East and North! What is so special about them?

Know Our Tradition Series- 1

Indian Tradition accords greater Importance to East and North Directions. Orientation towards these two directions, is associated with our daily rituals, prayers, house constructions, office arrangements etc.

What is the basis for this? Let us analyse. (Unless we are sure of the reason, we can not answer this question. More thoughts are welcome in this regard)

1. Every Sutra Kaara (Sages, laying down the principles of life) have stipulated that one should face East at first instance or North occasionally.
2. Vaastu Sastra texts have laid importance to the Eastern Orientation of the house, so that rising Sun rays have appropriate entry into the house.
3. Correlating with Sun Rise Direction, every explanation/ division comparison in Vedic Texts normally starts with East and Ends with North.
4. North is traditionally described to be on the higher point, alluding to the current day practices of Atlas/ Map drawing with North on the top.

Some of the probable factors for these logical recommendations:

1. Surya (Sun) rises in the direction of east. Those who face the direction, especially during Sun Rise, tend to benefit from the Rising Sun Rays. Rising Sun is always a symbol of Enlightenment. Thus, the Eastern Direction is favoured.
2. Earth is revolving around itself in the counter - clockwise direction (Apradakshina Maarga). Hence, those who face east  are orienting themselves towards the direction of moment. Hence, irrespective of Sun Rise factor, this is a preferred direction during all times.
3. Earth is a huge magnet,  whose poles are in the directions of North and South. Hence, Northern direction has an influnce in the ascension.

Now it is time for us to look at a scientific experiment, conducted at Chennai way back in 1985. Please read the abstract.

Drivers & Passengets Beware

Half heard Phone Talk - a drain on brain processing power

We are often exposed to typical scenarios, where we casually hear conversations between people at public places. At many times, our minds become curious to know/ guess the other part of the conversation. 

This makes us an unintentional partner in the other dialogue process, causing distraction to our own business. Moreover, the brains require more processing power for this casual indiscipline. Drivers prone to this syndrome, may be a risk to the public safety.

The dangers of using a phone while driving are well documented. But a driver can be distracted even if it's the passenger who is talking on the phone.

Hearing one side of a phone conversation affects concentration more than listening to the entire chat, reports the Daily Mail.

Processing a 'halfalogue' is upto three times more draining for the brain compared to a dialogue or monologue as it is trying to fill the gaps in the conversation.

This may also be the reason why we find listening to people's phone calls on the bus or train so irritating, the journal Psychological Science said.

Researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, prepared computerised tests which required the same levels of concentration as needed while driving.

It was found that among a group of students who took the test, those who listened to 'halfalogues' performed significantly worse than others.

A Ph.D student in psychology came up with the research idea while travelling on a bus, where found his fellow passengers' phone calls very distracting.

 

Pomegranate - (दाडिमी దానిమ్మ ದಾಳಿಂಬೆ) - Very Useful to prevent heart disease & Obesity

Pomegranate - Dadimee दाडिमी దానిమ్మ ದಾಳಿಂಬೆ is an important potent weapon to cut the risk of heart attack and cut flab - it is found.

A glass of pomegranate juice daily can help lower your blood pressure and cut the risk of a beer belly (accumulation of excessive visceral fat around abdomin)  a new study has claimed.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that the superfruit not only cuts high blood pressure, it also reduces the fat stored round the stomach — the main cause of heart diseases and strokes among middle-aged people.

In their experiment, the researchers gave 500ml of pomegranate juice to 24 men and women every day for four weeks. After just one month, the volunteers were found to be less likely to develop fatty cells around their abdomen and had much lower blood pressure, the Daily Mail reported.

The researchers found that nearly half of all volunteers had much lower levels of fatty acid in their blood, known as nonesterified fatty acid or NEFA.

Previous studies in humans and animals have shown that high NEFA levels are linked to a greater storage of fat around the abdomen, as well as an increased risk of heart disease and type II diabetes.

The scientists believe lowered the levels of NEFA means the participants are less likely to store fat around their stomach. In addition, more than 90 per cent of the men and women had lower blood pressure by the end of the month.

This shows that drinking pomegranate juice daily can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, the researchers said.

Dr Emad Aldujaili, lead researchers of the study, said: “There is no doubt that pomegranate juice is beneficial in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease because our results showed a significant and consistent lowering of blood pressure.”

Dr Aldujaili added: “There is early evidence that consumption of pomegranate juice may influence abdominal fat.

“We believe that these initial findings deserve more detailed study. The subjects in our latest study had a healthy body mass index, making the impact more difficult to observe.

“In future research we will investigate the effect on overweight or obese subjects in whom the effect may be more evident.”

It is already known that pomegranate juice is high in antioxidants, chemicals which help to neutralise harmful oxygen molecules called free radicals. If left unchecked, these molecules can damage cells causing illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and resulting in the body ageing more quickly. 

The fruit is also thought to enhance the sex life, as the antioxidants increase the amount of blood flowing to the genitals.

The new findings will be presented at the International Functional Food meeting at Oxford Brookes University next month.

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In the Indian subcontinent's ancient Ayurveda system of medicine, the pomegranate has extensively been used as a source of traditional remedies for thousands of years. The rind of the fruit and the bark of the pomegranate tree is used as a traditional remedy against diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites. The seeds and juice are considered a tonic for the heart and throat, and classified as a bitter-astringent (pitta or fire) component under the Ayurvedic system, and considered a healthful counterbalance to a diet high in sweet-fatty (kapha) components.

The astringent qualities of the flower juice, rind and tree bark are considered valuable for a variety of purposes, such as stopping nose bleeds and gum bleeds, toning skin, (after blending with mustard oil) firming-up sagging breasts and treating hemorrhoids. Pomegranate juice (of specific fruit strains) is also used as eyedrops as it is believed to slow the development of cataracts.

Ayurveda differentiates between pomegranate varieties and employs them for different remedies.

Swimming Pools with Recycled Water laden with Chemicals cause Cancer

Most of the Urban Population,  relish swimming in pools. Does Stagnant water with Preservative Chemicals, does more harm than help the body with exercise?

The answer is Yes - says a latest scientific Study. 

Ancient Sookti says - Palvalodaka (stagnant water) is a cause of Ayuh Kshaya (Decrease of Life Longevity).

Taking a dip in indoor chlorinated pools may induce genotoxicity (DNA damage that may lead to cancer) as well as respiratory problems, revealed a study.

However, the authors of the study claimed that the positive health effects of swimming could be maintained by reducing pool levels of the chemicals behind these potential health risks.

The study is the first to provide a comprehensive characterisation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in an indoor pool environment and the first to study the genotoxicity of exposure to these chemicals among swimmers in an indoor chlorinated pool.

DBPs form in pool water from reactions between disinfectants such as chlorine and organic matter that is either present naturally or is introduced by swimmers, such as sweat, skin cells, and urine.

Previous epidemiologic studies have found an association between exposure to DBPs in drinking water and risk of bladder cancer, and one such study has found this association for dermal/inhalational exposure such as occurs during showering, bathing, or swimming.

The new study details a comprehensive investigation of DBPs and mutagenicity of water samples collected from two indoor pools, one disinfected with chlorine, the other with bromine.

In addition, short-term changes in biomarkers of genotoxicity and respiratory effects were studied in swimmers who swam in the chlorinated pool.

Evidence of genotoxic effects was seen in 49 healthy adults after they swam for 40 minutes in the chlorinated pool.

Specifically, researchers found increases in two genotoxicity biomarkers relative to the concentration of the most common types of DBPs in exhaled breath, which were used as a measure of the swimmers’ exposures.

The biomarkers that increased were micronuclei in blood lymphocytes, which have been associated with cancer risk in healthy subjects, and urine mutagenicity, which is a biomarker of exposure to genotoxic agents.

Detailed measurements were also made of the most common exhaled DBPs (trihalomethanes) in air around the pool and in exhaled breath of the swimmers before and after swimming.

Researchers measured several biomarkers of respiratory effects after swimming and found changes in only one—a slight increase in serum CC16, which suggests an increase in lung epithelium permeability.

This result was explained by the effects of exercise itself as well as exposure to DBPs.
In addition, the authors identified more than 100 DBPs in the pool waters, some never reported previously in swimming pool water and/or chlorinated drinking water.

In vitro assays showed that the swimming pool water was mutagenic at levels similar to that of drinking water but was more cytotoxic (can kill cells at a lower concentration) than drinking water.

The study has been published in a set of three articles in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP).