Pulse Beat

Prof BM Hegde 26 June 2014

Statins aren’t Nice

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the highest watchdog for clinical excellence in the UK, is under the scanner since they put out atrocious data on statins. Some doubting Thomases in British medical circles raised an alarm and now the cat is out of the bag. Most members of the committee that looked into statins had been on the payroll of drug manufacturers but did not disclose their ties to the companies while they were acting as the jury and the judge for the same drugs. I have been writing about American doctors and their guidelines committees; one study even wrote that statins did not have any side-effects while even placebos had side-effects. That looks like a little too much to swallow. Money rules the roost even in such sensitive areas like medicine. I have also been writing against statins for decades and I am happy to have been vindicated.

A healthy Micro-biome

A new study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that maintaining too high a level of hygiene and cleanliness can actually cause newborn babies, particularly those below one year of age, to suffer from allergies and asthma later in life. A diverse bacterial exposure gave babies’ immune system an extra boost which makes them less susceptible to allergies and wheezing.

Lights Out

Before Thomas Alva Edison made mass production of the electric bulb possible, mankind slept better through the night. Now, in some major cities, there is no night at all. Lights of varying intensity penetrate deep into your bedroom even with the curtains drawn. An Oxford study had shown that the brighter your bedroom at night, the worse is the quality of sleep you get. Computer lights in the bedroom and the brightness of some of the more advanced light bulbs contribute to your difficulty in falling asleep. Dim lights are healthier in the bedroom compared to brighter ones. In larger cities, if the bedroom is bright even after you put off your lights, you might have to have thicker curtains. If you can see through the room in spite of all of that, it is time you wore an eye-blind to shut off the lights; but do remember to take them off when you want to go to the bathroom. The dirty electricity that your bedroom is full of these days is another blow to good sleep. The common culprits are CFL bulbs, computers, charging cell phones, cordless telephones, electric alarm clocks, electric blankets, refrigerators, TV screens (which are alive) and many such gadgets. Thank God, our ancestors were not bothered by any of these and lived happily.

Mango the Super-Fruit

Mangoes are now known to prevent certain cancers like that of the colon and breast. Furthermore, mangoes have high levels of flavonoids like beta-carotene and alpha-carotene which help protect against oral cavity and lung cancers. With very high Vitamin A content, they keep your eyes, skin and bones healthy. Because of their high potassium and low sodium, mangoes are good food for those wanting to reduce their blood pressure. Because of their high fibre content, they might even be healthy for the heart. Mangoes also have a chemical that balances your blood sugar and might even be good for diabetics, in small doses.

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