Mar 2011 - Michigan South Asian

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Michigan South Asian MARCH 2011 Page 12 HEALTH SPECIAL Yoga: India’s Export For America’s Health Care Reform By Suhas Pinnaka, M.D. Modern medical science now recognizes that conventional allopathic medicine cannot treat everything, especially chronic illnesses. It is a well-known fact that most allopathic treatments have undesirable side effects; some are even health and/or life-threatening. For this reason the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has been studying alternative systems of medicine. Research has revealed that traditional, non-allopathic systems and practices have much to offer to achieve holistic health care. While the allopathic approach mainly tries to treat the disease, traditional systems work towards improving a person’s overall wellbeing. The medical establishment has been slow to acknowledge this advantage, but now there is a movement to promote traditional health care systems. This concept is very important, especially for family physicians as they are the first contact for patients. A pilot program has been launched at ten Family Medicine Residency Programs in the United States, to teach future Family Physicians about Complimentary and Alternative systems of Medicine. I am one of the fortunate people to be part of a program that prepares doctors to provide better services to patients by instructing them about these traditional systems of Medicine. Yoga is an example of a holistic medical system that was developed in India. Yoga is considered a “mind-body medicine” in that it employs a variety of techniques designed to enhance the mind’s capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms. As a regular practitioner of Isha Yoga, I often recommend that my patients take a yoga course when they are looking for simple preventative health and wellness programs. If properly taught and practiced, yoga can be a modern antidote that addresses the most common health concerns in today’s society, everything from stress and anxiety to chronic ailments such as diabetes, heart disease and allergies. Although it has not been determined by modern science what changes occur in the body during yoga, the founder of Isha Yoga, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has explained that “Yoga is the science of activating your inner energies in such a way that your body, mind and emotions function at their highest peak. When your body and mind function in a completely different state of relaxation and a certain level of blissfulness, you can be released from so many things that most people are suffering from.” After attending a yoga program, many participants come out of chronic ailments they had struggled with for years. A research team recently conducted a survey of people who have completed Isha’s Inner Engineering program in the last six years. Over 500 respondents self-reported on physical, mental and emotional well-being as well as medication usage for some of the most common health concerns. The report illustrates the benefits of a yoga program, for example: • 95% of those suffering from depression reported improvement of symptoms after beginning the practice • 75% reported an improvement of back pain symptoms • 49% of those taking thyroid medication noted a reduction in dosage or discontinuation of medication One respondent, Micheal Gremly, the CEO of Voice Prism, related that, “The results I have been achieving from the Isha practice have been nothing less than phenomenal. Incredibly severe allergies and acid reflux that I suffered since childhood completely vanished, my cholesterol dropped 35 points, and my blood pressure significantly reduced. From August 2009 to March 2010, I lost 45 pounds, stopped using caffeine, artificial sweetener, and alcohol. I wasn’t necessarily trying to do any of these things, Inner Engineering has had such a positive impact on my entire system that I no longer need external substances to feel great.” As a support and alternative to your allopathic medicine treatment plan, ask your doctor to recommend a meditation or yoga practice. It’s just what this doctor orders. Suhas Pinnaka, M.D. Resident in Family and Integrative Medicine Family Medicine Institute Augusta, ME ‘Walk’ Away From Cancer With more than 10 million new cases worldwide every year, cancer continues to be increasing its global burden and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Cancer is now viewed as a chronic illness requiring longterm management. Rehabilitation of cancer survivors is hence a major concern. Improved functional status is one of the chief objectives in the rehabilitation of cancer survivors. Evidence that cancer patients may benefit from physical exercise programmes is piling up. Walking, the most common form of exercise is a major component of daily physical activity. 10,000 steps a day have been found to be of value in maintaining desired health benefits among healthy individuals. Higher levels of physical activity are known to be associated with reduced risk of overall mortality. A number of new techniques like the use of pedometers or microprocessor-based accelerometer recorders are now available to ‘measure’ how much an individual actually walks in daily life. There is evidence that the use of activity monitors may increase physical activity levels. Activity monitors have gained huge popularity as a tool for motivating patients and monitoring physical activity. YOUR AD HERE COSTS $29 5” WIDE X 2” HEIGHT 281-394-4287/ 281-381-0744 A systematic review was conducted to summarize the currently available evidence on the effect of physical activity interventions in boosting daily walking behavior in cancer survivors. The reviewed studies included 660 participants. Details were collected from five randomised controlled trials. Combined physical activity and counseling was found to improvedaily step activity in cancer survivors. Activity monitors are effective in improving daily walking activity. A realistic step goal has to be set though. For example a breast cancer survivor may set his goal to 7409 steps/day; 8008 steps/day aid individuals with type 1 diabetes. Activity monitors that help individuals to keep a track on the daily step count work as motivator tools. They prompt people to walk more and thus help them stay healthier. The use of such devices helps to achieve sustained levels of physical activity in cancer patients. Physical activity is known to reduce the risk of developing a number of cancers like that of the colon, breasts, lung, prostate, and endometrium. The results of perhaps the first systematic review of its kind were published in BMC Cancer, a leading open access journal. The authors admit that the study was not devoid of limitations; future studies based on larger randomised controlled studies are warranted.
Page 13 MARCH 2011 Michigan South Asian Changing Traditions Through Fashion By Jennifer Neale January 23, 2011 Fashion Shows always light the imagination of people who love to wrap themselves in beauty, and often raise money for good causes. Rarely, however, do they celebrate the dramatic changes in the lives of young girls, whose futures had been determined by traditions, thousands of years old, before the Mijwan Welfare Society. The Mijwan Fashion Show that took place in Mumbai, on January 23, 2011, was created by Shabana Azmi, a five time winner of the National Film Award for Best Actress. The event showed the elegant designs by Manesh Malhotra to 300 guests. They were worn by 23 Bollywood stars, and 20 top models in a most special way to recognize her father, who inspired her, and the people who helped make a difference in Mijwan. “My father, Kaif Azmi, was a rare poet who practiced what he preached in life,” says Shabana Azmi.” After getting a paralytic stroke which incapacitated his left arm and let, he gave up the comforts of Mumbai and settled Mijwan, a village frozen in time. “Today, Mijwan is becoming a model village, but it was an arduous journey. I remember asking him how he did not become frustrated when change would not occur at the pace he wanted, and he answered with calmly. ‘When working for change, you should build into that expectation that change might not happen in your lifetime, but this should not stop your efforts, even if they happen after you.’” K a i f Azmi’s words were correct, and became the mantra of Shabana. The Mijwan Welfare Society now has four Training Centers, and is responsible for changing a tradition that viewed their daughters as 2nd class, did not provide them any education, and tradition called for their marriages to be arranged at the age of 12 or 13. Dr. Nilima Sabharwal, the Founder of Home of Hope, was one of the people who helped move Mijwan forward. The two women met at a party hosted by a mutual friend in San Francisco, in 2000. When Dr. Sabharwal learned that there was a very little school there that taught a few young girls to sew, she was anxious to visit this village on her next trip to India. 97Pc Of Women Have At Least One ‘’I Hate My Body’’ Moment Daily London, Feb 23 (ANI): Almost every woman has felt insecure about her body at some point in her life. But a new survey has revealed that it happens much more than one would imagine. A staggering 97 per cent of women have at least one negative thought about their bodies every day, according to the poll of 300 women commissioned by Glamour magazine, reports the Daily Mail. The survey found some have over 100 negative or anxious thoughts about their body shape, though on average there were 13 - almost one for every waking hour. Psychologist Ann Kearney- Cooke, who conducted the survey, said of the results: “That is a lot, yet I’m not totally surprised. “It’s become such an accepted norm to put yourself down that if someone says she likes her body, she’s the odd woman out. “I was in a group discussion recently, and when one woman said, ‘I actually feel OK about the way I look,’ another woman scrunched up her face and said, ‘I have never in my whole life heard anyone say that - and I’m not sure I even believe you.’ “That’s how pervasive this negative body talk is. It’s actually more acceptable to insult your body than to praise it. “Friends getting together and tearing themselves down is such a common thing that it’s hard to avoid.” (ANI) Parenting Stress Affects Postpartum Lifestyle Of New Moms: Study Parenting stress affects postpartum lifestyle of new moms: Study Home Washington, Feb 23 (ANI): Georgia Health Sciences University researchers say that post-pregnancy excess weight is likely caused by the impact of new parenthood stress on physical activity. In order to emphasize the probable correlation between new parenthood stress and physical activity, the researchers analysed 60 first-time mothers. They then linked higher post-pregnancy BMI to a combination of a high BMI before pregnancy, excessive weight gain during pregnancy, parenting stress and a sedentary lifestyle. The parental stress was gauged by asking study subjects whether they felt like having less time for themselves and if they enjoyed being a parent. They were also made to recall their physical activity over the previous 24 hours, dividing that activity from light to vigorous. “Sedentary lifestyle, or a low amount of physical activity, was most influenced by the type of parenting stress the mothers reported,” said Deborah Young-Hyman, behavioural psychologist with the Georgia Prevention Institute. “More parenting stress, especially depression, was associated with less physical activity and a higher postpartum BMI,” she added. Interestingly, the researchers found that social interaction, generally considered a measure of well being, is correlated with a higher BMI. “We think women are socializing with their friends, not isolating themselves, but they are doing sedentary things like talking on the phone, watching television or hanging out at home, instead of taking their babies on a walk together,” said Young-Hyman. New mothers with a higher BMI apparently endured more depressive symptoms, but overall felt competent as parents. Those with lower BMIs reported more physical activity and had less depressive symptoms. “We know that physical activity improves your mood and helps you lose weight, but no one has ever asked how physical activity is related to parenting stress in first-time moms,” Young-Hyman said. “The bottom line is that parenting stress does impact the postpartum lifestyles of new moms,” she said. The study is published in Women and Health. (ANI)
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