Tuesday 30 November 2010

Rudra Ekadashini Stotram 1



 शम्भो शाश्वत सर्वकामद महा मायाधिनाथ प्रिय

     भक्ताभीष्ट ददान सर्व सदय प्रभ्राजमान प्रभो।

स्वात्मज्ञान विभूति मुत्तम रयिं देहि प्रसिद्धां तव

दद्या मे परमेश हे शिवगुरो त्वत्सच्चिदानन्दताम्।  1


śambhō śāśvata sarvakāmada mahā māyādhinātha priya
bhaktābhīṣṭa dadāna sarva sadaya prabhrājamāna prabhō.
svātmajñāna vibhūti muttama rayi dēhi prasid'dhā tava
dadyā paramēśa śivagurō tvatsaccidānandatām.           1.

O Lord Sambho! You grant all auspiciousness and eternal liberation! You are the overlord of Illusion, Maha Maya. You fulfill the desires of your dear devotees. You are ever effulgent. O Parama Siva, kindly grant me the most exalted, the highest, and the most precious wealth which is Atma Jnana or Self Realization.
The refrain: O Parameswara, Siva Guro! Please bless me with the experience of Sachchidananda which is your exclusive principle.
The first shloka remembers the Lord in His aspects as Sambhu and Prabhrajamana, the first two names.


1) శమ్భో శాశ్వత సర్వకామద మహా మాయాధినాథ ప్రియ
   భక్తాభీష్ట దదాన సర్వ సదయ ప్రభ్రాజమాన ప్రభో
   స్వాత్మజ్ఞాన విభూతి ముత్తమ రయిం దేహి ప్రసిద్ధాం తవ
 దద్యా మే పరమేశ హే శివగురో త్వత్సచ్చిదానన్దతామ్।।
సర్వశుభాలను అనుగ్రహించు శంభో! శాశ్వతమైన మోక్షమును ఇచ్చువాడా! మహామాయకు అధినాయకుడా! ప్రియమైన భక్తులయొక్క కోరికలను తీర్చువాడా! నిరంతరం ప్రకాశించే స్వభావం కల పరమశివా! సుప్రసిద్ధమైనదీ, అత్యుత్తమమైన ఆత్మజ్ఞానమనే మహదైశ్వర్యాన్ని నాకు అనుగ్రహించు.
! పరమేశ్వరా! శివగురో! నీకు సంబంధించినదీ, నీ దగ్గర మాత్రమే గల సచ్చిదానంద తత్త్వాన్ని నాకు అనుగ్రహించు (అని భక్తుడు ప్రాధేయపడుతున్నాడు. ఇది ప్రతిశ్లోకములోనూ చివరికి వచ్చే ముకుటమునకు అర్థము). మొదటి శ్లోకములో స్వామియొక్క శంభు, ప్రభ్రాజమాన - మొదటి నామాలను స్మరిస్తున్నాము.
  Om Namasshivaaya
To be continued ...

రుద్రైకాదశినీ స్తోత్రము Rudra Ekadashini Stotram (Hymn) Intro Telugu

రుద్రైకాదశినీ స్తోత్రము
- వంశీకృష్ణ ఘనపాఠీ
అవధూత దత్తపీఠాధిపతులు పరమపూజ్య శ్రీ శ్రీ గణపతి సచ్చిదానంద స్వామీజీ వారు మైసూరులోని దత్తపీఠంలో స్వస్తిశ్రీ వికృతి సంవత్సర కార్తిక శుద్ధ షష్ఠి శుక్రవారం నుండి బహుళ పాడ్యమి వరకు అనగా 12-11-10 నుండి 22-11-10 వరకు అతిరుద్ర మహాయాగానికై పూనుకున్నారు. 1985లో వారు స్థాపించిన వేదపాఠశాల రజతోత్సవ సందర్భముగా జరుగుతున్న పవిత్రమైన మహాయాగమిది. విశ్వశాంతియే ధ్యేయంగా, లోకకల్యాణమే ఆదర్శంగా, సమస్త మానవాళి సుఖసంతోషాలతో ఆనందంగా జీవించడమే లక్ష్యంగా, ప్రముఖులైన వేదవిద్వాంసులతో అతిరుద్రయాగం నిర్వహించబడింది.

ఇందులో 175 మందికి పైగా ఋత్విక్కులు పాల్గొన్నారు. ప్రతి హోమకుండమువద్ద, ఒక్కొక్క విద్వాంసుడు ఆచార్యుడిగా హోమాన్ని నిర్వహించాడు. ఈయనతో పాటుగా, ఇంకా 10 మంది హోమాన్ని చేశారు. వీరి పనులను పర్యవేక్షణ చేసే పండితుడిని బ్రహ్మ అంటారు. వీరితో పాటుగా, హోమ సహాయకులు, అభిషేకము చేసేవారు ప్రత్యేకంగా ఉన్నారు. ఇలా పదకొండు హోమకుండాలలో, 11సార్లు రుద్రాధ్యాయ మంత్రాలను పారాయణ పూర్వకంగా హోమం చేస్తూ, 11 రోజులుపాటు అపూర్వంగా జరిగిన ఈ అతిరుద్ర మహాయాగానికి పూనుకున్న ఆస్తిక వరేణ్యుడు శ్రీ రాధాకృష్ణ రామచంద్ర అయ్యర్ (చికాగో) మరియు వారి కుటుంబసభ్యులు. వారి అభ్యర్థన మేరకు శ్రీస్వామీజీ నేతృత్వములో జరిగిన ఈ అతిరుద్ర మహాయాగములో ఏకాదశ రుద్రులను స్తుతిస్తూ, శివానుగ్రహానికి తోడ్పడిన  స్తోత్రమే ఈ యాగ స్మరణిక.

          యజుర్వేదములో చెప్పిన రుద్ర గణ నామాలు - ప్రభ్రాజమాన, వ్యవదాత, వాసుకి వైద్యుత, రజత, పరుష, శ్యామ, కపిల, అతిలోహిత, ఊర్ధ్వ, అవపతంత, వైద్యుత – అని.  శైవాగమములో శంభు, పినాకి, గిరిశ, స్థాణు, భర్గ, సదాశివ, శివ, హర, శర్వ, కపాలి, భవ – అని 11 నామాలను తెలిపారు. ఈ రెండిటిని సమన్వయం చేస్తూ, 11 శ్లోకాలతో పరమేశ్వరుడు గురురూపంగా స్తుతించబడుతున్న ఈ స్తోత్రమే రుద్రైకాదశిని. రుద్రుడికి సంబంధించిన పదకొండు (పద్యములు) అని అర్థము.

దీనిలోని శ్లోకాలన్నీ ముక్తక ప్రక్రియలో ఉన్నాయి. ముక్తకమనగా ఏ శ్లోకానికి ఆ శ్లోకానికే అన్వయం ఉంటుంది. ప్రతి శ్లోకం స్వతంత్రంగా ఉంటుంది. ఇందులోని శివగురువు శ్రీగణపతి సచ్చిదానంద స్వామీజీ గురుదేవులే. ఇందులో భక్తుడు శివునితో స్వయంగా సంభాషణ చేస్తాడు. తన కోరికను పరమశివునకు నివేదన చేస్తాడు. తనకు ఏది కావాలో నిర్భయంగా అడుగుతాడు. తన మనస్సును శివార్పణం చేస్తాడు. సర్వం శివమయం జగత్తు అంటాడు.

ఒక భక్తుడు భగవంతునితో నేరుగా మాట్లాడుతున్నట్లుగా ఈ కావ్యం కనిపిస్తుంది. అటువంటి 11 శ్లోక బిల్వములు శ్రీస్వామీజీవారి అనుగ్రహముతో, తదంతేవాసి వంశీ కృష్ణ ఘనపాఠీ ద్వారా వెలువడి, శివారాధనలో వినియోగమై, భక్తులకు యాగ ప్రసాదంగా అందుతున్నది.

Monday 29 November 2010

Rudra Ekadashini Stotram (Hymn) Intro

Rudra Ekaadashinee Stotram
- Vamshi Krishna Ghanapaathi, Mysore
How this emanated? 

As we performed the Archana and Abhishekam to Mallikarjuna Swamy Shiva Lingam at Sree Sailam, AP after Navaratri as part of the pilgrimage of Pontiff of Avadhoota Datta Peetham, His Holiness Sri Sri Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji; several thoughts swirled thru mind in the sanctum sanctorum. 

Flashes of past from the life of Sri Swamiji, who had obtained Avadhoota Deeksha (Vastram too) at this place in late 1960s; and vision of Sada Shiva as the Guru consolidated my imagination on 23rd October 2010.
It was further crystallised in the Ati Rudra Maha Yaaga ritual at  Mysore from November 12 through November 22 of 2010 (according to the Indian calendar Vikruti year, Kaartika month Friday the sixth day before full moon till the first day after the full moon). This sacred ritual was a part of the Silver jubilee celebration of the SGS Veda Pathaashaala which was established in 1985.

(Over one hundred Seventy five ritviks (vedic scholars) have participated in this. At every homa kunda (sacred firepit) a scholar who was appointed as Aacharya conducted the homa. Along with him ten others have performed the homa. The pundit overseeing their activity is known as ‘Brahma’.  With these, other helpers and those who performed the abhishekam were present also. Such sacred firepits were eleven in number. Each day the mantras from the Rudra adhyaya were chanted eleven times at each firepit. And this ritual took place like this for eleven days. This rare ritual was conducted by Sri Swamiji upon the humble request made by the devout family of Sri Radhakrishna Ramachandra Iyer of Chicago, USA, sponsors of the event. )
Style and Back Ground of Stotram (Hymn)

This Rudra Ekadashini Stotram Prayer is in praise of the Ekadasa Rudras or the eleven aspects of Rudra composed to attract the benediction of Lord Siva is a memento of this grand event.
The Yajur Veda mentions the following names of Rudra ganas – Prabhraajamaana, Vyavadaata, Vaasuki Vaidyuta, Rajata, Parusha, Shyaama, Kapila, Atilohita, Urdhva, Avapatanta, and Vaidyuta. 

The Saiva Agama mentions the names Shambhu, Pinaaki, Girisha, Sthaanu, Bharga, Sadaashiva, Shiva, Hara, Kapaali, and Bhava. This prayer correlates both these sets of names and extols Lord Parameswara as the Supreme Guru. These eleven verses composed in Sanskrit are known as the Rudra Ekadashini.

All these eleven shlokas follow the pattern of ‘muktaka’, which means that each verse stands alone independently. The Siva-Guru addressed here is none other than Sadguru Sri Ganapati Sachchidanand Swamiji. 

Perspective and Style

In these verses the devotee holds a direct conversation with Lord Siva Himself. He directly expresses his desire to the Lord. 

The lenience, affection, affinity and proximity,  the disciple/ devotee rarely enjoys with Guru, permeat the stanzas. The fatherly benevolence often overbears  the traditional relationship with Sadguru and highly reflective of the bond between composer and his Guru.  

He asks for what he wants without any hesitation or fear. He surrenders his mind to Lord Siva. He declares that the entire Creation is saturated by Lord Siva.  

This poetic prayer of eleven stanzas is similar to direct (face to face) communication with the Lord and comparable to the eleven sacred Poetic Bilva leaves offered in worship to Lord Siva .

The same is presented as holy Yaga prasadam to the devotees. 

Om Namasshivaaya

शम्भुः पिनाकी गिरिशः स्थाणु र्भर्ग स्सदाशिवः।
शिवो हर स्तथा शर्वः कपाली भव एव च।
रुद्रा एकादश प्रोक्ताः सृष्टि स्थित्यन्त कारकाः।।


śambhuḥ pinākī giriśaḥ sthāṇu rbharga s'sadāśivaḥ.

śivō hara stathā śarvaḥ  kapālī bhava ēva ca.

rudrā ēkādaśa prōktāḥ sr̥ṣṭi sthityanta kārakāḥ..



శంభుః పినాకీ గిరిశః స్థాణు ర్భర్గ స్సదాశివః.

శివో హర స్తథా శర్వః కపాలీ  భవ ఏవ చ.

రుద్రా ఏకాదశ ప్రోక్తాః సృష్టి స్థిత్యంత కారకాః..


To be continued: 

Excimer Laser - Advanced Technique in Heart Treatment, underway

  • Heart Desease was dreaded ailment for many centuries.
  • Bye Pass Surgery/ Open Heart Surgery sustained several lives over decades.
  • Angio Plasty (Stents with Ballons) simplified the procedure for lower level of Heart Blockades due to coats of Fat (Cholesterol). This was reduction of body invasion.
  • Now Laser Technology promises to even minimise the invasive treatment.
The promise is from
A high-powered laser, which unblocks arteries in minutes, is being used on patients for the first time in London.

The Turbo Elite 'drill' fitted to a new laser, called the Excimer, blasts tissue into particles so small they can only be seen under a microscope.

Trials at University College Hospital in London have proved a major success with reduced operating times and hospital stays.

The first two patients were treated at the hospital in July and discharged the next day, instead of spending weeks in hospital. The procedure could help thousands with artery disease, reports the Daily Mail.

Around 85,000 people a year have treatment to widen their arteries that have been narrowed by cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes.

The consultant, Mr Joe Brookes, at University College Hospital spotted the potential of laser technology as a revolutionary device to unclog arteries.

He said: "It's an incredibly difficult treatment to unblock an artery, especially if a patient has a stent. Before, patients had to spend up to 10 days in hospital."

Thursday 25 November 2010

Wi - Fi Electro Magnetic Waves, affect the growth of Trees/ plants. What about humans?

Radiation from Wi-Fi networks is harmful to trees, causing significant variations in growth, as well as bleeding and fissures in the bark, according to a recent study in the Netherlands.
All deciduous trees in the Western world are affected, according to the study by Wageningen University. The city of Alphen aan den Rijn ordered the study five years ago after officials found unexplained abnormalities on trees that couldn't be ascribed to a virus or bacterial infection.
 
Additional testing found the disease to occur throughout the Western world. In the Netherlands, about 70 percent of all trees in urban areas show the same symptoms, compared with only 10 percent five years ago. Trees in densely forested areas are hardly affected.

Besides the electromagnetic fields created by mobile-phone networks and wireless LANs, ultrafine particles emitted by cars and trucks may also be to blame. These particles are so small they are able to enter the organisms.

The study exposed 20 ash trees to various radiation sources for a period of three months. Trees placed closest to the Wi-Fi radio demonstrated a "lead-like shine" on their leaves that was caused by the dying of the upper and lower epidermis of the leaves. This would eventually result in the death of parts of the leaves. The study also found that Wi-Fi radiation could inhibit the growth of corn cobs.

The researchers urged that further studies were needed to confirm the current results and determine long-term effects of wireless radiation on trees.

Orange Juice with Hesperidin lowers BP

London: Drinking two glasses of orange juice daily can help lower your blood pressure and cut the risk of heart disease, a new study has claimed.

Researchers at the University of Auvergne in France found that middle-aged men who regularly drank half-a-litre of juice, equivalent to about two glasses, for a month saw a significant decline in their blood pressure readings.
 
Previous studies have suggested that orange juice may be good for the heart, but scientists have been uncertain exactly what gives it its protective powers.
 
Now, the French study found the presence of a natural plant chemical called hesperidin, part of a class of disease-fighting compounds found in plant foods like tea, fruit, soya and cocoa, that increases the fruit's protective powers, the Daily Mail reported.
 
High blood pressure, which puts our arteries under greater pressure when the heart beats, affects one in five people and is one of the major risk factors contributing to a cardiac arrest. The World Health Organisation estimates that 50 per cent of all heart attacks and strokes are due to raised blood pressure.
 
The ideal limit for blood pressure in a systolic reading, the pressure inside the arteries when blood is forced through them, should be 140mmHg, while the diastolic reading — when the heart relaxes — should be 90mmHg in a healthy heart.
 
To test their theory that it is hesperidin that gives orange juice its cardiovascular benefits, the French team recruited 24 overweight but otherwise healthy middle-aged men.
Each one spent four weeks drinking half-a-litre of orange juice every day, followed by four weeks where they drank sweetened water and took a capsule containing hesperidin.
In the final four weeks of the study, they drank the same water and took a dummy capsule that had no hesperidin in it.
The results showed that at the end of the orange juice experiment and the one where they took a hesperidin capsule, there was a significant decline in their diastolic blood pressure. Average readings were between 3.2 and 5.5mmHg lower than after they took the dummy capsule with water.
Reporting their findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers said: “The main result was that four weeks of consuming orange juice, or purified hesperidin, significantly decreased diastolic blood pressure in healthy men.

“A three to four point reduction in diastolic blood pressure would reduce the incidence of coronary artery disease by 20 per cent. Hesperidin could be responsible for the observed effects.”
However, patients taking blood pressure pills are advised to seek medical advice.

Monday 22 November 2010

Sun Light effect on health

Meghachhannena Durdinam (Cloudy day is not a good day) - is the old adage. 

There are also a set of people who prefer not to have food, unless they see the Sun, among Indian Society, whose traditions are attuned to the worship during Sunrise and Sunset apart from other regular natural incidents. 

Such importance is accorded to Natural Light (of Sun, Moon and Stars).

Scientists now suggest the same to avert SAD.

Read on...
London: Days when one is not exposed to sunlight can lead to seasonal affective disorder or SAD, which can leave you depressed and lethargic, say experts.

Once dismissed by medics, the condition is now recognised by psychiatrists and doctors and its symptoms also include insomnia and aching joints as a result of a change in season.

But experts believe that because the symptoms are similar to other illnesses, it is often undiagnosed, leaving sufferers struggling to cope, reports the Daily Mail.

"Light has many physiological effects on the body," says Russell Foster, a neuroscientist at Oxford University.

"Cells in the eyes register light so the brain knows when it is day or night. This triggers the release of certain hormones that regulate hunger and digestion, growth, mood and energy." 

Darkness causes an increase in the production of the hormone melatonin, which helps us sleep.
There is also a reduction in serotonin, crucial for keeping us alert, and often called the feel-good hormone, which also regulates the digestive system. Light triggers the release of cortisol, which helps us wake up.

"If you drive to work in the dark, spend all day indoors in artificial light, and return in the dark, your internal body clock has nothing to lock onto and normal rhythms can be thrown," says Foster.

He recommends you should experience two hours of natural light a day, even if it's via a large window.

Monday 15 November 2010

Speaker Phone (Mobile) - Why do I use it?

People often question the practice of  using the Speaker Phone.  Criticism from close quarters and known circles is the most common prevalence. Before resorting to the response or casual critique, these are the hard-facts.

Here I write a personal experience/ practice  of using a mobile phone, to correlate research data from San Fransisco, the capital of Tech Czars of Silicon Valley.
 
The facts about Brain DNA damage/ tumour/ Cancer are startling. At the outset,  the Highlights from the article:

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  •  Recommended distance from the ear to a cell phone, according to the manufactures (as mandated by FCC, regulatory agency of USA).
  • IPHONE - .625 Inches or 1.5 Centimetre
  • Black Berry - 1 Inch or 2.5 Centimetre
 But in practice, very few people follow the recommendations, in our busy/ noisy environment. 
The Cellphone Industry body funded studies quote 28% risk of Brain Tumour, which is inconclusive. Whereas, independent study pegs that risk at 67%. Bothways, keeping the phone close to brain is very dangerous, over 10 years of continuous usage.

What is continous usage?
Global Usage Pattern: 
  • 737 minutes or 12 hour 17 minutes per month (the global average usage of a user). 
  • Or 40 minutes a day. 
Most of us easily exceed this, bringing down the risk period to less than 10 years. Longer usage per day will increase the risk.

 What can you do to minimise this?


  1. Use speaker phone in a mobile phone.
  2. Keep the phone at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) away from the ear and brain.
  3. Even during the time,when you do not speak or use blue tooth headset, do not keep it close to the chest pocket or groin area.
Detailed Report is available beneath, for the skeptics (read mobile phone over-enthusiasts or industry protagonists to peep thru).


Pass on this information, to near dear, whom you would like to see healthy, for them to decide how to use a mobile phone; for safety? or for perishability?

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 San Francisco: 
WARNING: Holding a cellphone against your ear may be hazardous to your health. So may stuffing it in a pocket against your body.
San Francisco officials voted to require retailers to display how much radiation each cellphone emits. A supporter of the rule wore a button at City Hall.

I'm paraphrasing here. But the legal departments of cellphone manufacturers slip a warning about holding the phone against your head or body into the fine print of the little slip that you toss aside when unpacking your phone.

Apple, for example, doesn't want iPhones to come closer than 5/8 of an inch; Research In Motion, BlackBerry's manufacturer, is still more cautious: keep a distance of about an inch.

The warnings may be missed by an awful lot of customers. The United States has 292 million wireless numbers in use, approaching one for every adult and child, according to C.T.I.A.-The Wireless Association, the cellphone industry's primary trade group.

It says that as of June, about a quarter of domestic households were wireless-only.

If health issues arise from ordinary use of this hardware, it would affect not just many customers but also a huge industry. Our voice calls -- we chat on our cellphones 2.26 trillion minutes annually, according to the C.T.I.A. -- generate $109 billion for the wireless carriers.

The cellphone instructions-cum-warnings were brought to my attention by Devra Davis, an epidemiologist who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh and has published a book about cellphone radiation, "Disconnect." I had assumed that radiation specialists had long ago established that worries about low-energy radiation were unfounded.

Her book, however, surveys the scientific investigations and concludes that the question is not yet settled.

Brain cancer is a concern that Ms. Davis takes up. Over all, there has not been a general increase in its incidence since cellphones arrived.

But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20-to-29 age group and a drop for the older population.

"Most cancers have multiple causes," she says, but she points to laboratory research that suggests mechanisms by which low-energy radiation could damage cells in ways that could possibly lead to cancer.

Children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults, Ms. Davis and other scientists point out.

Radiation that penetrates only two inches into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid.

No field studies have been completed to date on cellphone radiation and children, she says.

Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiofrequency radiation had damaged brain DNA.

He maintains a database that holds 400 scientific papers on possible biological effects of radiation from wireless communication.

He found that 28 percent of studies with cellphone industry funding showed some sort of effect, while 67 percent of studies without such funding did so. "That's not trivial," he said.

The unit of measurement for radiofrequency exposure is called the specific absorption rate, or SAR. The Federal Communications Commission mandates that the SAR produced by phones be no more than 1.6 watts per kilogram.

One study listed by Mr. Lai found effects like loss of memory in rats exposed to SAR values in the range of 0.0006 to 0.06 watts per kilogram. "I did not expect to see effects at low levels," he said.

The city of San Francisco passed an ordinance this year that requires cellphone retailers to post SARs prominently. This angered the C.T.I.A., which announced that it would no longer schedule trade shows in the city.

The association maintains that all F.C.C.-approved phones are perfectly safe. John Walls, the association's vice president for public affairs, said: "What science tells us is, 'If the sign on the highway says safe clearance is 12 feet,' it doesn't matter if your vehicle is 4 feet, 6 feet or 10 feet tall; you're going to pass through safely.

The same theory applies to SAR values and wireless devices."

The association has set up a separate Web site, cellphonehealthfacts.com.

Four attractive young people are seen on the home page, each with a cellphone pressed against the ear -- and all four are beaming as they listen.

By this visual evidence, cellphone use seems to be correlated with elation, not cancer.

The largest study of cellphone use and brain cancer has been the Interphone International Case-Control Study, in which researchers in 13 developed countries (but not the United States) participated.

It interviewed brain cancer patients, 30 to 59 years old, from 2000 to 2004, then cobbled together a control group of people who had not regularly used a cellphone.

The study concluded that using a cellphone seemed to decrease the risk of brain tumors, which the authors acknowledged was "implausible" and a product of the study's methodological shortcomings.

The authors included some disturbing data in an appendix available only online. These showed that subjects who used a cellphone 10 or more years doubled the risk of developing brain gliomas, a type of tumor.

The 737 minutes that we talk on cellphones monthly, on average, according to the C.T.I.A., makes today's typical user indistinguishable from the heavy user of 10 years ago.

Ms. Davis recommends keeping a phone out of close proximity to the head or body, by using wired headsets or the phone's speaker.

Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the abdomen.

The F.C.C. concurs about the best way to avoid exposure. It is not by choosing a phone with a marginally lower SAR, it says, but rather by holding the cellphone "away from the head or body."

It's advice that I find hard to put into practice myself. The comforting sight of everyone around me with phones pressed against their ears, just like me, makes the risk seem abstract.

But Ms. Davis, citing unsettling findings from research in Israel, France, Sweden and Finland, said, "I do think I'm looking at an epidemic in slow motion."

Saturday 6 November 2010

Beet (Root) Juice helps Brain Functioning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beet
Drinking beet juice increases blood flow to the brain in older people, a finding that suggests the dark red vegetable may fight the progression of dementia, a new study shows.
Beet roots contain high concentrations of nitrates, which are converted into nitrites by bacteria in the mouth. And nitrites help open blood vessels in the body, increasing blood flow and oxygen to places lacking in oxygen.
Previous studies have shown that nitrites — also found in high concentrations in celery, cabbage, and other leafy, green vegetables like spinach — widen blood vessels, but researchers say this was the first to find that nitrites also increase blood flow to the brain.

Blood Flow to the Brain

“There have been several very high-profile studies showing that drinking beet juice can lower blood pressure, but we wanted to show that drinking beet juice also increases perfusion, or blood flow, to the brain,” Daniel Kim-Shapiro, PhD, director of the Translational Science Center at Wake Forest University, says in a news release. “There are areas in the brain that become poorly perfused as you age, and that’s believed to be associated with dementia and poor cognition.”
Researchers from the Translational Science Center looked at how dietary nitrates affected 14 adults aged 70 and older over a four-day period. On day one, subjects reported to a laboratory after a 10-hour fast, completed a health status report, and had either a high- or low-nitrate breakfast. The high-nitrate breakfast included 16 ounces of beet juice.
Then they were sent home with lunch, dinner, and snacks that conformed to their assigned diets.
On the second day, after another 10-hour fast, the participants returned to the lab and ate their assigned breakfasts. An hour later, an MRI scan recorded brain flow in each person’s brain. And blood tests before and after breakfast confirmed nitrite levels in the body.
On the third and fourth days, researchers switched diets and repeated the process for each person.
MRI scans showed that after eating a high-nitrate diet, the older adults had increased blood flow to the white matter of the frontal lobes, which are the areas of the brain most commonly associated with the degeneration that leads to dementia and other cognitive conditions.

Diets Rich in Fruits and Vegetables

“I think these results are consistent and encouraging -- that good diet consisting of a lot of fruits and vegetables can contribute to overall good health,” says senior investigator Gary Miller, PhD, an associate professor in Wake Forest’s Department of Health and Exercise Science.
Because beet juice doesn’t exactly taste like a sugary soda, Wake Forest has worked with a company to create a new beet juice beverage that is tastier than plain beet juice, and a news release says the university is investigating ways to market this beverage.
The researchers say that their study, and future ones like it, may “lead to interventions that could improve cognitive and physical functional health in older adults.”
The findings are published online in Nitric Oxide: Biology and Chemistry, the peer-reviewed journal of the Nitric Oxide Society.