Be Young in Old Age

 Quite interesting to hear. But is it possible to remain young in old age? Difficult to believe. Hours roll into months, days into months and months to years. The old saying "Time and tide wait for no man" is perfectly apt. We can't stop time ticking off. As days pass on, we get older. Our thinking changes, our attitude changes and our physical body changes. Ageing is a natural process. We can't completely change the effects of old age; but we can, of course retard the deterioration of the body to a certain extent by leading a healthy and positive life style.

Effects of Aging:

As we get older, changes take place both in the physical and mental levels. Increased blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, diabetes, cholesterol, cancer - are some of the major common problems of old age. The body cells start deteriorating and function less effectively; the skin loses elasticity, tissues break down, muscles weaken, eye sight reduces, hearing becomes weak, decayed teeth, increase in degenerative disease - all manifestations of old age. The absence of care, love and affection from children and other close relatives and friends further add chances for depression and increased mental tension. 

Causes of Ageing 

As discussed earlier, aging is a natural process and we can't completely reverse the process of aging. The main causes of aging are: 

Faulty Life style: 

Improper food, lack of physical exercise, increased mental tension- these all come under the category of faulty life style. 

Heredity 

The genes inherited from parents have got an important effect on aging. However one can't do anything to influence the genes.

Free Radicals

 Free radicals are highly corrosive oxidizing molecules. It is considered that free radicals are the main cause of aging and to a certain extent to cancer. The causes of these free radicals are : poor nutrition, cigarette smoking, strong sun light and air pollution. 

Aging Process

The aging process can be reversed to a certain extent by taking the following steps.

 - Have balanced ,nutritious food - 

- Take anti oxidants : Vitamins A, C & E and the mineral selenium

 - Proper physical exercise

 - Sufficient rest and sleep

 - Avoid mental tension and worry 

- Engage in some sort of mental activity

 - Have a positive attitude

 - Involve in creative social activity 

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Rainy day

It is raining.

Dark clouds in the sky.

Drops of rain water trickling down.

Slippery ground, stagnant water,

Thoughts and thoughts down the lane

Those years spent in Manak Nagar

The days are gone, never to return

Can't help ,Can't help.

 

Back Pain

Back Pain – Its Causes And Remedial Measure

Key words: Back pain, Back pain causes, Chronic back pain

Back pain must have occurred at least once in each and everybody’s life. In one way it is an unavoidable phenomenon. Statistical analysis shows that ladies are less susceptible to this than gents. The pain can be chronic or severe. Discomfort arises out of the pain and one may find it difficult to attend to his normal duties. One can see lot of advertisements about pain killers. The effectiveness of these is doubtful.

Before going into the causes of back pain, one has to know the anatomy of the human back. The back of our body is composed of bony lumbar spine (vertebrae) which consists of discs. The back bone includes bone, muscles and elastic tissues. The spine which is placed at the centre of back has twenty four block bones. It holds the body upright and ensures its mobility. Inter-vertibral discs cushion in between the blocks is to keep the bones separated from rubbing each other.

Symptoms

The basic symptoms of back pain are-

-Pain in the region of middle or lower back.

-Difficulty in bowel /bladder movement

-Pain in the hip/waist region

-Difficulty in movement

Causes

The main back pain causes are-

-Fall or injury

-Obesity

-Sedentary life style

-Old age

-Strenuous work

-Wrong diet

-Smoking

-Depression

-Maintaining wrong posture

-lifting of heavy things

Remedial Measures

The remedial measures can be grouped under two classes-

Temporary

-Use of pain killer medicine

-Ice pack

-Oil massage

Long Term Measures

Do’s

-Maintain proper posture

-Use hard bed

-Regular exercise

-Proper rest and sleep

Don’ts

-Do not use high heeled shoes

-Do not sit continuously in chair

-Avoid carrying heavy things

-Do not stand for long hours

If proper care is taken in day to day activities, back pain can be avoided. However for chronic back pain, a physiotherapist should be consulted.

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Posted by Ramachandran at 8:55 PM 1 comment: 

Sustainable development - the need of the hour

 Sustainable Development - The need of the hour

Development of a nation is a must. There must be all round progress so that people can lead a comfortable life. The basic requirements of a person are food, shelter and clothing. With the increase in population coupled with overall progress in the industrial field, natural resources are getting depleted day by day. Environmental pollution adds to the miseries.

While meeting the demands of the present, there must be sufficient resources so that the future generation can lead a comfortable life. This is called the sustainable development.

The issue of sustainable development was discussed in detail at the Earth Summit held at Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 1992. In addition to the increase in production, the protection of environment  and conservation of natural resources are extremely important.

Strategies for sustainable development

The suggested strategies are:

-       Use locally available materials

-       Adopt the 3 R (Reduce, Recyle, Reuse) approach

-       In order to inculcate a sense of awareness, educate the general public

the steps to be followed for a sustainable living

Conservation of Resources

The main natural resources are: Water, Energy and Land.

Water: is a very important natural resource. This is required for humans and animals. Water is required for drinking, cooking, washing, toilets, agriculture and industries. A recent study has revealed that while the rainfall is reducing, the atmospheric temperature is rising. At the same time, the demand is increasing with the increase in population. Steps should be taken to reduce the wastage of water in the domestic and industrial sectors. As far as irrigation of agricultural crops are concerned, drip irrigation should be practiced. The suggested steps for conservation are:

-       Leakage of water should be identified and repaired immediately

-       Taps should be closed when not in use

-       The waste water should be treated and reused for gardening and washing floor.

-       Arrangements should be made for rain water harvesting

-       Losses in irrigation water should be reduced by lining of canals and by adopting drip irrigation

Energy: We can’t imagine a life without energy. It is required for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. The suggested steps for conservation of energy are:

-       Switch off lights and fans when not in use

-       Use CFL lamps and tube lights

-       Use pressure cooker

-       Keep the vessel covered with a lid when cooking

Land: Land is largely covered with forests, wet lands, grass lands, agricultural lands and human settlements. Land gets degraded due to soil erosion, water logging, salinity, desertification and various developmental activities. The suggested steps for soil conservation are:

-       Slow down the movement of water when it flows along a slope

-       Have more vegetation cover

-       Adopt afforestation

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Health is Wealth

Key words: health, wealth, happiness, life style, fate

Health is wealth; no doubt for it! If health is lost, everything is lost. We can’t lead a happy life without proper health. To a certain extent, it is within our hands to take correct steps for maintaining good health.

But certain things are beyond our control. The other day I went to a leading hospital where one of my relatives had been admitted for treatment. She was in the intensive care  unit  under artificial respiration. Her whole body was covered with different tubes and wires.  She was not in a position to talk, drink water or take meals. She has no financial problems. Children  are grown up and employed. Husband is her side throughout the day. About five years back, she had under gone a kidney transplant operation. She is in the mid fiftys.

Here comes the question - what is life? Is it beyond one’s control and leave it to the mercy of God. It is very difficult to give a proper reply. Money is required to lead a comfortable life. But health is a prerequisite for all that. Some diseases are hereditary and perhaps difficult to diagonise and have a proper treatment while some are due to wrong life style of the present day. Improper and unbalanced food, lack of physical exercise, smoking, too much intoxicating drinks, mental tension and worry are some of the factors contributing to life style diseases like diabetes, high bold pressure, cholesterol, obesity etc.

Remember the old adage – “Prevention is better than cure. “ Instead of going for a treatment at a later stage, it is always better to take preventive steps from early child hood itself. Children should be educated in their school days itself the importance of good  life style and the necessary steps to be followed. In addition to the importance of maintaining physical health, it is very essential to have advice on the mental health also.

But unfortunately it is seen that due attention is not paid with regard to mental health. A positive attitude towards  life  devoid of hatred, anger, envy and tension is of utmost importance. A contended life, with a friendly and helping attitude towards fellow members of the society without looking towards religion, cast and  creed is the attitude that is required.

 

Onam -The festival of Kerala

 

Onam – The festival of Kerala

 Malayalees (people of Kerala) through out the world celebrate ‘Thiruvanam’ in the month of Chingam ( August).. The storey behind this festival is as follows. King Mahabali was ruling Kerala at that time. People were extremely happy and were leading a comfortable life – devoid of theft, fight and quarrel. Devas became jealous of Mahbali and requested Mahavishnu to take some effective steps to curb the influence of Mahabali. Vishnu then took  the form of a Brahmin boy (Vamana) and approached King Mahabali. The king enquired as what the Brahmin boy wanted. Vamanan told that he wanted only three feet of land. Vishnu then suddenly grew in size and measured the whole world and heaven in two steps and for the third Mahabali showed his head. Vamanan then pushed Mahabali down to the earth.

As requested by Mahabali , he was granted permission to visit his country men once in a year , on the  Thivonam (onam) day. Keralites all over the wordl celebrate Onam with full of vigour and vitality. They make flower beds (pookkalam)  in front of their houses. Family members assemble in their ancestral houses and will have sumptuous  meals. Different types of games are  played. All wear new dresses.

 

      Mental Tension and Worry- The disease of the modern world

The other day Sindhu, a B Tech final year student told me that she   forgot to write her roll number in the answer book of the examination.

I asked her why?

She answered that she was under  mental tension and as such forgot to write her roll number.

People of all ages starting from a kindergarten student to a senior citizen from all strata of the society -  house wife, engineer, doctor, politician etc  all are under tension in one way or the other.

But is it possible to avoid this mental tension?

Swami Vivekananda says “The calmer we are, the less disturbed our nerves, the more shall we learn, the better our work be”. But seldom we can find a  person leading a calm and peaceful life. Now a days nervous tension has become a regular phenomenon. Some of the stress induced diseases are heart attack and high blood pressure. The degree of tension may differ depending on the place and situation. Some may be undergoing tension in his office , others may suffer in their home and some others may be undergoing both in their office and home as well.

Stress can’t be completely avoided but it can be controlled to a certain extent. Stress can be positive as well as negative. It is the negative stress which causes nerves tension, anger, jealousy and other problems.

If we are able to remain calm under any provocation, to a large extent tension can be minimized. For this we should have strong will power and faith in our self. We should learn to live in the present forgetting the past. By practicing meditation, to a large extent, tranquility can be maintained and also  regular   practice will help in removing negative feelings.

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