Cosmetic surgery on the rise in 2008

Beauty has become a national obsession, and people within the age group of 25 and 45 are fueling a surge in demand for cosmetic surgery. In fact, 2008 will witness a 25% growth in this trend.

Today, several affluent and middle class Indians are seeking salvation in physical perfection. Many patients visit the American Laser Centre with the desire and desperation for a little nip here and a tuck there.

Dermatologist, Dr MM Omer Azad, says, “Fraxel skin treatment or skin Fraxel treatment is the latest in the world. It's two to three years old in the world and it's just two to three months old in India.“

Patient, Dharmwir Yadav, says, “I am 60 years old, but physically I feel I’ am not more than 35-40, so I want to look as young as I feel. I don’t want to look not more than 35-40.”

Its not just about creams and ointments to look young. The quick relatively painless procedures have reduced the fear of surgeries among many worshipers of beauty.

Fraxel treatment is able to target microscopic areas of the skin by using focused laser beams to eliminate old and damaged skin cell. By treating skin below the surface, the treatment stimulates the body's own natural healing process and replaces damaged skin with fresh, growing and healthy skin. The best part is that there are no side effects and the results can be seen in just three weeks.

But the cost of looking younger comes at a price. It starts at Rs 25,000 per sitting and you are looking at, up to three to five sessions.

There is still some more uplifting news when it comes to face lift, for those who don't like what they see in the mirror.

For India's beauty conscious urbanites, it's not just about looking good. It's about looking absolutely fabulously perfect at every age. Which only means that in today's India, beauty governs health rather than the other way around.

Chuck worries away, eat chocolates to stay healthy

Chocolate is no longer sinful. In fact it is good for the body and the brain.

So, after Biology and Psychology, it is now time for Chocology — the study of chocolates and its various health benefits.

If you are like the millions of other people who are addicted to all things sweet, chocolate is the final word when it comes to boosting your mood.

And what could be sweeter than all those studies listing out the benefits of chocolate— perhaps a job that requires you to study chocolates?


Basically, Chocology tells you that there’s more to the chocolate than what meets the eye.

Walking, a simple step to prevent diabetes

A brisk 30-minute walk 6 days a week is enough to trim waistlines and cut the risk of metabolic syndrome -- an increasingly common condition that is linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, a new study indicates.

"Our study shows that you'll benefit even if you don't make any dietary changes," study leader Johanna L. Johnson, a clinical researcher at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, said in a statement.
It's estimated that about one quarter of all U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors that raise the odds of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke. To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, a person must have at least three of these five risk factors -- a large waistline, high blood pressure, high levels of harmful triglycerides, low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, and high blood sugar -- and according to many studies, a growing number of people have these problems.

The new findings stem from the STRRIDE study -- an acronym for Studies of a Targeted Risk Reduction Intervention through Defined Exercise -- in which investigators examined the effects of varying amounts and intensity of exercise on 171 middle-aged, overweight men and women.

Before exercising regularly, 41 percent of the study subjects met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. At the end of the 8-month exercise program, only 27 percent did.

"That's a significant decline in prevalence," said Johnson. "It's also encouraging news for sedentary, middle-aged adults who want to improve their health. It means they don't have to go out running 4 or 5 days a week; they can get significant health benefits by simply walking around the neighborhood after dinner every night."

The results of the STRRIDE study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, appear in the American Journal of Cardiology this month.

Frequent mobile phone use can trigger mouth cancer

The use of mobile phones for long periods may trigger mouth cancer, shows a study by researchers in Israel.

Previous studies had generated conflicting results. While some researchers had said they found a link between cancer and excess mobile phone use, a few scientists had rejected the claim.

In the new study, scientists looked at the lifestyles of 402 people with benign mouth tumours and 56 with malignant ones. They were compared to a control group of 1,266 people.

The study found that five years of frequent use increased the chances of developing a tumour in the mouth by around 50 percent compared with people who had never used one, reported the online edition of the Daily Mail.

Those who used mobiles the most were more likely than normal to develop parotid gland tumours, the scientists said.

The parotid is the largest of the salivary glands located in front of the ear. Long-term mobile phone users tended to develop tumours on the same side of the head as the phone was normally held, they said.

People who used mobile phones in rural areas, where the phone has to work harder to make contact with the nearest base station, were found to be at greater risk although the cause of the heightened risk was not established.

Panic attacks tied to women's heart attack risk

The rapid pulse and shortness of breath of a panic attack can feel like a heart attack, and it may signal heart trouble down the road, a study of more than 3,000 older women suggests.

Women who reported at least one full-blown panic attack during a six-month period were three times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke over the next five years than women who didn't report a panic attack.

The researchers took into account other risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, inactivity and depression and still found that panic attacks raised risk.

The findings add panic attacks to a list of mental health issues — depression, fear, hostility and anxiety — already linked in previous research to heart problems, said study co-author Dr. Jordan Smoller of Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital.

“Postmenopausal women who are experiencing panic attacks may be a subgroup with elevated risk,” Smoller said. “Monitoring them and reducing their cardiovascular risk may be important.”

The study, published in Monday's Archives of General Psychiatry, wasn't designed to explain the link, Smoller said. He speculated that a panic attack may trigger heart rhythm problems or that stress hormones released during an attack may harm the heart.

The findings don't surprise Susie Rissler, 51, of Terre Haute, Ind. A panic attack sufferer since childhood, she's also has had three mini-strokes.

“You feel like the whole world is caving in,” Rissler said of her panic attacks, which can include a racing heartbeat and chest pains. “I've had shaking, sweating, curling up in a ball totally afraid to even look around. Panic attacks can really destroy a person in a lot of different ways.”

Some of the reported panic symptoms may have been heart problems in disguise, Smoller said. Symptoms such as racing heart, chest pain or shortness of breath, experienced as a panic attack, may have been caused by an undiagnosed heart problem.

“One study doesn't settle a question,” he cautioned. “The number of events seen in this sample is still relatively small.” Forty-one of the 3,243 women in the analysis had a heart attack or death from a heart problem. An additional 40 had strokes.

Al-Qaida ties suspected in deadly Algeria blasts

ALGIERS, Algeria - Car bombs exploded minutes apart Tuesday in central Algiers, heavily damaging U.N. offices and partly ripping the facade off a new government building. The interior minister said 22 people were killed, including U.N. workers, but hospital and rescue officials gave figures at least twice that toll.

Suspicions quickly focused on militants affiliated with al-Qaida, which claimed responsibility for attacking the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in 2003.

The two bombs exploded around 9:30 a.m., and one had deliberately targeted United Nations offices, according to the head of the U.N. refugee agency in Geneva. The other bomb struck Algeria’s Constitutional Council, said Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni.

Interview with Mamta Mohandas

Some queries and answers with Mamta Mohandas

? How did films happen?

I am Malayalee and brought up in Bahrain.
I had finished my schooling there and came down to Banglore for the higher studies.

While I was in the last year of my studies Hariharan (Malayalam director) saw me in a party and offered me the film Mayookam but I was not sure of accepting it. My plans were different.

After finishing graduation, I wanted to study in UK and then to the middle East. So I took some time to accept the offer.

I finished Mayookam my holidays, and it took more than four months to get the film released (November 2005). After that I started doing films from middle of 2006 and completed seven films so far in Malayalam.


? Tell us about your entry into Telugu ?


It just did happen. I didn't plan it.
Though I was offered movies earlier in Telugu, I didn't take up them.

Then I got offer from M S Raju and Aata was supposed to be my launch pad but it didn't.
Then I waited for an exciting movie offer with a great character.

That I got from Rajamouli sir's Yamadonga. I was too happy when I heard about the gigantic project and importance of my role in the film.

That is why I put my Tamil career on hold. We took 7 months to finish Yamadonga and it was worth it.