—the Mental Medicine

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Placebo is a simulated treatment for an ailment or other medical problem that may or may not be medically effective, and are meant to deceive the recipient. Often patients provided a placebo procedure may have a perceived or genuine improvement for a clinical situation; a phenomenon commonly known as the placebo effect.

The outcome produced by placebo treatment is relevant to the perceptions and expectations of the affected person; if the substance is seen as helpful, it may recover, but, if it is seen as harmful, it may lead to impaired health conditions. Suppose  a person who believes in mysticism, approaches an astrologer with a health condition, the solutions provided by an astrologer is highly likely to cure him of his ailment no matter how eccentric and ineffective  it may sound to those who don’t believe in it. For the later demography, the same solution will not work in similar way.

Similarly, if a placebo pill is consumed with the expectation that it is an analgesic, it will reduce pain even though it’s not an analgesic. If a person is given a placebo under one name, and they respond, they will respond in the same way on a later occasion to that placebo under that name even though the composition is altered (provided it’s medically neutral).

Placebo are powerful mental medicines, but they work only when you’re under deception; they work only when are not aware of it. Principally, if you want to benefit the most from this incredible panacea, thrive on cultivating optimistic believes about life. This will show effect in your day-to-day life through the same principle on which placebos work.

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Intestinal Bacteria influences brain and behavior, a new study reveals

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Numerous microorganisms present in the digestive tracts of animals make up the biggest reservoir of human flora or micro biota. The human body carries about one hundred trillion microorganisms in its intestines, a selection ten times greater than the whole range of human cells in the body. It really is believed that these gut flora have close to 100 times as a lot of genes in combination as you will find in the human genome. To put it differently, you’re not a human in entire legal rights.

The pool of intestinal microbes actively supports the digestion of food and prevents infection. And now researches done in the field of microbiology have proved that these tiny organisms may possibly even have a profound impact on the brain too.

The research carried out on a population of mice showed that the mice raised without any intestinal microbes had an exaggerated bodily reaction to stress, releasing far more hormone than those that were raised in a normal way. Nevertheless, this influence could be lowered in microorganism-free mice by repopulating their gut with the healthy microbes. This may explain why prolonged use of anti-biotic medications leads to a state of depression and anxiety in patients.

The researchers claim that we can hack into our micro-biome to make ourselves happier, healthier, and smarter! Don’t get scared…it’s not something like hacking into biological organization and manipulating the ecosystem of microbes. Simple things such as consuming a healthy diet on regular basis can help in maintaining a healthy population of intestinal microorganism and ensure a healthy functioning of brain.

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What causes male infertility?

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Although the core causes of infertility in male are overwhelmingly physiological, the resulting heartache may possibly impose a massive psychological toll. Couples handling infertility may perhaps steer clear of social conversation and also struggle with nervousness-linked sexual dysfunction and other marital conflicts.

What causes infertility in men? A number of maladies ranging from hormonal disturbances to bodily complications, to psychological issues can result in male infertility. The hormonal problems may either be linked to abnormal functioning of gonads or the master endocrine gland—the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is actually a pea-sized structure situated at the bottom of the brain, slightly below the hypothalamus and hooked up to it by nerve fibers. It's creates hormones which manage other glands and different bodily features. The anterior lobe of pituitary gland is principally involved in advancement of the human body, sexual maturation and reproduction. When fails to secrete GNSH, the gonad (testes) doesn’t get signals to secrete sex hormones that is responsible for the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
However, male infertility accounting from hormonal problems makes up a small percentage of the population of infertile males. The other possible causes include birth complications, radiation damage, and chemical use. Often surgical procedures like vasectomy can cause sperms to come into contact with blood thereby invoking the immune system to produce antibodies against it. The presence of antibodies in semen leads to sperm destruction.

Rarely, Infertility  may arise due to chromosomal abnormality like klinefelter syndrome, which may also be genetic in nature.

Researched from

http://www.health.harvard.edu

http://www.ghc.org
 

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Composition of Breast milk different for boys and girls, Milk banks to tailor the Baby formula

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Milk is the chief source of nourishment for infants before they are able to eat and digest other foods, but this source of nutrition differs in composition depending upon sex of the baby. Baby boys get milk that’s richer in fat and protein while baby girls—though get more—receives a biologically different recipe that has lower fat and protein.

The finding holds true not just for humans, but also for monkeys and other mammals.

Under the influence of the hormones prolactin and oxytocin, women produce milk after childbirth to feed the baby.(--Wikipedia) It’s a known fact that the actual composition of breast milk changes from day to day depending upon mother’s diet, but now the research says that the change is quite considerable depending upon the baby’s sex too.

The composition of the breast milk has a direct impact on baby’s growth, and also on his or her behavior and temperament that makes up the personality. The bio-psychologists may now have yet another reason to explain the behavioral difference observed between the two sexes.

The concerning question perhaps is that how this fact goes along with babies who are either bottle fed, or who receive nourishment through milk banks. If composition matters, as claimed by the research, it’s time for the milk banks to tailor the formula based on sex of the baby thereby revising the ‘one-size-fits-all’ recipe.

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Drinking beer good for health, prevents heart strokes

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A pint of beer a day keeps the heart strokes away!

Drinking beer in moderation is good for your health in general, and heart in particular. Nutrients such as folic acid, vitamins, iron and calcium present in beer exercise a 'protective' function over cardiovascular system.

While there are several health benefits of drinking beer including increased longevity, cholesterol improvement, diabetes control, and cancer prevention, the most cherished property of beer is perhaps associated with the neurological effect of its main ingredient—alcohol!

Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and arousal, has long been linked to the consumption of alcohol. Inside the brain, dopamine plays important roles in motor control, motivation, arousal, cognition, and reward, as well as a number of basic lower-level functions including lactation, sexual gratification, and nausea.(--Wikipedia) It typically targets stress and prevents overloading which would otherwise prove detrimental to health.

Though Stress is a normal part of life, it can lead to psychological, and even physical problems if left unmanaged.. Heart diseases are particularly caused due to stress-overloading resulting from lack of proper stress management. Since alcohol triggers the release of dopamine in brain reducing the level of stress, it’s consumption ensures protection against a large number of stress related problems including heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pains, or irregular heartbeats.

 

Nevertheless, the feel good hormone—Dopamine, can lead to addiction through a process called positive reinforcement, so it’s advisable to be alert with the amount of beer consumed on a regular basis. Excessive alcohol intake is not good for health. It can lead to esophageal cancer, liver cirrhosis and other fatal conditions: but again if you don't drink at all, that's not good for you either.

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Does herbal slimming tea really work?

While there are many promising ways of cutting off those extra pounds, the consumption of herbal slimming tea for weight loss has gathered noteworthy interest in recent days.

Excuse me…Did I say tea can help you lose weight?

Hmmm…..maybe it’s true!

There’s quite a little truth behind all sorts of allegations that herbal slimming tea manufacturers make. We’ll know that losing weight is not a joke; there’s no easy way to become slim relaxing on our sofa, sipping tea, and watching sexy fitness models perform ramp walk; there ain’t any magical product that thaws out those extra pound without requiring any physical effort from our side ; plain and simple.

However, herbal tea can be a great aid to weight loss regime if combined with an effective physical-workout schedule. According to livestrong.com website, most herbal slimming teas contain dried buckthorn, senna and rhubarb root. Almost all weight loss teas also contain hoodia gordonii, ma huang, or kola nut, and  often, licorice, ginger or citrus extracts are added for flavor. Drinking several cups of herbal tea throughout the day is known to suppress appetite, burn fat and speed up metabolism.

 

When the slimming effects of herbal tea are combined with those of aggressive physical exercise, miraculous results can be obtained.

 

 

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Mentally disordered girls more likely to suffer teenage pregnancy, research says

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A study published in Journal pediatrics ruled that young girls suffering from depression, bipolar disorder, and other types of psychosis are three times more likely to become teenage parents than their normal counterparts.

Different factors, depending upon social framework, can be responsible for teenage pregnancies. In developed countries, it is usually associated with social issues, including lower educational levels, higher rates of poverty, and other poorer life outcomes in children of teenage mothers. By contrast, teenage parents in developing countries are often married, and their pregnancies are welcomed by family and society (-Wikipedia).

While the study mentioned above can’t be generalized to all the girls of underprivileged countries, especially those undergoing marriage in their teenage years, it holds true for those of developed countries, and also some westernized sections of developing countries.

The reason why mentally disordered girls are more likely to suffer teen pregnancies is unknown to the researchers. Their main motive right now is to persuade health care unit implement as many pregnancy prevention programs as possible, which they feel is not being done sincerely.

Healthy parenting, effective schooling, and positive social conditioning along with better incorporation of sexual and mental health care are needed to safeguard the psychological well being of teenagers. In case of pregnancies, ease of availability of social support is ultimately the biggest concern to deal with.
 

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Counterfeit perfume sale on rise, Health risks involved!

Did you just ordered a perfume online, or bought it from a mall at a strangely discounted price? Watch out…it may be a fake one!

Sale of counterfeit perfume is on rise as more and more fake chemicals are being synthesized and marketed. They smell like the original brands, but differ considerably in composition, sometimes even containing ingredients detrimental to health—alcohol, antifreeze and phalates to name a few. Diethyl phthalate, a chemical found in perfumes are linked to sperm damage, and musk ketone, a carcinogenic ingredient concentrates in human fat tissue and breast milk.

Allegedly, there’re many perfumes in market that contains urine of animals like the musk ox, musk deer, musk rat and beavers; recently we heard of a perfumes made from Lady Gaga’s pee! Kinky, ain’t it?

Fake perfumes are often packed slightly differently from their authentic counterparts. They’re advertised as limited edition, come at a very low price, and often sold online or by street vendors. Identifying fake perfumes can be a tedious process, and involves a time consuming, analytical examination. There’re few conventional ways of telling a fake brand from original one, but they’re sometimes misleading. It’s advisable to buy perfumes from reputable retailers or directly from the manufactures to avoid fake product.

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Healthy euphoria: Getting high without drugs

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Euphoria is an altered state of consciousness, typically induced due to secretion of certain neurotransmitters in the brain; it’s a mental condition significantly different from the normal, wakeful state of mind.

What causes euphoria? The answer is manifold: meditation, music, dancing, breathing exercises, physical exercise, sexual intercourse and consumption of psychotropic drugs all can lead to the altered state of consciousness.

Drugs are not recommendable for use to experience euphoria. Recreational drugs can cause altered state of mind, but can also lead to health problems like impaired short-term memory, cognitive abnormalities, depression, hallucinations etc…

Sexual intercourse is a good way to experience euphoria, but again excess orgasms can lead to health problems. During orgasm, neurotransmitters like oxitocin and dopamine are released in significant amounts. These feel good hormones can cause sexual addiction through a psychological process called reinforcement, if released in excess amounts.

So what’s the best way to experience euphoria and be in that state most of the times without causing any problems to health? It’s possible only by maintaining balance between all the genuine agents that lead to the feeling of high.

Here’s an illustration. Doing meditation all the times is not a healthy way of being in the state of euphoria, just like having sex in excess or taking drugs. However, doing meditation for an hour or so daily is great way of reaching that altered state of mind. Listening to music, dancing, exercising, getting involved in creative activities, and maintaining healthy frequency of sex and alcohol use are all good ways of experiencing healthy and prolonged state of euphoria provided they’re done in moderation. It’s also important to make sure we don’t develop severe addiction to any of those things or else it’ll interfere with our normal lives.

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Happiness paradox: Don't go after happiness or you'll never find it

Humans go to great length to achieve happiness. The only rationale behind living is to achieve gratification in some form or the other. Despite the fact that every human action is inclined towards achieving happiness, a large number of people on earth are unsatisfied with their life.

Yeah it’s true that absolute happiness is a dead man’s fortune, but we can do a lot of things to maximize happiness. To be happier, it’s important to understand the nature of happiness. Doing something solely to receive pleasure will never make us happy because happiness is experienced in little moments of in-attention. As William Benet puts it, “Happiness is like a cat. If you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you. It will never come. But if you pay no attention to it and go by your business, you’ll find it rubbing up against your legs and jumping into your lap”.

Happiness is a family of related emotional states, such as joy, amusement, satisfaction, gratification, euphoria, and triumph. Everyone wants to be happy. The motive of true altruism is seriously challenged by something called psychological egoism, which states that even a philanthropist is selfish about finding an inner sense of happiness that ostensibly results from helping others selflessly. But unfortunately, despite a lot of things people do to live a happy life many of them are unable to find happiness. It’s because they don’t understand the illogicality behind ‘Hedonism’.

It’s important to educate people about the paradox of pleasure, and motivate them to focus on productivity, rather than going about in pursuit of eudemonia(absolute happiness). Happiness will follow only if you stop following it and go about your business. The essence of a happy life lies in identifying one’s signature strengths and using it every day to reach the state of ‘flow’.

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Cell phones cause no health problems

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The use of cell phones has been linked to a large number of health problems including cancer. Radiation from cell phones is alleged to penetrate the skull and cause permanent damages to the brain.

We’re advised to keep cell phones as far as possible from ears while talking, so as to minimize the amount of electromagnetic radiation reaching our brain. Keeping cell phones near chest is said to causes heart problems, while keeping them near groin, sexual dysfunctions. I was once advised by a wise guy not to use cell phones in public places like buses to protect others from passive exposure!

However, the above allegations have been brutally debunked by a UK research group that completed a 11 year old study on effect of mobile phones on health. The report found that there’s no evidence that the use of mobile phones leads to an increased risk of cancer, or other health risks.(Telegraph.co.uk).

The research also entertained that exposure to electromagnetic waves during pregnancy does not cause cancer in early childhood—again a medical myth deflated.
Overall, Cell phones impose no major health risk. Mild headache may result due to prolonged exposure to cell phones, but goes away pretty soon.

Having said all these, I’d like to highlight that excess of anything is ultimately bad with cell phones being no exception. Obsessive use of cell phones is a type of addiction that needs medical attention. it’s wise to limit the use of cell phones before it turns into a dependence.

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Chocolate addicts be aware!

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Chocolate, the notorious aphrodisiac, causes secretion of certain neurotransmitters in brain leading to enhanced sexual arousal and euphoria. Besides being an aphrodisiac, it also swanks of many other health benefits. It positively affects the circulatory system reducing the possibility of cardiovascular episodes like heart attack. While the poly-phenols present in chocolate inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, the anti-oxidants act as an active anticancer agent. Chocolate is also known to be a brain stimulator, a cough-preventor and an anti diarrheal remedy.

However, excess of something is ultimately bad, with chocolate being no exception. Addiction to chocolate can prove detrimental in many ways. There’s a chemical called thio-bromine in chocolate which relaxes the oesophagal spincter muscle, thereby, sanctioning the inflow of digestive acids into the food pipe. This further leads to the sensation of heartburn.

Consuming chocolate in high quantity also raises the risk of obesity. Processed Chocolate, a high-calorie stuff, contains ingredients like cocoa butter, sugar and milk, and can catalyze obesity in the life of a sedentary person. The high amount of oxalates present in cocoa, the main ingredient of processed chocolate, also makes an addict prone to kidney stones. High sugar content in cheap quality chocolate bars facilitates the formation of cavities, and tooth decay. (Hmm…mom used to say that!)

 

I am not a ‘Chocó-phobic’ sort of guy, and I don’t want you to become one either. It’s just advisable to limit the intake of chocolate.  You must have noticed the feeling of euphoria experienced after munching a bar of dark chocolate. The psycho-stimulant nature of chocolate renders it addictive. And addiction is detrimental, no matter what type it is.

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Why Going to gym is better than working out at home?

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With the price of home gym equipments going down, more and more people prefer using them than going to gym. Besides being affordable and handy, they offer the benefit of working out in the privacy of our room, and at anytime of the day.

Wait a second! Did I say privacy?

It’s a proven fact that we perform better when being watched by others. Going to gym is therefore more rewarding that working out alone in home. Our brain is very sensitive to being watched; it affects our decision-making skills and our performance. In a positive context, it gathers motivation to affect desired changes.

While it’s good to have some simple exercise equipments at home, it’s definitely injudicious to cut off the gym membership. A good gymnasium offers a broad range of different types of exercise equipment like weight trainers, elliptical trainers, street striders, exercise machines, treadmills, and other gears to enhance the training effect of a particular workout regimen. This is not possible at home unless we’re prepared to spend a huge sum of money assembling them. Even if we do that, we won’t find expert advice of a trainer concerning our fitness goal.  Going to gym should be the first priority if we’re really concerned about reaching our fitness goals.

If going to gym is not viable due to some reasons,we can try to gather likeminded friends and work out together—the same psychological effect of being watched applies here. If that too is unfeasible, the last thing we can do is work out in a room with a big mirror where we can see your own reflection. Seriously, that helps!

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Can yoga prevent cancer?

Can yoga prevent cancer? The answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. To understand the influence of yoga on health and its connection with ‘cancer’, it’s imperative to realize the functioning of lymphatic system. A large number of cancers are habitually caused due the dysfunction of lymphatic organs—organs that secrete a colorless fluid called ‘lymph’ into blood, directionally towards the heart. The lymph fights the cancer cells in our body and prevents them from getting metastasized into secondary tumors. When there’s a problem with lymphatic system, our body becomes vulnerable to cancers as the immune mechanisms gets breached. Stress is a major cause of lymphatic abnormalities. Research says that yoga brings down the level of stress to an optimum level and thereby ensures healthy functioning of lymphatic system. So the statement ‘Yoga can prevent cancer’ is true to a great extent. But why it’s also paradoxically true to say that ‘Yoga can’t prevent cancer?

Humans confront a large number of carcinogens (cancer causing agents) every day, some of them being so apparently innocuous that you won’t realize them to be a causative factor for cancer. Take for example sleep. A person who doesn’t get enough sleep is at a risk of developing cancer because inadequacy of sleep leads to a decrease in the lymphatic activities. Since lymph destroys the cancer cells and prevent the formation of non-malignant tumors, lack of sleep can indirectly become a cause for cancer. In fact, anything that smashes up the lymphatic system becomes a causative factor for cancer. Diet, stress level, physical trauma and lifestyle are some of the most important elements that affect lymphatic system, and hence bear a strong connection with cancer. Yoga can help bring stress level to an optimal intensity and raise the activity of cells, thereby, ensuring healthy performance of lymphatic organs. But yoga has no control over the dietary habits of an individual. So if someone does yoga regularly but consumes poor diet, he may or may not develop cancer depending upon what dominates—the protective function of yoga on lymphatic system or the destructive function of poor diet on the same. Similarly, a chain smoker may or may not develop cancer depending upon what dominates—the daily habits that leads to protection of lymphatic system or the habits(including smoking) that lead to destruction of the same. Strictly, yoga can’t prevent cancer in an individual if the actions of carcinogens he’s exposed to dominantly damages the lymphatic system.
So what should be done to prevent cancer? The answer is clear now. Implementing yoga in one’s lifestyle and eliminating other causative factor of cancer is the key to live a cancer-free life. A lifestyle that engrosses healthy physical and social environment, consumption of wholesome diet, daily physical exercises, and stress management practices like yoga, massage, music etc… endorses a vigorously working lymphatic system which in turn significantly reduces the risk of developing cancer.

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Tamarind—a cure for chronic constipation

While tamarind boasts of many health benefits, it’s best known for being a laxative that eases bowel movements.

If you ever suffer from chronic constipation, try out tamarind as a medicine. Having 2 teaspoons of tamarind paste before going to bed will ease your bowel movements during the night, and the next morning shall be blessed with a normal toilet routine. Doing this regularly, though in moderation, will get you rid of chronic constipation, and incorporating tamarind in your daily diet will keep bowel problems at bay.

The main reason why tamarind acts so magically for constipation problems is its laxative nature; it reduces sluggishness of bowels. We all know, a stomach with irregularity in bowel movement can be a breeding ground for a number of stomach problems including colon cancer; it’s better to be preventive beforehand.

Besides being a laxative, tamarind is also an effective antiseptic that fight against intestinal pathogens. It promotes healthy functioning of livers and is useful in treating bilious disorders.  In fact, it has got multiple benefits; a very useful herb in ayurvedic medicine employed for treating a large number of ailments of stomach, heart, liver and throat.

Next time you’re having a bad time on your toilet seat, you know now what’s the best thing to look at—tamarind. However, I’m again warning you to have it in moderation, as to most people the tangy taste of tamarind is addictive. Having anything in excess is ultimately bad.

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Athletic guys more attractive to women, study suggest

The craze for body-building has subsided; the new era demands guys to be more athletic in appearance.

A woman’s sense of perception is highly sensitive. She’s evolved to recognize athletic performance in faces. Just by looking at a man’s face she can identify the level of activity in his life. She’s conditioned to believe that men with active lifestyle have got better genes to pass on while those with sedentary lifestyle have relatively poorer genes. This affects her predilection when it comes to choosing a mate.

A research was carried out in which women were asked to rate the appearance of 80 cyclists from 2012 tour de France. The cyclists were of the same stature, height and age. Dr Erik Postma, from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Zurich, analyzed the data obtained by 800 participants. He found a positive correlation between appearance score and the athletic performance.

So now that it’s established that women have sophisticated radar for detecting healthy genes based on athletic abilities, it’s advisable for men to go hit the nearest gym today! Working out regularly will make them more attractive; it will give them a physique that’s indicative of healthy genes and will ultimately bear them success in the game of courtship.

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