AFVOA Newletters of Year 2006

Page 16 of 77 may please be sent to the Treasurer, Brig NB Subramanian, No.T-46B, 7 th Avenue, Besant Nagar, Chennai-600090. Tele No: 24903934. 62. Amendments to Telephone Directory . Amendments to “Hello Veterans-2004” are listed in Annexure 1 to this Newsletter for the information of all Members. Matters Health 63. Natural wav to live healthy life . There are a number of herbal and natural supplements that offer new hope for cardiovascular conditions. Clinical trials on these substances and studies comparing their effectiveness to pharmaceutical drugs have been conducted and these provide supporting evidence for their use. Some of them are given below:- (a) Hawthorn (Crataegus oxvacantha ): Clinical research on standardized hawthorn extracts (1800 mg daily) has shown positive results in cardiac failure patients, including improvements in exercise capacity and clinical symptoms, with fewer adverse events such as dizziness and vertigo. (b) Garlic (Allium sativum): Garlic has numerous important effects on the cardiovascular system, including anti-oxidant, anti-platelet (blood thinning) and anti- thrombotic (prevents blood clots) activities, inhibition of cholesterol synthesis and an ability to reduce the atherosclerotic process (hardening of the arteries). A number of trials have also shown that garlic can produce significant reduction in blood pressure. The doses varied between 600 mg and 900 mg daily in divided doses (delivering around 5000-6000) mcg of the active ingredient, allicin). Garlic’s cholesterol lowering ability appears to be modest, according to clinical research Garlic can also be added to the diet as a supplement on a daily basis. (c) Ginger (Zingiber officinale ): Ginger has anti-atherosclerotic and anti-platelet activity. Very high doses of at least 10g are required; whereas lower doses of 2g have no effect on bleeding time or platelet function. In addition to ginger supplements, drinking ginger tea and using the herb in cooking can contribute to your ginger intake (d) Turmeric (Cucuma lonqa): Preliminary research shows that turmeric extract or an extract of its main active ingredient, curcumin, lowers blood fats. One study found that a dose of 500 mg daily of turmeric for seven days resulted in a significant decrease in the level of blood lipid peroxides, an increase in HDL (so called “good” cholesterol) and a decrease in total cholesterol. (e) Milk thistle (Silybum marianum ): Cholesterol lowering activity has also been reported for the herb, Milk thistle. Doses of 420 mg daily of the active ingredient silymarin appear to reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels. (f) Fish oils: Fish oil has long been recognized for its role in reducing the risk of heart disease. In one study, 11,324 patients who had recently survived a heart attack were treated with either a placebo or a fish oil supplement (about 1 gm daily of EPA and DHA) were found to reduce the health rate by 20 per cent cardiovascular deaths by 30 per cent and sudden deaths by 45 per cent (g) Vitamin E: Vitamin E supplement (400 IU and 800 IU daily) reduces the risk of cardiovascular death, and non fatal heart attack by over 75 per cent. ~ Courtesy Apollo Times dated 13 Jan 2006 (With due respect to the Apollo Times, I believe that Hawthorne and Milk Thistle are not indigenous to India as they seem to grow in places with a temperate climate, and therefore, I am not sure about their availability here. If some of our readers can throw some light on