Drugs, sex are main triggers of heart attacks !!!

New research has shown that the main triggers of heart attacks are drugs, overeating, anger and sex – in that order, reports the Independent .

A heart attack trigger is a factor, which explains why a heart attack occurs on a particular day or time. It is the final straw that triggers the attack and is distinct from the underlying cause, which may be a combination of smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise or being overweight.

According to the new ranking of these triggers, cocaine use increases the risk 23-fold, and a cup of coffee raises it 50 per cent.

Some triggers lead to a big increase in risk – limited exposure reduces it.

As relatively few people take cocaine, despite the high risk to individual users, the drug triggers less than 1 per cent of all heart attacks.

Coffee is widely drunk, so despite the relatively low risk to coffee drinkers, the beverage triggers one in 20 heart attacks. More than 2 per cent of heart attacks occur during or after sex (the exertion which triggers it).

Professor David Spiegelhalter at Cambridge University noted that if everyone stopped having sex, heart attacks could be reduced, but that is unlikely to be a popular public health message.

He was commenting on the study by Belgian researchers, published in the Lancet .

It showed that the biggest factor, in population terms, was traffic fumes, which triggers more than 7 per cent of all heart attacks. 

Feeling good drives away stress, pain

Many believe that it is important to 'feel good about yourself' in order to be healthy, especially as you grow older. But how true is it really? 

"We all age. It is how we age, however, that determines the quality of our lives," said Anthony Ong of Cornell University.

For example, happier people might be more enthusiastic about regularly exercising and budgeting time for a good night's sleep, an attitude that is especially beneficial in old age.

Studies have found that people with stronger positive emotions have lower levels of chemicals associated with inflammation related to stress. They can even undo some of the physical damage caused by stress.

Ong speculates that if positive emotions are indeed good for our health then, "one direct, measureable consequence of this should be the extended years of quality living." 

"The article is published in Current Directions in Psychological Science . "

Why having 'sex' is a healthy habit

If you thought the only benefit of sex was, well, pleasure, here's some news for you. 

Making love is good for adults. And making love regularly is even better! Not only does it help you sleep well, relieve stress and burn calories, there are several other reasons why you need to have sex more often.

Improves cardiovascular health
A recent study says that men who have sex more than twice a week, had a lesser risk of getting a heart attack than men who had sex less than once a month.

Relieves pain 
If you're using your headache as an excuse not to make love, stop doing it. Just when you're about to orgasm, the level of oxytocin, a hormone increases by five times. The release of endorphins reduces aches and pains.

Increases immunity 
Regular love making increases the body's level of the immune-boosting antibody immunoglobulin A (IgA), which will make your body stronger against illnesses like the common cold and fever.

Reduces stress 
Stressed out with work or family problems? Don't let it affect your performance in the bedroom. Not only will having sex improve your mood, but a study has proved that folks who indulge in regular bedroom activities can handle stress better and are happier people generally.

Promotes longevity 
When one has an orgasm, a hormone called Dehydroepiandrosterone is released, which improves your immunity and repairs tissue and keeps the skin healthy. Men who have at least two orgasms a week have live longer than men who have sex just once every few weeks.

Increases blood circulation 
Because your heart rate increases when you're having sex, fresh blood is supplied to your organs and cells. While used blood is removed, you also discard things from your body that cause you to feel tired.

You sleep better 
Notice that just after you make love, the sleep you get thereafter is much more relaxed. Getting a good night's sleep will make you feel alert and healthy overall.

Improves overall fitness 
If you find going to the gym mundane or working out at home a task, here's another way to help you lose the flab and keep in shape. Regular sex will do wonders for your waistline. Half an hour of love making burns more than 80 calories.

Increases your levels of estrogen and testosterone 
In men, testosterone is what makes you more passionate in the sack. Not only will it make you feel way better in bed, but it is also known to improve your muscles and bones, keeps your heart healthy and a check on your cholesterol. Estrogen in women protects them against heart disease and also determines a woman's body scent.

Laptops cause male infertility

Men who use their laptops while keeping them in their laps could be risking their fertility, a new research has found.

A new study by Fertility and Sterility has found that when men use their laptops in their laps instead of on their desks, they may be overheating those male parts, which, in turn, may be damaging their sperm.

In studies, even men who used laptop pads as a buffer between their machine and their man parts, dangerously overheated themselves within 10 minutes.

The authors noted that other research has shown that warming the scrotum more than 1.8 degrees is enough to damage sperm.

After one hour, the 29 subjects working with a laptop on their knees had raised the temperature in their testicles by more than 4 degrees.

However, Yefim Sheynkin, lead author of the study and State University of New York urologist, stated that this is not proof that laptops definitely lead to infertility among men. 

Olive can do wonders to your diet!

Whether you prefer them green or black, olives are a healthy fruit to add to your meals. For the Greeks, they represent nobility and peace but more than that they know the wonders it does for your health. 

Olive oil helps keep cholesterol levels in check and controls the blood sugar. It is one of the easiest to digest as it is monounsaturated. Drizzle some on top of a vegetable salad or dip a slice of whole-grain bread in some and eat as a snack.

Olive oil can also be added to spicy dishes and acidic food items. Try adding them when making sauces and dressings. Make a mix of olive oil with onions, herbs (oregano, thyme etc) and garlic for pasta sauces. Use olive oil to marinate your meat dishes as this allows better penetration ofthe flavour into the food. For sautéing or frying, it's best to use a combination of extra virgin and regular olive oil. Add flavour to olive oil by infusing the oil with sprigs of dried herbs. It's best stored in a dark cool spot and in a tightly covered container. Keeping olive oil in the refrigerator, can make it turn thick.

Table olives can eaten in the pickled form or stuffed with pimentos or even just plain. While they can be used in anything from baked dishes to martinis, they also make a healthy snack eaten on their own.

Benefits of Yoga

Benefits of Yoga to Your Bones, Muscles, and Joints

• The physical benefits of yoga are myriad. Yoga keeps your body strong, as it involves all the muscles in your body to hold and balance yoga asanas (poses). The various yoga postures strengthen your feet, legs, hands, abdominals, lower back, legs, and shoulders.
• Yoga's stretching and breathing exercises improve your flexibility, helping joints, tendons, and muscles stay limber. People suffering from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis will see a noticeable improvement in their stiffness, pain, and other arthritic symptoms by practicing yoga poses and postures.
• Yoga improves your endurance, especially the more athletic forms of yoga such as ashtanga yoga, power yoga, vinyasa yoga, and Bikram yoga. These rigorous yoga practices follow a specific sequence of poses (asanas) that become more challenging as you progress. Unlike the more gentle hatha yoga, the forms of ashtagna yoga, power yoga, vinyasa yoga, and Bikram yoga require you to keep your body in constant motion between poses, resulting in a strenuous cardiovascular workout and improved core strength.
• Hatha yoga can relieve chronic back and neck pain, since the poses and postures gently stretch and strengthen your back and neck muscles.
• Yoga is often prescribed to help heal various injuries, including repetitive strain injuries, knee and back injuries, pulled hamstrings, even minor skin burns. Of course, you should consult your physician before using yoga as a treatment for any injury!
• Yoga is an excellent weight-bearing exercise that can improve your bone density. This is particularly beneficial for women approaching menopause, since yoga can help ward off osteoporosis, or thinning of the bone.

Benefits of Yoga to the Cardiovascular System

Yoga has tremendous health benefits for your heart. Most notably:

• The gentler forms of yoga lower your blood pressure because the asanas (yoga poses, postures, and yoga positions) keep blood flowing evenly throughout your body while you focus on your breathing.
• People suffering from hypertension can benefit from yoga tremendously, as hatha yoga can lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
• Many practitioners claim that yoga has also lowered their cholesterol.
• Power yoga is an excellent form of cardio conditioning, which strengthens core muscles while it keeps blood and oxygen circulating throughout your body.

Benefits of Yoga on Mental Health

• Yoga benefits anyone's mental health by helping him or her relax, and it is an effective form of psychological therapy. Yoga reduces anxiety and stress, resulting in better health, better mood, and better concentration throughout the day. Yoga has been used to help treat a wide variety of emotional and mental disorders, including acute anxiety, depression, and mood swings.
• Even children can benefit from yoga. Those with attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity can learn to relax and get control by using yoga breathing and yoga asanas.
• Because yoga is a form of meditation, it results in a sense of inner peace and purpose, which has far-reaching health benefits.
• Yoga has been used to help heal victims of torture or other trauma.

Benefits of Yoga on Other Health Conditions

• Do you have frequent headaches? Yoga can rid you of tension headaches and migraines because yoga circulates blood and oxygen to your head, which can often prevent headaches from starting.
• A regular yoga practice helps boost antioxidants throughout your body, resulting in a stronger immune system and improved ability to heal quickly from disease or injury.
• Yoga can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight throughout your life. Power yoga is a vigorous form of yoga that burns calories, resulting in weight loss.
• Many women going through menopause report an easing of symptoms when they begin practicing yoga.

Benefits of Yoga in Everyday Life

• Yoga can help cure insomnia, as regular yoga practice leads to better and deeper sleep.
• Yoga can help fight fatigue and maintain your energy throughout the day.
• Yoga is an effective treatment for a variety of autoimmune diseases because it can reduce the symptoms these diseases often cause, such as stiffness, malaise, fatigue, and weakness.

Exercising and still overweight?

As summer descends and you hit the gym to lose the flab piled on in winter, experts say it's not enough. What also counts is your eating habits, which should certainly go low on the carbohydrates and diet pills. 

"It is very important to balance your workout and food. People tend to overeat after a workout, which is normal considering that exercise stimulates hunger. But one should eat the right food and not each and everything. It's all about eating," nutrition consultant Geetu Amarnani told us.

In summer, people tend to hit the gyms, swimming pools or even opt for diet pills - but often they fail to achieve the desired results.

Fitness trainer Aamit of FX Zone, Noida, said: "It's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight. But exercise has another effect - it causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits. So whenever I deal with a new client, I make sure that after a week, I check his diet to see where he is going wrong."

Experts suggest that one should avoid carbohydrates and fats like sugar, colas, pastas, ice creams and junk food and replace them with green salads, fresh fruit, egg whites and milk. Also avoid biscuits and chocolates.

In case you are craving to eat something, grab a handful of nuts like almonds, walnuts and peanuts - they are very filling and not fattening at all.

There are some people who try to accelerate weight loss by popping diet pills without understanding its ill effects.

See there are many disadvantages associated diet pills. They don't just alter your digestive system but also create hormonal imbalances which in turn can cause dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

"So I never advise my clients to pop these pills. One should balance the diet and workout regime for a healthy lifestyle," she added.

Megha Arora, 25, is happy that she has lost 10 kg, but she still has some weight around her abdomen.

For this, Anup Dhir, senior cosmetic surgeon at New Delhi's Apollo Hospital, suggests that one should go for liposuction, a technique used for figure correction.

"Many people are confused by the term liposuction. It is mainly used for figure correction and not weight loss. Normally it is done on those patients who are overweight and for spot and locked fat reduction..