Taking health education on a new path - Dr. H.D. Wijesinghe

MEDICAL NUTRITION: Daily News Medical Page HealthWatch in association with Novartis Medical Nutrition has been taking health education on a new path for over one year now with success through its innovative Medical Crossword feature.

This tribute was paid to the HealthWatch last week by Consultant Physician Dr. H.D. Wijesinghe MBBS (Cey), MRCP (UK), MCGP (SL) when he participated as chief guest at the 18th Draw of the HealthWatch Medical Crossword held at the BMICH Convention Centre in Colombo on February 10.

While commending HealthWatch for introducing this new feature in the page, motivating the readers to read and search for more material on health matters in their search for correct solutions in filling up the crossword, hoping to win the substantial cash prizes offered, they were all gaining in health knowledge in the process thus enabling them to adjust their lives for better health, on what they have learned.

This is the new path HealthWatch has opened up for its readers on health education for better health. As far as we knew this is probably the first time that the Crossword feature has been made use for health education by a daily newspaper published in the English langauge in the whole world.

Speaking on health check-ups he said "If people make it a point to get basic health check-ups done annually and change their lifestyles as advice by the doctors, majority of them could lead healthy lives to the end of their lives avoiding most of the serious sicknesses like heart, diabetes and cancers.

He congratulated all the prize winners in the draw and the non-prize winners as well, as they had also become health winners in reality. He offered four free health check-ups at his hospital as consolation prizes at this draw.

HealthWatch Co-ordinator in his welcome address thanked Dr. Wijesinghe and Dr. Rodney Arambewala for participating at the draw as the chief guest and guest of honour. Novartis Medical Nutrition Country Manager Sri Lanka and Maldives Madu Siriwardena proposed the vote of thanks.

Sri Lanka's Honorary Consul in Victoria Australia commends Medical Crossword:

Content very informative and readable

THE Internet edition of the Daily News was followed by many and the medical page HealthWatch as its content was very informative and readable.

In fact several Sri Lankans in Australia who were reading the Daily News in the Internet, like himself were commending about this Medical Crossword feature, and they wanted to get more details about it, on his visit to Colombo this time said the Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Victoria Australia Dr. Rodney Arambewala who is on a short visit to Sri Lanka.

He was participating in the HealthWatch Medical Crossword Draw. No. 18 held at the BMICH Convention Centre last week as a special invitee for the event.

Credit to the country and proud about it

He said as a Sri Lankan domiciled in Australia, and serving the country for the past twenty years as the Country's Honorary Consul in Victoria, he has not yet come across a Medical Crossword feature in a daily newspaper published in Australia, or in any other daily newspapers in the English language which he had read in that respect HealthWatch and the Daily News in general has brought credit to the country, and he being a Sri Lankan was proud about it.

Entries from Australia

In all probability, there could be entries for this crossword from some of those in the Sri Lankan community there in Victoria, he said.

Congratulates the winners

While congratulating the winners of theCrossword No. 17 who received their prizes at this Draw No. 18, he congratulated those who emerged winners at this draw.

While thanking the Daily News healthWatch Medical Advisory Panel for inviting him for this draw as a special guest, he wished the Daily News the very best in the new year 2006.

Reducing high cholesterol with garlic therapy and Sudarshan Yoga
 

DR. SUBASH Chawla Phd

GARLIC: The prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was established in 1956 as an autonomous institution by an Act of the Parliament of India.

It was instituted to be a centre of excellence in education for the medical sciences and also for medical research in South and South East Asia.

Given the Indian background of having perhaps the oldest medical system and tradition in ayurveda which goes hand-in-hand with yoga, dating back over 5,000 years (a 30 million page electronic encyclopaedia of India's traditional medical knowledge should be ready this year), it is normal for AIIMS to be trend setters in mind-body medicine, with this background and historical influence.

Noting at the same time that modern medicines are costly and have several side effects, in some cases worse than the disease itself as also noting that complimentary and alternative medicine is rapidly gaining ground in the West where sizeable proportions of the populations for instance in USA and Canada, have opted for CAM at one time or another, AIIMS embarked on a landmark study.

In keeping with its policy of fostering holistic and mind-body methods of treating disease along with modern methods, AIIMS hosted a symposium, the first of its kind in the world, titled 'Science of Breath' - International Symposium on Sudharshan Kriya, Pranayam and Consciousness - in New Delhi.

At its Scientific Sessions a well-researched and documented study on Sudarshan Kriya (SK) conducted in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Victoria Hospital (Bangalore Medical College) Bangalore was presented by Dr. H. Geetha as a positive method of dealing with a deranged lipid profile.

SK is comprised powerful breathing techniques combined with profound positive thinking which helps elimination of toxins and stress from mind and body.

After the regular practice of SK there was a significant drop in the levels of Serum Total Cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol and an increase in the level of HDL (good) cholesterol. The cholesterol lowering action of SK is an apt answer for the prevention of a deranged lipid profile and high blood pressure (hypertension) - major risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). Heart disease is the No. 1 killer disease in USA, the Americas, Europe and South Asia including Sri Lanka.

In keeping with a holistic approach, one could combine garlic therapy with SK. Dr. Arun Bordia of India has researched the king of herbs - garlic (allium sativum) extensively and has found it was, inter alia, very effective in the prevention of atherosclerosis.

Germany, however, is one of the leading countries in the world to embrace herbal medicine, in a systematic way.

The German Government's Commission E on herbal medicine, which is mainstream in that country where around 70 per cent German MDs prescribe herbal drugs in combination with allopathic drugs if necessary, fully endorsed and approved 254 herbs.

The Commission E of the German Government endorsed garlic for lowering cholesterol and this herb is known to reduce high blood pressure as well, amongst other things.

Scientists at the Weizman Institute of Science in Israel, conducted a study headed by Biochemist David Mirelman who found that allicin, one of the key components of garlic, is very effective in preventing high blood pressure and lowers the risk of heart attacks.

A landmark study was conducted recently in a specialist practice in Bromsgrove, UK on the beneficial attributes of garlic powder supplements vs garlic oil supplements. The study was validated by the Biochemistry Department of the University of Birmingham.

The results are contained in the table which shows that total cholesterol, LDL and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings are reduced by taking garlic powder preparations - though garlic oil supplements had a beneficial effect as well. (See table)

Given the antiviral, anti bacterial, anti fungal and wide spectrum of beneficial attributes of this miracle herb, there is a resurgence in its use the world over and garlic therapy is becoming more in vogue in most cultures. Its synergistic combination with SK will be most useful in reducing cholesterol and preventing heart disease.

Garlic

Powder Oil

Total cholesterol start 6.67 6.27

Total cholesterol finish 5.76 6.07

LDL start 4.48 4.08

LDL finish 3.75 4.06

Systolic BP start 151 138

Systolic BP finish 124 138

Diastolic BP start 96 88

Diastolic BP finish 79 86

SLDWA President in a message....

SRI LANKA Doctors' Wives Association President Chrissy Aloysius in a message read at the draw while regretting her inability to attend it and give away the cash prizes personally to those who won them at the Special Medical draw in crossword No. 17 held to mark the Christmas 2005 on December 27 at the Lionel Memorial Auditorium of the SLMA in Colombo, sponsored by the Doctors' Wives Association, thanked HealthWatch Medical Advisory Committee and the Daily News for inviting her Association to sponsor the special draw for the X'mas.

She said her organisation felt honoured to have been invited to sponsor that draw and felt proud about it, as the HealthWatch Medical Crossword was the first of its kind in the world, and this special draw was its very first special draw to mark the X'mas.