healthy and beautiful

The monsoon is here and shouts of joy can be heard through the streets! As the rain washes away the waves of heat, the crowds are simply loving the clear, clean, cold, windy weather. This season is a risky one as far as infection and disease is concerned. Until now, I'd known that it was easy to get throat infections, colds, coughs, bronchitis, viral fevers and the like, in this rainy weather. Yesterday however, I called up my tattoo-artist friend from Dragonfly Tattoo Studio (he's got a tattoo studio in G.K. Market, Delhi) to ask him about navel piercings. He advised me that this wasn't the right time to get that sort of stuff done, as the moisture in the air is perfect for infections to breed. He added that the best time during this season, would be in the end of August as the air is drier then and a piercing would heal quicker. By the same token, my dentist advised me to allow extra recovery time for my scheduled surgery this weekend, as the rainy weather is perfecting ...

No, drinking more milk, scientific research has found that taking a more calcium-rich diet does NOT help to prevent the much dreaded old-age symptom of osteoporosis, which is more common among the women species. It is just an old myth. To prepare against the eventualities of this deterioration disease, one must instead build up muscle mass which instead helps strengthen the bone. Calcium rich diets will only help you to build bone mass up until you are fully grown. After this, your body no longer needs to have excess milk (especially cow's milk) pumped into it. It is good as a protein yes, but not as a way of building bone mass. Only resistance training can do that for you. If you are trying to combat osteoporosis now, try seeking consultation from your doctor, or for going for some light aerobics and gradually working your way up to exercising with weights. Take dancing classes if you have to, but do something rigorous that will get your heart pumping and those muscles building.

Did you know that the first ever successful face transplant was of a woman in France who was mauled by her dog? This was not long ago, in 2005. Her name was Isabelle Dinoire and she was 38 years old. She was lucky, but others were not. On June 8th, Laurent Lantieri - the surgeon who performed the transplant operation - reported that his patient had died due to cardiac arrest. The victim? A man from France who was undergoing the world's first ever face AND double hand transplant operation after he was disfigured in an accident. This was in April. He died not even three months after the surgery when being treated for an infection that had set in on his face. Cardiac arrest claimed what could have been a stunning medical victory. So are face-transplants, plastic surgery and transplant operations successful? Although science and medicine have come a long way, many believe that one can only guarantee a 50/50 chance for a positive outcome.

Wikipedia says that 'A bruise, also called a contusion or is sometimes referred by doctors as ecchymosis, is an injury to biological tissue[1] in which the capillaries are damaged, allowing blood to seep into the surrounding tissue.' Bruises can look pretty ugly, but it is comforting to know that they are not as serious as they may sometimes look to be. A bruise is usually caused by a rough bump or bang against something. It happens when the muscles, fibers and tissues under your skin are squashed roughly, but the skin above them does not break or cut. Blood from these ruptured capillaries then escapes under the surface of the skin. It gets trapped here as it has no outlet by which it can escape. This is why most bruises are sensitive to touch and red or purple in color.