STRESS

Mon, Jun 7 11:05 AM

Mumbai, June 7 -- On a daily basis, Dr Sejal Desai, consulting gynecologist at Asha Parekh Hospital, sees two to three PCOS patients below the age of 25, many of them 15 and 16 years old, and some as young as 13. "High-stress levels, too much junk food, poor sleeping habits and lack of exercise trigger the condition in adolescent girls," says Desai.

Academic stress is a key trigger too, says Dr Kiran Coelho, consulting gynecologist at the Lilavati and Holy Family hospitals. "Thanks to the intense academic competition and peer pressure to perform, young girls are always studying and have no time for sports.
This inactivity leads to obesity, which in turn exacerbates PCOS." That's also where the junk food comes in, with stress eating and unhealthy diets further contributing to obesity. Gynaecworld chairman, Dr Duru Shah, estimates that 80 per cent of PCOS cases are linked to excess weight.
While gynecologists agree that the number of young women diagnosed has risen steadily over the past five years, they say detection of the disorder has also increased significantly. "Most young women aren't concerned by irregular periods, unless they bleed heavily," says Dr Shah.
"But they are concerned about their body image. Dermatologists are now well aware of the prevalence of PCOS and usually refer such patients to gynaecologists.
" Though there is no known cure, the syndrome can be controlled and symptoms alleviated. After taking a contraceptive pill under medical supervision, and learning to eat healthier and more regularly and sleep more regular hours, Shweta Lakhani, a 25-year-old patient, says her acne improved and her hair stopped falling.
She is now trying homeopathy, as she is concerned about the pill's long-term effects on fertility. Concerns over fertility plague many young PCOS patients.
Some, such as Karishma Dalal, are even planning to get married earlier to avoid complications. "PCOS patients find it hard to conceive after 30," says the 27-year-old hairstylist who was detected with PCOS in Class 10.
"They have to take hormonal injections and tablets which can lead to the conceiving of twins." Dalal speaks from experience - she is one of twins, conceived after booster shots by her mother, a PCOS patient.
"Those with PCOS in the family should be extra careful. Studies suggest that it may be hereditary," says Dr Shah.
"Though there is no known cure, you can keep it under control. Fifty per cent of the problem will be solved by losing and maintaining weight.
".

Must Read

diet|recipes|Healthy food month|Low calorie

Under-100 cals, and delicious! (Getty Images)

Everyone is talking about healthy eating these days. But, how does one rustle up something at home that is low on calories and delicious as well?

Stress not as we bring you a sumptuous compilation of under-hundred calorie recipes that can be tried out at home and shared with friends too.

So, this weekend don the chef’s hat and get on with some serious, healthy cooking.

Asparagus with tomato chicken salami
Ingredients
Asparagus 50 gm
Tomato 80 gm
Chicken salami 70 gm
Olive oil 20 ml
Black pepper 5 gm
Salt 2 gm
Fresh basil 2 gm
Mix lettuce 20 gm
Method:
Cut the asparagus according to the required size form the tips and blanch it. Roll the asparagus inside the chicken salami. Serve it with tomato salsa, grilled tomato and mix lettuce.

Salsa sauce
Blanch the tomato, cool it, and remove skin and seed. Cut it into small dice, add pepper, lemon juice, basil olive oil and salt to taste.

Crispy bread bruschetta fruit
Ingredients
French bread 30 gm
Papaya 60 gm
Pineapple 60 gm
Fresh basil 10 gm
Olive oil 30 ml
Sweet melon 20 gm
Kiwi fruit 20 gm
Bread stick 5 gm
Low fat cream 5 ml
Salt to taste
White pepper powder to taste
Lemon juice 10 ml
Tomato ketchup 5 ml
Tabassco as per taste
Method:
Cut the bread 2 cm wide and 6 cm long, and toast it. Cut the pineapple, papaya and sweet melon into required stick size i.e 2 cm wide and 6 cm long. Make the fruit salsa, cut small dice of kiwi, pineapple, papaya and sweet melon, add cream, lemon juice, basil chopped, tabassco, tomato ketchup and seasoning. Add the fruit salsa to the top of the toast bread (bruschetta) and serve with fruit stick.

Salmon topped with curry sauce
Ingredients
Salmon 200 gm
Broccoli 40 gm
Asparagus 20 gm
Babycorn 10 gm
Zuchini 10 gm
Curry powder 5 gm
Low fat cream 10 ml
Onion 5 gm
Garlic 5 gm
Lemon 10 ml
Seasoning as per taste
Method:
Marinate the salmon with salt, pepper, lemon juice, an hour before to cook. Cook salmon from both side on the hot plate or pan and put it in the oven to cook more. Cut the vegetables to the required size, blanch it and saute it with olive oil, garlic and seasoning. Make curry sauce, saute onion, garlic till it gets light brown colour, add curry powder saute it more and add the cream and lemon juice till the sauce turns soft and creamy. When the salmon is cooked, serve it with boiled vegetables and drain out the curry sauce on the top of the salmon. Serve hot.

Chicken apricot tagine
Ingredients
Chicken dice 150 gm
Mushroom 30 gm
Onion 30 gm
Garlic 20 gm
Leeks 10 gm
Celery 10 gm
Carrot 10 gm
Chicken stock 20 ml
Olive oil 10 ml
Cous cous 40 gm
A pinch of saffron
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Cut the chicken into dices, saute in olive oil, onion, garlic leeks, celery and carrot. Add mushroom, saute it, add chicken stock cook till chicken is cooked. Meanwhile soak cous cous in warm saffron water for at least 10-12 minutes. Later saute cous cous with little olive oil and seasoned it. When chicken is ready serve it on the bowl with cous cous in a separate bowl. Garnish with dice apricot and serve hot.

Chicken stock
Ingredients
Chicken bone 200 gm
Leeks 20 gm
Celery 20 gm
Onion 20 gm
Carrot 20 gm
Water 2 lt
Method:
Wash the chicken bone put into the water and bring it to boil. Stain the chicken. Start again, bring the water to boil with chicken, add vegetable. Simmer it and cook for one and half hour. Keep removing the froth, after one and half hour remove it and strain the stock.

Vegetable kebabs stuffed with tofu
Ingredients
Carrot 70 gm
Beans 70 gm
Cauliflower 60 gm
Onion 30 gm
Green pea 70 gm
Salt to taste
Turmeric 5 gm
Coriander 5 gm
Cumin 5 gm
Green chilli 5 gm
Ginger 5 gm
Green coriander 10 gm
Garam masala 5 gm
Roasted channa powder 20 gm
Tofu 20 gm
Method:
Cook all the vegetables and make a fine paste of them. Add all spices with coriander, channa powder, green chilli and seasoning. Make portioned balls, stuff the tofu inside the ball and flattens them like an aloo tikki. Cook the tikkies on the hot plate both side and serve it with mint chutney and onion.

Mint chutney
Ingredients
Mint 20 gm
Green coriander 10 gm
Green chilli 8 gm
Ginger 5 gm
Lemon juice 10 ml
Chaat masala 2 gm
Salt to taste
Method:
Wash the mint and coriander 2-3 times. Make sure they are properly cleaned. Then add mint, coriander, ginger and green chilli in the grinder and blend it to a smooth mixture. Add lemon juice, chaat masala and seasoning. Serve cold with the tofu vegetable kebabs.

(Recipe courtesy: Axis restaurant, Galaxy Hotel Shopping Spa, Gurgaon.)

Top 10 Health Benefits of Mangoes

Mangoes are abundant during the summer season. Mango is widely known as the "king of fruit", and that is not without a purpose. It is regarded as a valuable item of diet and a household remedy. It is rich in amino acids, vitamin C and E, flavonoids, beta carotene, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium.


About 4000 BC ago, the wild mango originated in the foothills of the Himalayas of India and Burma, and about 40 to 60% of these trees still grow in India and Southeast Asia. Also known as Mangifera Indica, this exotic fruit belongs to the family of Anacardiaceae. Though native to Southern and Southeast Asia, the fruit is now also grown in Central and South America, Africa and the Arabian Peninsula also. Today there are over 1,000 different varieties of mangos throughout the world.


Below are the numerous health and nutrition benefits of eating mangoes:


Anti cancer: The phenols in mangoes, such as quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat, as well as the abundant enzymes, have cancer-preventing capacities. Mango is also high in a soluble dietary fiber known as pectin. Scientist have identified a strong link between eating lots of fiber and a lower risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. A cup of sliced mangoes (around 165 gram) contain 76 percent of the needed daily value of vitamin C, a potent antioxidant which helps protect cells from free radical damage and reduces risk of cancer.


Eye health: One cup of sliced mangoes supplies 25 percent of the needed daily value of vitamin A, which promotes good eyesight. Eating mangoes regularly prevents night blindness, refractive errors, dryness of the eyes, softening of the cornea, itching and burning in the eyes.


Helps in digestion: Mangoes contain digestive enzymes that help break down proteins and aid digestion. It is also valuable to combat acidity and poor digestion because of an enzyme found in the fruit which soothes the stomach. Due to the high amounts of fiber found in mango, it can be a helpful in keeping you regular, thereby helping or preventing constipation.


In India, a decoction of the mango peel is given to people with inflammation of the stomach mucus membranes. Eating one or two small tender mangoes in which the seed is not fully formed with salt and honey is found to be very effective medicine for summer diarrhoea, dysentery, piles, morning sickness, chronic dyspepsia, indigestion and constipation.


Benefits to skin: Mango is effective in relieving clogged pores of the skin. What this means is that people who suffer from acne, which is caused by clogged pores, will benefit from mango. Just remove the mango pulp and apply it on your skin for about 10 minutes before washing it. Eating mango regularly makes the complexion fair and the skin soft and shining.


Helps in diabetes: Mango leaves help normalize insulin levels in the blood. Boil a few mango leaves in water and allow it to saturate through the night. Consume the filtered decoction in the morning for diabetic home remedy. The glycemic index of mango is low, ranging between 41-60. So, mango does not have any significant effect in increasing blood sugar levels.


For better sex: The Vitamin E that is abundantly present in mangoes helps to regulate sex hormones and boosts sex drive.


Beneficial for anemia: Mangoes are beneficial for pregnant women and individuals suffering from anemia because of their iron content. Also, vitamin C in the mango enhances the absorption of iron from vegetable food like rice. Generally women after menopause become weak and they should take mangoes and other fruits rich in iron.


Boost memory: Mangoes are useful to children who lack concentration in studies as it contains Glutamine acid which is good to boost memory and keep cells active.


Avoid heat stroke: Unripe mangoes, a rich source of pectin, when steamed and juiced with cumin (jeera), rock salt and sugar, provide an excellent remedy for heat stroke and heat exhaustion in summer.


Weight gain: Mangoes can be beneficial for people wanting to gain weight. A 100 gram of mango contains about 75 calories. Also, raw mangoes contain starch which get converted into sugar as the fruit ripens. So ripe and sweet mangoes when consumed with milk (rich in protein) can be very helpful in weight gain.


Mangoes can be eaten both raw and ripe. Mangoes are a good source of vitamins and minerals essential for the human body. Always have mangoes in your daily diet as this can benefit your health more than you usual non fiber diet.

Exercise can reduce impact of stress on cell aging

Washington, May 27 (ANI): Brief exercise can provide protection against the effects of stress-induced cell aging, according to new research from UCSF.

The scientists learned that vigorous physical activity as brief as 42 minutes over a 3-day period, similar to federally recommended levels, can protect individuals from the effects of stress by reducing its impact on telomere length.
Telomeres (pronounced TEEL-oh-meres) are tiny pieces of DNA that promote genetic stability and act as protective sheaths by keeping chromosomes from unraveling, much like plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces.
A growing body of research suggests that short telomeres are linked to a range of health problems, including coronary heart disease and diabetes, as well as early death.
"Telomere length is increasingly considered a biological marker of the accumulated wear and tear of living, integrating genetic influences, lifestyle behaviors, and stress," said Elissa Epel, PhD, who is one of the lead investigators and an associate professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry. "Even a moderate amount of vigorous exercise appears to provide a critical amount of protection for the telomeres."
The findings build on previous UCSF research documenting that chronic psychological stress takes a significant toll on the human body by impacting the length of telomeres in immune cells.
The new study has been published in the peer-reviewed online publication PLoS ONE.
In the study, 62 post-menopausal women - many of whom were caring for spouses or parents with dementia-reported at the end of each day over three days the number of minutes of vigorous physical activity in which they had engaged.
Vigorous activity in the study was defined as "increased heart rate and/or sweating." They also reported separately their perceptions of life stress that they had experienced during the prior month. Their blood's immune cells were examined for telomere length. (ANI)

The Obedient Wife

There was a man who had worked all his life, had saved all of
his money, and was a real "miser" when it came to his money.

Just before he died, he said to his wife..."When I die, I want
you to take all my money and put it in the casket with me. I
want to take my money to the afterlife with me."

And so he got his wife to promise him, with all of her heart,
that when he died, she would put all of the money into the
casket with him.

Well, he died. He was stretched out in the casket, his wife was
sitting there - dressed in black, and her friend was sitting next
to her. When they finished the ceremony, and just before the
undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said,

"Wait just a moment!"
She had a small metal box with her; she came over with the
box and put it in the casket. Then the undertakers locked the
casket down and they rolled it away. So her friend said,

"Girl, I know you were not fool enough to put all that money in
there with your husband."
The loyal wife replied, "Listen, I cannot go back on my word. I
promised him that I was going to put that money into the
casket with him."

You mean to tell me you put that money in the casket with
him!?!?!?"

"I sure did," said the wife. "I got it all together, put it into my
account, and wrote him a check.... If he can cash it, then he
can spend it."

FACTBOX - How to invest in gold and key price drivers

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices surged to record highs above $1,230 an ounce on Tuesday, as concerns over the potential for Greece's sovereign risk issues to spread through the euro zone sparked buying of the precious metal as a haven from risk.
Bullion prices have already reached new highs in sterling, euro and Swiss franc terms this week, but strength in the dollar camouflaged spot gold's strength, analysts said.
Gold broke its usual strong inverse correlation with the dollar to rally in line with the U.S. currency this month, as investors sought refuge from other markets in both assets.
Following are key facts about the market and different ways to invest in the precious metal.

HOW DO I INVEST?
SPOT MARKET
Large buyers and institutional investors generally buy the metal from big banks.
London is the hub of the global spot gold market, with some $18 billion in trades passing through London's clearing system each day. To avoid cost and security risks, bullion is not usually physically moved and deals are cleared through paper transfers.
Other significant markets for physical gold are India, China, the Middle East, Singapore, Turkey, Italy and the United States.
FUTURES MARKETS
Investors can also enter the market via futures exchanges, where people trade in contracts to buy or sell a particular commodity at a fixed price on a certain future date.
The COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange is the world's largest gold futures market in terms of trading volume. The Tokyo Commodity exchange, popularly known as TOCOM, is the most important futures market in Asia.
China launched its first gold futures contract on January 9, 2008. Several other countries, including India, Dubai and Turkey, have also launched futures exchanges.

EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS
The wider media coverage of high gold prices has also attracted investments into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which issue securities backed by physical metal and allow people to gain exposure to the underlying gold prices without taking delivery of the metal itself.
Gold held in New York's SPDR Gold Trust , largest gold-backed ETF, rose to a record high of 1,192.150 tonnes as of May 10, from 1,188.498 tonnes in the previous business day.
The ETF's holdings are equivalent to nearly half global annual mine supply, and are worth more than $53 billion at today's prices.
Other gold ETFs include iShares COMEX Gold Trust , ETF Securities' Gold Bullion Securities and ETFS Physical Gold, and Zurich Cantonal Bank's Physical Gold.

BARS AND COINS
Retail investors can buy gold from metals traders selling bars and coins in specialist shops or on the Internet. They pay a small premium for investment products, of between 5-20 percent above spot price depending on the size of the product and the weight of demand.

KEY PRICE DRIVERS
INVESTORS
Rising interest in commodities, including gold, from investment funds in recent years has been a major factor behind bullion's rally to historic highs. Gold's strong performance since the beginning of the 21st century has attracted more players and increased inflows of money into the overall market.

U.S. DOLLAR
Despite the recent drop in the usual strong correlation between gold and the euro-dollar exchange rate, the currency market still plays a major long-term role in setting the direction of gold.
Bullion prices typically move in the opposite direction to the U.S. dollar both because dollar-priced assets become nominally more expensive as the U.S. currency strengthens, and because gold is a popular hedge against currency weakness.

OIL PRICES
Gold has historically had a strong correlation with crude oil prices, as the metal can be used as a hedge against oil-led inflation. Strength in crude prices also boosts interest in commodities as an asset class.

FISCAL AND POLITICAL TENSIONS
The precious metal is widely considered a "safe haven," bought in a flight to quality during uncertain times.
Financial market shocks, as seen in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2009 and more recently in the case of Greece's debt problems, tend to boost inflows to gold.
Major geopolitical events including bomb blasts, terror attacks and assassinations can also induce price rises.

CENTRAL BANK GOLD RESERVES
Central banks hold gold as part of their reserves. Buying or selling of the metal by the banks can influence prices. On Aug. 7, 2009, a group of 19 European central banks agreed to renew a pact to limit gold sales, originally signed in 1999 and renewed for a further five years in 2004.
Annual sales under the pact are limited to 400 tonnes, down from 500 tonnes in the second agreement, which expired in late September.
Sales under the agreement have been low under the new pact, however.

HEDGING
Several years ago when gold prices were languishing around $300 an ounce, gold producers sold a part of their expected output with a promise to deliver the metal at a future date.
But when prices started rising, they suffered losses and there was a move to buy back their hedging positions to fully gain from higher market prices -- a practice known as de-hedging.
Significant producer de-hedging can boost market sentiment and support gold prices. However, the rate of de-hedging has slowed markedly in recent years as the outstanding global hedgebook shrank.

SUPPLY/DEMAND
Supply and demand fundamentals generally do not play a big role in determining gold prices because of huge above-ground stocks, now estimated at around 160,000 tonnes -- more than 60 times annual mine production.
Gold is not consumed like other commodities.
Peak buying seasons in major consuming countries such as India and China exert some influence on the market, but others factors such as the dollar and oil prices carry more weight.
(Compiled by Atul Prakash, Jan Harvey and Frank Tang; Editing by Veronica Brown, Chris Johnson, Clarence Fernandez, and Rebekah Kebede)