Hurricane Ian flattens portions of the coast of Florida, wash away homes

The Category 4 hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers Beach in Florida. There were abandoned vehicles in the roadway and debris of broken trees, boat trailers etcetera on the road. The fierce winds flattened large portions of the seaside tourist town. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famous for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. These took major hits with both Sanibel and Captiva isolated and cut off from vehicular traffic. This was because of collapse of the only bridge to the mainland. There was devastation at a mobile home park in Fort Myers Beach. The owners tried to salvage whatever was possible. Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands. A family who owned a gas station business for two years lost it but felt it could recover the loss because the business had insurance.

The storm surge had lifted a dozen large boats. These were nearly 48 feet long and the storm carried those away across the parking lot and a four-lane road and deposited them in a mangrove preserve. The surge left signs of destruction all over the place. Life in the coastal region took a severe hit. As one affected person said - “I thought that given that I have a concrete home with hurricane shutters and storm-grade windows, everything would hold. …. And for the most part it did. We just didn’t think we’d get an 18-foot storm surge.” His home is more than a block from the beach and about 6 feet above sea level. It is also elevated so the living space is about 10 feet off the ground. However, these did not help. Obviously, the behavior of nature is unpredictable and the people have to suffer. This can be taken as a warning from Nature on the miseries that climate change can bring on humanity.

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Hyderabadi biryani is delicious but dangerous - consume in limited doses

A survey conducted by the National Family Health Survey-4 of 766 households consisting of 830 women has revealed that 47.9% Hyderabadi women in the 14-49 age-group were obese. It could be attributed to Hyderabad's iconic biryani and high-calorie cuisine.
Such food is addictive, but is turning out to be a recipe for doom for a majority of city women. They gorge on the delicacies, but lack exercise. Binge eating without exercise have made them the most obese in the country - they have overtaken their counterparts in other Indian cities on the BMI index.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 17 December 2016.

The survey shows that women of Hyderabad have beaten men on the obesity chart - only 33.7% men surveyed in the city were found obese. (Those with a body mass index (BMI) higher than 25 kgm2 are termed overweight). When compared to other cities it is seen that obesity among women is 40.7% in Kolkata, 34% in Mumbai, 33.6% in Chennai and 33.4% in Bengaluru.
The study feels that a portion of the blame can be attributed to easy access to junk food accompanied by a sedentary lifestyle. They love to order tasty unhealthy food or get a cab at the doorstep instead of walking. The consequences are disastrous as obesity is a getaway to diseases like diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, lung disorders and early arthritis. What's worse, there are no effective medication to reduce weight.


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Teenagers in Jaipur take to crime to lead celebrity lifestyles

Teenagers in Jaipur have taken to crime to finance their desires to participate in in TV reality shows and become famous - they want to live a grand life as they see cine stars do. That desire is tempting them to embrace crime in a big way.
The Rajasthan police have busted a number of such gangs in past few weeks - the criminals as young as 19 have carried out robberies in the hope of laying hands on large amount of cash. Their intention is to try their lucks in Bollywood, settle in Mumbai, buy expensive clothes and live luxurious lives in metros like Delhi or Mumbai.
This has been reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 10 August 2016.

It seems on August 7, the Jaipur Police arrested two 19-year-old boys who tried to loot an ATM in Jhalana area. During interrogation it transpired that they came from poor families and wanted cash to take part in Bollywood auditions and, subsequently, live a celebrity lifestyle in Mumbai.
As a senior police official has explained - this is a new set of young criminals who are willing to go to any extent to pursue their celluloid dreams. hey are attracted to movies and lifestyle shows they watch on the television, and want cash to buy expensive clothes, and gadgets. Their usual targets are the ATMs which they perceive as the treasure trove of cash and many of them are first time criminals. They come to big cities like Jaipur and are exposed to modern lifestyle. Their parents think that their boys are studying in college but they carry out such heinous activities.


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Vegetarianism becoming popular in India - is it a result of pinch in the pocket?

India no doubt is a rapidly growing market for chicken and fish but present day awareness about health benefits of a vegetarian diet could also be catching up among people. Even though 70% of Indians above 15 years of age are still non-vegetarians, the numbers are expected to decline. This is indicated in a nationwide survey conducted in 2014 and released recently by the Registrar General of India (RGI).
Health minister J P Nadda had, recently, made a pitch in Parliament recommending vegetarian food.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 9 June 2016.

In the opinion of experts, awareness about health is on the rise and this, coupled with rising burden of lifestyle diseases like heart disorders, diabetes and cancer, could be the factors that are influencing the decision for Indians to go in for a change of dietary habits.
A number of international researches and studies have revealed that vegetarians are leading a healthier life as compared to meat-eaters. Diseases like pancreatic cancer and respiratory problems are also less common among vegetarians compared to those who consume meat regularly. Moreover, religiosity and changing lifestyles could also be contributing to this new trend.


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Health drive for Britons - leave the couch and cut down on fatty foods

Britain has taken a positive step to improve the health of its people - it is encouraging middle-aged Britons to leave the sofa and cut down on fatty foods, as a part of the biggest health drive by the Government. The initiative is costing the taxpayer almost £3.5m and it urges people to eat better, exercise more so that they can get rid of the unwanted pounds.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 7 March 2016.

A 51-year-old has already made a number of lifestyle changes by starting to go to the gym to lose weight. She wants to keep fit and does not want a gradual deterioration in her health and fitness levels and also go overweight. Available evidence tends to suggest that living healthily in midlife can double the chances of being healthy beyond the age of 70.
Incidentally, the NHS spends more than £11bn each year to treat illnesses resulting from smoking, poor diets and inactivity. In order to introduce the changes, TV and online adverts are part of the latest initiative, called One You. The problem is that many adults know what they should be doing, but are busy looking after their children, their parents, and are busy at work. To them, online campaigns provides a number of tools to make better choices.
As part of the campaign, the supermarket ASDA has chipped in with a free blood pressure check service at its stores and in-store pharmacies.


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Be careful of six things that can reduce your lifespan

#health #cancer #lifestyle At any point of time experts are conducting research on a variety of subjects and the University of Sydney researchers have carried out a research over a six-year period on 230,000 people aged 45 and above to establish which factors affect one’s lifespan. This study reaffirms the importance of healthy lifestyles.
The study has identified six factors that can be blamed for a short lifespan. These are alcohol consumption, poor diet, inactivity, and smoking, spending more than seven hours a day sitting down and sleeping for more than nine hours. Anyone who has all these six bad habits is more than five times as likely to die during a six-year period as compared to one who is very clean-living.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 8 December 2015.

Previous research had identified important risk factors such as alcohol consumption, poor diet, inactivity and smoking which reduce lifespan. But, due to modern living styles, new factors have been identified that contribute to short lifespan. These are sedentary behavior - the amount of time spent sitting - and getting too much or too little sleep. In the opinion of researchers, unhealthy habits lead to nearly a third of deaths.
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A few simple ways to keep fit

#coconutoil #healthbenefit #lifestyle #VitaminD #ghrelin #leptin In today’s world, all of us want to keep fighting fit and towards this end, we go in for diet restrictions, exercises apart from changes in lifestyles. Health occupies a large portion of our activities, whether we admit it or not. And – all of us want to live our lives free from health complications – as far as possible. The medical profession is a noble one, no doubt, but the general tendency is to avoid doctors as far as possible unless the situation is a complicated one.
Go out minus sunglasses – this is one way to keep fit. In the opinion of Dr Kathleen Wills, a holistic practitioner with an American doctorate degree in Integrative Medicine, just 10 to 15 minutes in the sun with your sunglasses off every day can give you tremendous health benefits. Exposure to the rays of the sun means better absorption. This, in turn, increases intake of Vitamin D and helps to boost the mood and immunity apart from maintaining strong bones, and reducing the risk of cancer and other inflammatory diseases.
Break monotony and take a walk – continuous work is not good for health and, hence, forcible breaks are important. The break, even for five minutes, helps you to come out of the sedentary position, simultaneously increasing blood flow so that more nutrients and oxygen can enter your body and improve lymphatic and venous return of used blood. Moreover, the movement helps to keep the joints lubricated which maintains the health of the joints and improves mobility.
Enjoy a good night’s sleep – it is believed that less than 7-and-a-half hours sleep can lead to weight gain over a period of time because of its reaction on two important hormones namely ghrelin and leptin.
Ghrelin is known as the 'start eating' hormone – this tells you when it is time to eat. And, once one is starved of sleep, it means more ghrelin which can increase appetite by up to 25 per cent. Leptin, on the other hand, is called the 'stop eating' hormone – it causes you to feel full and, once one is not getting adequate sleep, this reduces. And - more of ghrelin coupled with less leptin translates into weight gain.
Go in for coconuts – change cooking medium to coconut oil since it boosts energy without causing spikes in blood sugar levels and also has strong antiviral, bacterial and anti-fungal properties. A study carried out by Garvan Insitute in Australia has revealed that a diet rich in coconut oil protects against 'insulin resistance' and accumulation of body fat caused by other high fat diets.