Concern in International circles after reports of food scandal in China has led the WHO to issue safety limits for melamine levels in food.

It is the first time WHO experts have issued safety limits for the use of the industrial chemical and they stressed that melamine should not be used in food at all.

The so-called Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) has been fixed at 0.2 mg per kilogramme of body weight. This means that a person who weighs 50kg can tolerate up to 10mg of mela…

The discrimination and stigma surrounding gays in Africa may actually hamper their access to HIV/AIDS programs, activists cautioned.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender activists took centre stage Thursday at the 15th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), the first ICASA to give such attention to the specific problems of sexual minorities.

“Homophobia fuels the spread of AIDS. In Africa main stream HIV/AIDS and human ri…

The Medical computer society of India (MCSI) leads in organizing an International conference-

MEDITEL 2008.

It is a Conference on Medical informatics and Telemedicine under the leadership of Dr.Sunil Shroff, eminent Nephrologist and President of MCSI. The past MCSI’s conferences showcased the true Indian perspective.

The fifth International conference on Medical informatics and telemedicine that is scheduled to take place at Sri Ramchandra Medical College & Research Institute, Chennai from 19th-20th December, 2008 will focus on

“The use of ICT in health education and research”

“The need of the hour is a unified plan of action”

Using ICT in medical education is a huge opportunity waiting to happen in India. In spite of the availability of skilled manpower, this has been a neglected area and we hope to find ways by which we could inculcate it in our healthcare curriculum.

The conference as in the past will bring together decision makers, policy makers, practicing clinicians, healthcare educators and researchers, health administrators, health technologists and IT vendors The event will feature use of ICT for medical education, touch-screen patient information facilities, RFID, early warning and automated response systems especially in the context of diseases such as Chikungunya, ethics, changing clinical practices and the latest in e-health and the likely future trends.

Conference will also have presentations from experts of national and international repute, covering on various aspects of medical informatics and telemedicine. The event will showcase successful products in the Indian healthcare environment and discuss the challenges in their implementation.

film

Name : idayathai Thirudathe       Country : India

According to health sources cucumber juice is beneficial for both skin and hair.

Cucumber is rich in silica, a mineral that strengthens connective tissues, like tendons, muscles, cartilage, bones, and ligaments. It is also reported that silica is good for hair growth,complexion,skin elasticity, and fingernails.

It is important to use cucumbers which do not require peeling because you lose much of the silica and other beneficial properties which are in the skin of cucumber.

Cucumber juice for weight loss

Half a glass of cucumber juice and a serving of fresh vegetable salad(carrot,lettuce,spinach with a sprinkle of diced mint and coriander leaves) can cut down on daily calories and also give your body the needed liquid.

Cucumber juice is also low in sugars and carbs and filled with more essential vitamins and minerals than fruit juices.

The ideal cucumber juice recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber

• 1 small to medium clove

• 1 small piece of ginger

• Two or three mint leaves(optional)

• 1 small piece of clove

• 1 spoon honey/palm sugar/jaggery

• Few pieces of crushed ice

This juice recipe is one of the simplest and quickest to make and serves two. Simply wash the the cucumber and chop into pieces . Scrape the skin of ginger and dice into pieces and juice in the mixer with a small piece of clove,ginger and mint leaves.(Mint leaves can also be diced and added while serving).Mix honey/palm sugar or jaggery and serve in tall glasses with ice cubes.

The high water content of this juice driink also makes it a great way to hydrate your body and keep your skin healthy.

The rejuvenating and anti ageing properties of papaya are acclaimed by health experts and doctors.

The papaya is a wonderful source of proteolytic enzymes.A poor digestion leaves the body without the correct nutrients. Papaya used regularly either in tablet or in juice form marks the turning point in the climb back to vitality and good health.

Papain, which is the most important of these enzymes in the papaya, is extracted and dried as a powder for use to aid the digestion, and it is often used as a meat tenderizer, the enzyme partially breaking down the meat fibres – digesting them in fact.

Papaya juice recipe
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup fresh ripe papaya chopped and chilled

• 1 tsp honey

• few icecubes crushed

• 1 pinch pepper powder(optional)

• 1 cup water, chilled

• few mint leaves(optional)
Preparation
• Blend all the ingredients in a juicer until smooth.(Pepper powder and diced mint leaves can be added while serving)

• Pour into tall glasses and serve chilled.

Up to one in 10 children are thought to be victims of maltreatment in high-income countries, experts said Wednesday, warning that child abuse is much more widespread than most people think.

The researchers from universities in Britain and the United States called for increased funding for research into the issue, and a reasoned public debate on combating child abuse.

“It’s a much bigger public health problem than is commonly perceived,” said Richard Horton, editor of Brit…

AIDS activists urged Western donors Wednesday to keep their pledges to a fund to fight the disease amid fears that the global financial crisis could hurt the campaign.

“Already we are missing billions of euros in funding and the current financial crisis means that it could become more difficult to fill the gap,” UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot warned at the opening of a major international conference on AIDS in Dakar.

He called on donors to keep their promises for fu…

Zimbabwe is appealing for international aid after declaring a cholera epidemic which has so far claimed 565 lives a national emergency, the state-run Herald newspaper said Thursday.

“The government yesterday (Wednesday) declared the cholera outbreak … and the malfunctioning of central hospitals as national emergencies and appealed to the donor community for assistance to alleviate the situation,” it said.

“The emergency appeal will help us reduce the morbidity and morta…

Peter Piot, who has been at the helm of UNAIDS since its creation in 1995, told an international conference Thursday to stop looking for a magic bullet to fight the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

“There is a normal human tendency to look for the magic bullet, but my friends, it doesn’t exist,” Piot said in one of his last speeches before he steps down as the head of UNAIDS.

“Can we now just agree for all that we have to come to terms with complexity and rather than to have this…

Zimbabwe’s government pleaded for international help after declaring a national emergency over a cholera epidemic that has left 560 dead, as Britain warned the country had become a “failed state.”

With its economy shrinking dramatically for nearly a decade, Zimbabwe’s hospitals have no medicine or equipment to treat patients, and lack money to pay health care workers or clean the water supply.

President Robert Mugabe’s government has been mired in turmoil since he lost a …

Seniors may be getting old, but they still feel about 13 years younger than their actual age, according to a new study.

Seniors involved in the six-year project, which assessed 516 men and women aged 70 and older, revealed that they felt on average 13 years younger than their chronological age, with women perceiving they were closer to their actual age than men.

“People generally felt quite a bit younger than they actually were, and they also showed relatively high levels…

The number of deaths caused by measles dropped 74 percent in the past seven years worldwide, thanks to dramatic progress in Africa and nations including Afghanistan and Pakistan, the World Health Organization said Thursday.

The number of deaths dropped by half a million between 2000 and 2007, from an estimated 750,000 to 197,000, the WHO said.

Two-thirds of the global reduction took place in Africa, where the number of deaths dropped by 89 percent, it said.

Th…

Watermelon juice with mint leaves
Ingredients
• Two cups diced watermelon

• 1 teaspoon honey

• Few mint leaves, diced
Directions
• Juice the watermelon in a juice blender.(Mint leaves can also be juiced along with the water melon chunks)

• Strain the juice and mix the honey

• Place crushed ice in a tall glass

• Stir well and serve

If the mint leaves are not juiced with the watermelon it can be diced and sprinkled on the glass while serving.

This delicious fruit which is high in nutrients and minerals help wounds heal, and removes ammonia and free radicals from the body.

Protesters in Dakar urged Western leaders to keep their word on AIDS funding despite the economic meltdown.

On the eve of an international conference on AIDS in Africa, the demonstration included giant puppets that caricatured US president-elect Barack Obama and French and EU president Nicolas Sarkozy.

“African children are watching you!” read a banner next to the puppets.

The women’s and children’s organisations that organised the protest fear a drop in fundin…

A constitutional crisis seems imminent in Luxembourg, following the threat of the sovereign, Grand Duke Henri, to impede the proposed law which would give a legal stamp to euthanasia.

Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker responded by saying the country would change its constitution to reduce the powers of the sovereign, who traditionally stays above the political fray.

“Because we wish to avoid a constitutional crisis, but at the same time respect the opinion of the Grand D…

A recently published study has pointed to the health issues bogging kids, right from obesity to tobacco use, caused due to increased exposure to television and other media.

“The results clearly show that there is a strong correlation between media exposure and long-term negative health effects to children,” said Ezekiel Emanuel of the National Institutes of Health, lead researcher on the study.

The study, “Media and Child and Adolescent Health: A Systematic Review,” was d…

Healthy middle-age women can have up to two alcoholic drinks a day without apparently being at risk of irregular heartbeat, according to a study out Tuesday.

But having more than two alcoholic drinks is associated with an increased risk of irregular heartbeat, also known as atrial fibrillation, read the report in the December 3 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Several studies established strong links between medium to heavy drinking and higher …

Traumatised by the battlefield or the anguish of divorce caused by long absence from home, many American troops in Iraq are increasingly shedding their macho image and visiting Combat Stress Clinics.

Four years ago, following the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, the US military drew together psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and specialist nurses in spacious buildings where troops could be treated.

For a few hours or maybe days, shattered soldiers can …

Three American men have taken the unusual step of moving to China in an extreme attempt to shed huge amounts of weight at a fat reduction clinic and have become surprise local celebrities.

Alonzo Bland, 33, and brothers Walt and David Anderson, 56 and 50, have lived in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin since the middle of this year as part of an effort to break away from their unhealthy lifestyles back home.

Together, they have lost a combined 192 kilogrammes (427 poun…

The number of abortions carried out in Spain has more than doubled in the 10 years to 2007, the government said Tuesday.

In 1998, a total of 53,847 abortions were performed, compared with 112,138 last year, the health ministry said.

It said the rate was highest among women aged between 20 and 24, followed by those aged 25 to 29, according to study.

Equality Minister Bibiana Aido said the figures, which also indicate that abortions were up more than 10 percent …

Watermelon juice: Nutrition facts and health facts.

• One 100 ml glass of watermelon juice contains – water 92%, Sugar 8%, Energy app 50 calories. This highly nutritious fruit has the following anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins.

Anti-oxidants

• Carotenoids (Lycopene, Beta-Carotene, Lutein, Phytofluene, Neurosporene Phytoene) around 7500 mcg.

Minerals
• Potassium

• Magnesium

• Zinc, Calcium, Iron, Sodium

• Phosphorus
Vitamins

• Vitamin A

• Vitamin C

• Vitamin B6

The anti oxidants and potassium rich water melon juice not only prevents you from heart disease and cancer but is a great energy drink that boosts your metabolism and stamina.

Yes, Watermelon juice is highly nutritious – so enjoy and experience mother nature’s goodness in its every drop.

Finally, President George W. Bush has a reason to smile. On Monday, the White House occupant will mark World AIDS Day by announcing that his administration has already met its goal of treating two million people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of the year.

“PEPFAR is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in human history,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement.

“When the President launched this initiative in 2003, approximately…

On Monday, a charity has said that Zimbabwe may be on the brink of an anthrax outbreak after the disease recently claimed three lives people and now threatens to wipe out livestock in northern Zimbabwe. This will only add to the nation’s woes as it continues to struggle with cholera.

Two children and one adult in the Zambezi Valley have died of the disease, which also threatens to kill 60,000 livestock in the region, Save the Children, a British non-government group, said in a statem…

On the occasion of World AIDS Day on Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Michel Sidibe of Mali to head the world body’s AIDS-fighting agency, UNAIDS, a spokeswoman said.

Sidibe, 56, will start his new job as executive director of the UN AIDS program based in Geneva, Switzerland. He has served as UNAIDS deputy executive director since 2007.

His predecessor, Belgian Peter Piot, has headed UNAIDS since it was launched in 1995 and had previously indicated his i…

UN report stresses the need for timely screening of newborns at risk of HIV, which can save many lives.

“Early diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve the prospects for survival of newborn babies exposed to HIV,” said the report published by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

“Without appropriate treatment, half of children with HIV will die from an HIV-related …

Governments across the globe pledged Monday to step up the fight against HIV, promising to bankroll treatment programmes on the 20th annual World AIDS Day.

Outgoing US President George W. Bush marked the occasion by highlighting his efforts to battle the deadly disease, particularly in Africa.

He announced that his President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or “PEPFAR,” had already met its goal of helping to treat two million people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 200…

American teenagers lie, steal and cheat more at “alarming rates,” a study of nearly 30,000 high school students concluded Monday.

The attitudes and conduct of some 29,760 high school students across the United States “doesn’t bode well for the future when these youngsters become the next generation’s politicians and parents, cops and corporate executives, and journalists and generals,” the non-profit Josephson Institute said.

In its 2008 Report Card on the Ethics of Ameri…

Following the blood bath at chabad house in Mumbai, many low profile jewish websites witnessed a surge of visitors, that caused some of the websites to crash with the unprecedented load of user traffic.

The dramatic events in India have highlighted the web’s growing role in the reclusive ultra-Orthodox community, which had long shunned the Internet as a potential threat to its traditional way of life.

Some websites have crashed as readers sought updates on the attacks tha…

Zimbabwe has cut water supplies to the capital Harare, state media said Monday, as the health minister urged the public to stop shaking hands in a desperate bid to curb a deadly cholera epidemic.

The city has suffered periodic water cuts for years as the crumbling economy has caused widespread power shortages that often leave pumps idle.

But the city-wide cut appeared aimed at stopping the flow of untreated water around Harare, which is at the epicentre of the cholera epi…