Zabarwan times e paper english 22 july

Srinagar, July 21:

Doctors Association Kash-mir (DAK) on Sunday cas-tigated government for im-posing “unjustified curfew” in Kashmir Valley. “Unjustified curfew badly affected the medicare Ser-vices and added to the mis-eries of people,” said DAK President Dr Nisar-ul-Has-san after chairing a meeting of the Associations.“Doctors on emergency du-ties are not allowed to go hospitals during curfew by security forces thus de-priving people of emergent health services,” he said, adding, “The routine hos-pital work has been put on hold as not only doctors but

paramedics, nurses, theatre Staff are not allowed to at-tend their duties.”The investigations in hospi-tals are also affected as labo-ratory staff cannot make to hospitals during curfew, he added. “Overall conditions of hos-pitals is grim and alarming because if the doctors and paramedics cannot reach hospitals who will take care of patients?” he said, add-ing, “Security forces?” Even patients are not al-lowed to go hospitals for consultation during curfew and they are left to mercy of almighty, the DAK presi-dent said.“Patients cannot get medi-cines as the chemist shops

are not allowed to open their shops in curfew; even life saving drugs are not available to inpatients and putting their lives to risk.”The patients and attendants are even deprived of basic amenities like food and wa-ter during curfew days, the DAK president added.“What can be inferred from such grave humanitarian crisis is that it is a mass im-prisonment of people and human rights violation at its worst. People have been kept hostages by men in uniform who pledge to pro-tect and government main-taining criminal silence proves it beyond doubt that it. State Govt has double

See DAK on Pg. 7

New Delhi, July 21:

The House Committee (HC) of J&K Legislative Council (LC), constitut-ed to look into the res-toration of State proper-ties situated outside the State, held its meeting under the chairmanship of Mr Amrit Malhotra, Chairman, LC at New Delhi today. The Committee was ap-prised that the State is in ownership of 114 kanals of land at Rajaji Marg,

New Delhi, out of which a considerable chunk of prime land measuring 97 kanals is under the occupation of Army. The remaining 17 kanals of land is under the posses-sion of the State Govern-ment, which comprises 75 staff quarters allotted to employees of vari-ous departments. The Committee was further apprised that the State Government has been making constant efforts to retrieve the property

from Army, but no tan-gible headway has been made so far.With regard to the State properties in Mumbai, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Sirsa, which are under the illegal oc-cupation of different persons/ organizations, the Committee was ap-prised that the Govern-ment has initiated seri-ous efforts to vacate the same through Courts in respective jurisdictions. The Committee visited

Rajaji Marg and 5-Prith-vi Raj Road to have on-the-spot inspection of the assets. It passed certain observations and directed the offi-cers to come up with a comprehensive plan to make optimal use of the available land with the Government. The Com-mittee suggested for construction of multi-storyed building by de-molishing the existing shabby and outdated

See HC on Pg. 7

Pattan, July 21:

Police Sunday claimed it arrested Peoples Demo-cratic Party Sarpanch for his alleged involvement in stone-pelting in North Kashmir’s Palhalan area of Pattan town.Police sources told CNS the Palhalan Sarpanch Mohammad Akbar Bhat son Abdul Jabbar resident of Bhat Mohalla was

See Arrested on Pg. 7

PDP Sarpanch arrested on

stone-pelting charges

Protests continue, Several injured in clashesSrinagar, July 21:

Authorities have to re-impose curfew at many places after violent clashes in many parts of Kashmir Valley on Sunday. Amid restrictions, clashes erupted in Srinagar, Baramulla, Tral, and other parts of Valley. Life came to standstill for the consecutive third day on Sun-day in wake of the 3-day strike call given by Hurriyat (G) Chair-man Syed Ali Shah Geelani against the killing of 4 unarmed civilians by the paramilitary BSF at Gool in Ramban district earlier this week.Shops and business establish-ments remained closed and traf-fic was off the roads across the Valley. People across the val-

ley observed strike in protest against the killing and alleged excesses by forces. Shops, pet-rol stations and other business establishments across the val-ley were closed and traffic was

largely off the roads.Reports said that youth formed small groups in many parts of the city and clashed with police and paramilitary CRPF men. At many places youth had burnt

tyres to disrupt the vehicular movement.Heavy stone-pelting incidents were reported from HMT, Hab-bakadal and Barzulla area of

See Life Crippled on Pg. 7

Jammu, July 21:

Government agencies es-pecially the school author-ities in Jammu and Kash-mir have been asked to carry out fresh review of the pattern under which the midday meal scheme was being implemented in the state. These instruc-tions are said to have been issued following coun-trywide uproar over the death of 23 students in Bi-har after they consumed contaminated and insec-ticides laced food under midday meal scheme.Reports said that the Union Human Resources Development Ministry (HRD) is unhappy with the system of monitoring

and reviewing the imple-mentation of the midday meal programme in Jam-mu and Kashmir.According to these re-ports, a new suggestion has been issued by the HRD to all the stat Gov-ernments to carry out fresh screening of the food grains and vegetables and edible oils whether these items were being stored at proper places and the utensils used were ex-amined properly by the managers of the canteens and by the principals of the schools. This steps has been taken following re-ports that food was cooked in insecticides containers that led to the death of 23 kids in Bihar. Also it has

been later found that food grains and vegetables kept in the store had got mixed with organic manure and some insecticides.As far as Jammu and Kashmir state is con-cerned the Chief Sec-retary, who heads the screening committee has been asked to hold regular meetings of the committee not only at the state level but at the district level too which was needed for en-suring serving of hygienic food to students under the midday meal scheme.In the meantime acade-micians and intellectu-als have suggested to the HRD ministry to set up teams of experts at the

See Mid-Day Meal onPg. 7

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MonDAY July 22 | 2013 | 12 Ramzan 1434 AH | PAGES 12 | VoL no: 3 | ISSUE no: 177 | RS: 2/- (AIR SURCHARGE FoR JAMMU /DELHI/LEH 50 PAISA)Pen For JusticeLargely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&K

Life crippled in the valley for third consecutive day

Family of deceased girl

waiting for justice

Srinagar, July 21:

Justice for Tabinda Gani Forum Sunday demand-ed capital punishment to those involved in the gruesome rape and mur-der of 14-year-old girl at Langate Handwara in north kashmir’s Kup-wara district on July 20, 2007.Mohammad Iqbal

Shah, the Secretary of the Forum told KNS a memorandum is being submitted to the inter-national community to extend support for the capital punishment to those involved ghastly incident. “With every passing year we remember this fateful day, praying for the de-parted soul and request-ing the authorities for justice,” he said. Besides being brave for which Jammu and Kash-mir Govt constituted Tabinda Gani Bravery Award on June 18, 2008, she was an extraordi-nary student and thus a heavy loose to humanity

in general and to valley in particular, he said.Declaring the incident as the rarest of rare case, he said, the then Chief Min-ister Ghulam Nabi Azad had assured in an inau-gural function of District Hospital Handwara that the criminals shall be hanged as soon as pos-sible and case should be recorded on fast track basis. Justice Kirmani ordered the session court Kupwara to record the Tabinda Gani case on fast track basis so that justice will be done in short spin of time.“It is pertinent to men-tion that all the witnesses

See Punishment on Pg. 7

Capital punishment demanded for Tabinda Gani assassins

Srinagar, July 21:

Describing the Ramban incident as the most unfor-tunate, Minister for Medi-cal Education, Sports and Youth Affairs, Taj Mohi-ud-in, Minister for Agricul-ture Gh. Hassan Mir and Minister for Tourism Gh-ulam Ahmed Mir Sunday said that those involved in the carnage should be given exemplary punish-ment. “It is for the first time that soon after the incident Union Home Min-ister ordered inquiry for an impartial probe. Once the probe would be over, culprits will be booked for their heinous crime,” they said adding that such inci-dents badly affect the tour-ism industry in Valley.Appealing people not to damage public property during protests, they said that police is investigat-ing the incident that oc-curred in Qazigund a few days ago. “Some people damaged tourist property there and whosoever did it

would face the music,” he said.They said that the Tour-ism Department is soon going to implement the orders of High Court and no one would be allowed to go for constructions in and around Nallah Liddar in Pahalgam. “There are clear cut directions from the Court that nobody should be permitted to construct any kind of structure near Nallah Liddar in Pahalgam and the Ministry is soon going to implement that or-der,” he said.While replying to a ques-tion, the Minister for Tour-ism said that it is absolutely absurd to believe that gov-ernment is visible nowhere. “Government is doing its job. It is unfortunate that people are not aware about the developments that are taking place in the State of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said adding that Congress party is right now focusing on Parliament and Assem-bly elections and hopefully

See Political Leaders on Pg. 7

People responsible for Gool carnage should not be

spared: Political Leaders

Mid-day meal monitoring to be intensified in J&K

http://www.zabarwantimes.com

Srinagar, July 21:

Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani has announced to orga-nize, Sanctity Day for Holy Quran on Monday and has appealed religious scholars and imams of masjids to offer congregational Fateh Khawni after prayers for those who embraced mar-tyrdom in Gool firing. In a statement Geelani stressed religious clerics to explain and highlight the

tragic event of desecration of Holy Quran and make aware people about the fact that Muslims are duty bound to fight those ele-ments that consciously at-tempt the desecration and added the negligence from this obligation tantamount to invite wrath of Almighty Allah. He blamed the government agencies and said instead to focus the desecration inci-dent they in order to divert

See Geelani on Pg. 7

offer congregational Fateh Khawni after prayers:

Geelani to Imams

HC inspects Rajaji Marg premises at Delhi

Curfew affecting medi-care services: DAK

Ganderbal, July 21:

Tension mounted in Cen-tral Kashmir’s Saloora area of Ganderbal on Sun-day morning when people found scores of pages of Holy Quran in scattered and burning form in the lawns of Markzi Jamia Masjid. Ironically, a police shoe, Belt and a police cap was also found in the lawns, which made people suspi-cious, and they informed police about the incident.Police immediately reached the spot and assured the people that the miscreants

See Ganderbal on Pg. 7

Mischief in Ganderbal

Masjid, Culprits identified

Srinagar, July 21:

Dr Shiekh Jalal ud Din, a renowned cardiolo-gist of valley, who was injured on Thursday in a deadly attack by suspected militants, was on Sunday shifted to New Delhi’s AI-IMS from Srinagar’s SKIMS, where he was undergoing treatment.Sources said an air ambulance reached Srinagar’s Airport from New Delhi today, which took Dr Jalal to AIIMS.Comparatively stable after being operated upon in SKIMS more than once, the doctors are hopeful of his sur-vival.Dr Jalal, a renowned

cardiologist and for-mer director of SKIMS was shot along with his two personal security guards by some uniden-tified person at his an-cestral home in Nam-labal Pampore. Police claims attack was car-ried out by militants. The two guards later succumbed to their in-juries leaving Dr Jalal critically wounded. He was rushed to SKIMS where he is being treat-ed presently.Immediately after the incident, a team of ex-perts at SKIMS oper-ated upon his brain and abdomen, but he is said to have lost his left eye as bullet has pierced the eye. According to

See Air Lifted on Pg. 7

Injured Dr Jalal Air Lifted to AIIMS

Jammu, July 21:

Former minister and MLA Inderwal G M Saroori to-day visited Government Medical College Hospi-tal, Jammu and enquired about the health of those injured in firing incident in RambanHe interacted with the patients and their at-tendants and assured them all necessary as-sistance from the Gov-ernment. MLA Inderwal G M Saroori asked the doctors about the status of injured patients and directed them to extend best possible medicare to them. He also extended heart-felt condolences to the be-

reaved family of deceased and prayed for the peace of the departed souls and hoped that the effected families would be able to face the tragedy which took place on July 19 at Sungaldan Gool in district Ramban. He also wished for early recovery of the patients.MLA Inderwal G M Saroori demanded stern punish-ment to the culprits and appealed to the people to maintain peace and com-munal harmony at this critical hour. He said that an impartial inquiry should be con-ducted to know the facts related to the incident and bringing the culprits to justice.

Saroori visits GMC, enquires condition of

Ramban incident injured

Unidentified body recovered in Kargil Srinagar July 21: Kargil police recovered an unidentified male body at Matayen. An unidenti-fied male body age about 25 years was recovered by Kargil police from a river at Matayan, Kargil, in the jurisdiction of po-lice station Drass. The body is lying in Sub District Hospital Drass for identification.

Domestic servant dies in KulgamSrinagar July 21: A domestic help died in suspicious cir-cumstances at his employer’s house in Srinagar. 19 years old Mohammad Amin Jagga son of Ata Mohammad resident of Nandmarg, Kulgam, who was working as a domestic servant at the residence of Akhter Hussain Bandey, Srinagar was brought to Gousia Hospital, Khanyar, Srinagar in un-conscious condition, where doctors declared him brought dead. Srinagar police has started an inquest proceedings under section 174 CrPC to as-certain the cause of the death.

Panchayat Ghar gutted in fire Srinagar July 21: During the intervening night of 19/20.07.2013, fire broke out in the Panchayat Ghar, at Tarzoo, Sopore, resulting in complete damage to the Panchayat Ghar. However, no loss of life or injury was reported in this incident. The cause of the fire is being ascertained.

Bear injures man in Kupwara Srinagar July 21: Abdul Ma-jeed Kalas son of Raja Kalas resident of Shundi, Kupwara was attacked and injured by a bear at Shundi in the jurisdic-tion of police station Kupwara, when he was returning to his home after offering morning prayers. The injured has been shifted to SKIMS, Soura, Sri-nagar for treatment.

Don’t give heed to Facebook rumours: Police Srinagar, July 21: As rumour-mongers had a field day in virtual world, police Sunday requested people not to give any credence to Facebook ru-mours. “Some people are try-ing to vitiate the atmosphere by spreading rumours on face book. People are requested not to give any heed to such posts,” a police spokesman here said, according to KNS.

Kashmir student drowns in UttrakhandSrinagar, July 21: One Aijaz Ahmed Malla son of Ghulam Ahmed Malla, student of Beehive College, Dehradoon, Uttrakhand and a resident of Handwara alongwith friends had gone to a picnic spot Sahstradhara in Police Station Rajpora, which has a few wa-terfalls. According to his friend and classmate Rafiq Ahmad of Nowgam who was along-with him, Aijaz slipped into the stream and got drowned. Efforts are on to save him. Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone, Abdul Ghani Mir has personally talked to IGP Law & Order Uttrakhand and other officers to take all the steps to save the student.

Gulshan nagar residents up in the arms against the GovtSrinagar, July 21: The resi-dents of Gulshan Nagar Now-gam Bypass are up in the arms against the Government for turning their Colony into Tip-per stand and allowing tipper movement freely round

See Gulshan nagar on Pg. 7

Monday | 22 july 20135

Spring onions add great nutritive

and taste value to a dish and can be used in different

ways.Spring onions were

grown in Chinese gardens 5000 years ago! Do you know the onion bulb was worshipped as the symbol of the universe by ancient Egyptians? Nutritionally, green onions have a com-bination of the benefits of onions and greens. They

are an excellent source of vitamin K and vitamin C, and a very good source of vitamin A too.

Spring onions can be added to dal and make it a much tastier dish. Simi-larly, you can add it to veg-etables like cauliflower and potatoes and it will make an excellent dish. Mush-rooms go very well with spring onions and interest-ingly spring onions can be added to soy nuggets while making a Chinese dish. Spring onions are used in salads as the flavor tends to be milder than other onions. It is used widely in oriental food both as an in-gredient and as a garnish.

Spring onion is a nu-

tritious plant, and there-fore it provides a host of health benefits to us. It is a rich source of vitamins and minerals which aids in cur-ing the various ailments. It is seen to have helped in reducing the harmful im-pacts of various diseases.

Some of the health benefits of spring onions are as follows:

- Spring onion lowers the blood sugar level.

- It is a support against gastrointestinal problems.

- It is often used as a medicine for common cold.

- It is used as an appe-tizer as it helps digestion.

- It speeds up the level of blood circulation in the body.

Top 10 myths about going bald Health benefits of spring onions

One of the biggest problems that bald people face is the fact that there are

endless strange myths, odd cures, bizarre ideas and mysterious tales

surrounding them.

It is said that your hair says a lot about your personal health, care, style and groom-ing, but does this mean that all bald men have health and grooming issues? We think not! Here’s taking a look at the top 10 myths about going bald..

Stress leads to baldness. High level of emotional stress is often observed as a factor, which accelerates baldness in genetically vulnerable in-dividuals. But stress is not a leading cause behind male-pattern baldness. As a mat-ter of fact, it is a symptom of male-pattern baldness and not a cause.

Hair loss is caused by

decreased blood flow to the scalp. Medically it is believed that when your hair is grow-ing, you do need a significant amount of blood flow reach-ing your scalp, but once you lose your hair, blood flow to the scalp decreases. Thus, advertisements that claim that their hair-care product contains ‘nutrients’ and ‘vita-mins’ to promote blood flow to the scalp in order to bid baldness goodbye, shouldn’t be believed entirely. Please note that decreased flow of blood to the scalp is a result of hair loss, but not a cause of it.

Level of testosterone and baldness is closely linked. Yes, in a way. But let us un-

derstand this further. It is be-lieved that people with a high level of testosterone will not inevitably experience genetic hair loss. Please note that hair loss is caused by DTH (dihy-drotestosterne). Some people tend to produce more of DTH than the others; however this is not directly linked to the amount of testosterone in the body. Also, if high amounts of testosterone were the prob-lem, the hair present in other parts of the body would also be expected to fall out.

Certain shampoos can make hair grow faster. Sci-entifically speaking, there is no shampoo or oil, which can make your hair grow faster.

Shampoos and oils might work, only if you want to give your hair more body and pro-tection from scanty growth. You should always go for doc-tor-recommended products.Tight hats can cause baldness easily. It is often seen that bald men wear hats, but this is a complete myth. Wearing tight hats may slightly dam-age your hair, but it can in no way affect the follicles of your scalp. Hats do not cause hair breakage and if the hat is not cleaned well, it can lead to an oily scalp, but not hair loss. Also note that hair follicles, which help in hair growth, get oxygen from our blood stream and not from air.

10 Foods you can’t live withoutYes that’s right! Here’s a list of healthy and

nutritious foods that you simply cannot ignore. These foods are tasty, aid fitness, and should be consumed on a regular basis to ensure you eat a well-balanced, all-round healthy diet.

The vegetarians among you will need to find alternatives and substitutes for a few, but don’t worry - there are plenty of plant based healthy foods in this list of 10 foods you can’t ignore.

Lots of fish rich in Omega 3 - A fatty fish rich in Omega 3 is really important to get your ratio balance to 1:1 (Omega 3 : Omega 6). The top 5 fish for this purpose are - Mackeral, Trout, Her-ring, Tuna, and Salmon. Vegetarians should take Omega 3 supplements, if a fish oil supplement is a no no. Here is the low-down on the supple-ments.

Broccoli - The benefits of broccoli are many. This is one vegetable that is a tasty addition to your salad if cooked well and can be a fun addi-tion to your daily dinner. And absorbent broccoli does a great job of soaking up fats and helping flush excess out of your system.

Eggs - This is one addition to the diet that even vegetarians should partake in. With healthy fats and proteins, eggs are great for a filling break-fast and if you eat these you won’t need to eat again in a hurry. Eggs can be enjoyed in a spicy

masala curry as well as a great dish for dinner, for those who cant stand to eat them along. Here are some recipes for unique ways to cook eggs.

Spinach - Another must have vegetable made popular by Popeye, this fictional character got it right! Spinach offers calcium and magnesium in plenty, pairs well with meat of any kind, can be sauteed, steamed, thrown into soups, or eaten raw, and provides roughage. As flexible as they come, this green vegetable has so much nutrition that it’s hard to ignore.

Berries - So rich in antioxidants and so low in sugar, most berries are right up there with foods we should try to get out hands on as often as possible. These are the most nutritionally dense fruits you can eat. Read more about the best fruits here.

Nuts - Macadamia, almonds, pistas, most nuts are great because they are a great filler be-tween meals, they actually keep you full, and they are rich in proteins and good fats. Keep some nuts handy on you and they will prevent you from reaching for that bag of chips. Read more about the best snacks to keep you full.

Tomatoes - Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? The fact is that tomatoes are loaded with nutrients that’ll complete any breakfast, lunch or dinner - making each meal healthier and more filling.

Tomatoes have lycopene and red orbs which are well known for their cancer-defending proper-ties. They are full of Vitamin A and Vitamin K, which help in keeping your blood pressure levels under control.

A good steak or bacon now and then - Every once in a while it’s good to have a good chunk of red meat. This is because red meat contains ani-mal fats and proteins and on the whole makes for an extremely wholesome and satiating meal. And unless you are properly satiated with your food, you are not eating well. A nice rack of lamb will do very well too.

Dark chocolate - For that sweet tooth it is important to keep some dark chocolate handy. This will help you overcome the urge for reaching for some unhealthy, sweet dessert that it’s best you say away from whether you are skinny, fat, or somewhere in between. Dark chocolate that contains at least 60% cocoa is good for heart and liver health.

Red wine - You will be doing your body a lot of good if you switch from your favourite drink to red wine because of its antioxidant properties. Good health doesn’t have to be about neglecting all indulgences, and if you think of red wine as an indulgence, it’s time you didn’t. In fact, red wine is a clever alcohol choice.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements may not help patients with relapsing-

remitting multiple sclerosis, according

to a new study. Multiple sclerosis is a

chronic, incurable disease of the central nervous system that affects about 2.5 million people worldwide. Some pa-tients use, or have tried, ome-ga-3 fatty acids supplemen-tation to control the disease because the essential fatty acids could theoretically have anti-inflammatory and neu-roprotective effects in mul-

tiple sclerosis, the authors wrote in their study back-ground. Oivind Torkildsen, M.D., Ph.D., of Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway, and colleagues in-cluded 92 patients with mul-

tiple sclerosis in their double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to examine whether omega-3 fatty acid supplementation as a monotherapy (single therapy) or in combination with subcutaneous (under the skin) interferon beta-1a could reduce disease activ-

ity. Half of the patients (46) were given omega-3 fatty acids - 1350 mg of eicosap-entaenoic acid and 850 mg of docosahexaenoic acid daily - and the other half (46) were administered placebo. Af-

ter six months, all patients received interferon beta-1a three times a week for another 18 months. Research-ers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure disease activity by the number of new T1-weighted gado-

linium-enhancing lesions in the brain. “The results from this study did not show any beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on disease activity in multiple sclerosis as a monotherapy or in combination with inter-feron beta.

omega-3 fatty acids do not help sclerosis patients

Nutritionist Dr Sunita Dube says that parents can instill healthy eating habits in their kids, without turning meal times into a battle zone. “By encouraging healthy eating habits now, you can make a huge impact on your child’s lifelong relationship with food. Good nutrition begins in infancy. Healthy eating can stabilise children’s energy, sharpen their minds, and even out their moods. Unfor-tunately, kids are bombarded by messages that can coun-teract your efforts. Between peer pressure and constant commercials for junk foods, getting children to eat well might seem more futile than fruitful.”

According to clinical nu-tritionist Dr Nupur Krishnan, a child needs a balanced and adequate diet to supply nutri-ents and energy needed for growth. Although children’s food consump-tion is highly variable from meal to meal, their daily energy consumption is relatively constant because they adjust it at meals.

- A child requires more calories

per kilogram body weight than an adult because metabolism is highest during infancy, and steadily declines throughout life except for a small rise during adolescence.

- The physical activity of the child far exceeds that of an adult.

“A child requires more protein than an adult not only for tissue re-pair but also for growth. About 14 to 15 per cent of calories should be protein. The main sources of protein are milk and milk products (curd, paneer, lassi, shrikhand), meat, fish,

eggs, nuts, cereals and pulses. The amount of food a child needs varies according to height, build, gender and activity levels. Most children usually eat the amount of food that’s right for them, however, it is up to parents to make sure their children

have the right food avail-able to choose from,” says Dr Krishnan.

Dietician and nutri-tionist Vaishali Marathe says that adolescence is ac-companied with accelerated physical, biochemical and emotional development. “In this growth spurt time, kids gain about 20 per cent of adult height and 50 per cent of adult weight. Since growth is so rapid, require-ments for all nutrients in-crease. There are increased demands for energy, pro-

teins, minerals and vitamins,” she says. Calcium: Milk and milk prod-uct, sprouts, nachni, bajra, jowar, black gram dal, til seeds, groundnut chikki, almonds, soyabean, me-thi, beetroot, salmon (ravas), rohu, mackerel (mangada), prawns.

Make your child eat healthyBlood test to predict postnatal depressionPND affects one in seven women

and is far more severe than ‘baby blues. Mothers may struggle to bond with their babies and treatment and sup-port are vital. Researchers at Warwick Medical School found women who de-veloped the condition were more likely to have variants of two receptor genes involved in the body’s stress response, the Daily Mail reported.

The discovery could lead to earlier treatment for women who are likely to suffer from postnatal depression. At present women are often diagnosed by chance if a midwife or relative no-tices the symptoms, which usually appear a fortnight after birth. How-ever, many new mothers are unwill-ing to admit they are suffering in the mistaken belief the condition means they are a ‘bad mother.’ Presenting the teams research to the International Congress of Endocrinology, Professor Dimitris Grammatopoulos said: “Cur-rent screening policies rely on the op-portunistic finding of PND cases using screening tools such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Score (EPDS), but such tests cannot identify women at risk, ahead of them developing the condition.” The scientists assessed a group of 200 pregnant women for PND

using the EPDS, once during their first visit to the ante-natal clinic, and again two to eight weeks after they had given birth. They found that the women who developed PND were more likely to have a DNA sequence variation in two recep- tor genes

( t h e

g l u -cocor- t i c o i d receptor and the corticotrophin-releasing hormone receptor-1). These receptors control the activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, which control the activity of hor-mones triggered in response to stress. The finding appears to show that post-

natal depression is a specific subgroup of depression with a distinct genetic el-ement, which means that some women are genetically more reactive to the environmental factors that trigger de-pression. Professor Grammatopoulos said their study was the first to show a link between the functioning of the HPA axis and postnatal depression. “We think that we have made an im-portant step forward in characterising the prospective risks and are therefore paving the way for timely, appropriate medical treatment for women who are likely to develop PND,” he said. The team now intend to conduct further research on other genetic variants of the HPA axis in a larger, multi-centre

study involving women from Coven-try, Birmingham, and London. PND is a serious condition and quite different from the ‘baby blues’, which is milder and shorter-lived. Symptoms include sadness, changes in eating and sleep-ing patterns, crying episodes, reduced libido, anxiety and irritability. Effects on children can be significant; for ex-ample, depressed mothers are less likely to be affectionate towards and to play with their children and they may use less ‘baby talk’, which is designed to engage the child’s attention.

Scientists think that a simple and accu-

rate blood test could help identify women who are most likely to suffer from

postnatal depression in advance.

BackacHes strike with vengeancea supplement to help you sleepThese 20-some-things are suf-fering from an

age-old problem - backaches. They

should ignore the signs at their

own peril, say experts

Phalguni Desai, 27, was on her way home from work at the Maritime foun-dation at CST, on her usual train, when it happened. A man stole her phone from outside the moving Ladies’ compartment, nearly drag-ging her out with it. As she hung on to the pole for dear

life with her left hand, her first thought wasn’t “I’m going to have back trouble, aren’t I?”Unfortunately, it should have been. About six

months after thinking that her neck and back ache were simply muscular, she went to a specialist and found out she had spondylitis. Omkar Kanegaonkar, 25, was work-

ing out at home, doing a lower back rowing exercise. He’d done the routine in the gym before, under supervi-sion, so he knew it well.

Turns out it was a “herniation of disc” - in lay-person terms, a slip disc. Akshata Joshi, 25 and an athlete, was only 19 when she was diagnosed with 3

desiccated discs. One day, she was in class when her legs started feeling weak. Scared, she left for home and crawled into bed, only

to realize she couldn’t move. A few painkillers later, she was carted off for an MRI. All three of them are too young to have back prob-lems. Dr Prakkash Sharoff,

an orthopaedic sports and manual therapy specialist from PhysioHealth Clinic, Khar, says that almost 70 per cent of his clients are in their 20s with back ail-ments that should’ve struck them 15 years later, if at all. “Bad posture, heavy back-packs and sitting too much are the causes,” he says. Referring to the people hitting the gym for inten-sive workouts after work, he says, “People getting active suddenly after sit-ting around a lot.” “They need an instructor to watch over what they’re doing.” A common species among the young with back griev-ances are desk job employ-ees - those who spend their days in sedentary glued to their computer screens. Dr Shaikh says, “The HR de-partment of a company with many sedentary employees should consult physiothera-pists before constructing work stations.

Melatonin is a hormone se-creted by the pineal gland

in the brain, useful for inducing sleep and extend-

ing one’s sleep duration. It is produced from the amino acid tryp-

tophan, found in certain foods like meat, fruits, grains and vegetables. In-ternal medicine specialist Dr Anil G Ballani says, the production of me-latonin is influenced by environmental light.”It is released in circulation with the body’s circadian rhythm. Because it induc-es sleep, its concentration is less during the day and more during the night,” he says. A study suggests that the primary purpose of melatonin supplements is to treat sleep disorders, and is considered safer than sleep-ing pills.The side effects Be cautioned. Me-latonin is a hormone and comes with risks.

Frequent melatonin use - especially in the typical dosage of 3-6 mg - can cause your body to produce even less of the hormone, creating an even greater need for it in your body.Ideal dosage There’s no such thing as an ideal dos-age when it comes to taking melatonin supple-ments. That’s because the problems and their severity differ from person to person. Consul-tant physician Dr Sunil Dalvi says, “The dos-age varies from 0.2 to 20 mg, but it changes from person to person and in duration too. In order to treat insomnia, the causes underlying

it need to be determined before starting medica-tion. Therefore, it is best to get diagnosed by a doctor first.”Precautions Since melatonin supple-ments induce sleep, one shouldn’t take them before/during driving, swimming, while han-dling machinery, or con-suming alcohol. Dr Dalvi warns, “It interferes with blood levels and/actions of anticoagulants (agents that reduce and prevent clotting of blood), immu-

nosuppressants (agents that can suppress or prevent the immune response), anti-diabetic drugs, birth control pills and hence should be used with caution.”