"Some top aides worried about her mental state: was it possible that she was experiencing postpartum depression? " Purdumdoesn't go into whyPalin's aides wouldhave thought that.

We all experience anxiety or depression from time to time as emotional states. Common anxieties include worry about finances or health concerns; depression may occur after a breakup or during times of grief.

Should all over-50s take anti-cholesterol drug?

Statins cut the risk of heart attacks by 30 per cent even in healthy people, researchers say.

The cholesterol-busting drugs also reduce the chances of death from all causes by 12 per cent.

The findings, from a review of studies involving people without heart disease, will renew the heated debate over whether everyone over the age of 50 should be prescribed the powerful drugs.

At present they are given only to those at significant risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Many experts say wider access to the cheap drug could save hundreds of thousands of lives while also saving the NHS billions every year.

More than six million adults already take statins, saving around 10,000 lives a year.

The Government’s heart disease czar Roger Boyle says all older people should ideally be taking statins or a polypill, new tablets being developed which contain the drugs.

And last month heart expert Professor Malcolm Law wrote in the British Medical Journal that everyone over 55 should be given statins in the same way that everyone would be offered a vaccine against swine flu if it became serious.

Although low dose statins can be bought over the counter, effective versions of the drugs cannot legally be purchased without a prescription.

The latest review analysed the results of ten large trials involving more than 70,000 patients who did not have established cardiovascular disease.

The trials compared statin therapy with placebo agents or no treatment and tracked patients for an average of four years.

Deaths from all causes were cut by 12 per cent among those taking statins, and the risk of major events such as a heart attack went down by 30 per cent. The risk of a stroke was cut by 19 per cent.

No significant treatment differences were found between men and women, young and old, and those with and without diabetes. There was no raised risk of cancer, feared as a possible side effect.

Dr Jasper Brugts of Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, which carried out the study, said the findings justify giving statins to those without established cardiovascular disease, but with risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Writing on the BMJ website, he aid: ‘People at increased risk for cardiovascular disease should not be denied the relative benefits of long-term statin use.’
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He said men over 65 with risk factors, or older women with diabetes and risk factors, would probably benefit most.

At present, those with established risk factors including diabetes are eligible for statins because they are being prescribed for secondary prevention of heart and circulatory problems.

The big issue is whether taking statins would benefit ‘healthy’ people for primary prevention.

A drive is planned by GPs over the next five years where adults aged 40 to 74 will be invited for a health check to identify heart and stroke risk, as well as kidney disease. Anyone in this age group who is believed to have a 20 per cent risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke over the next ten years will be eligible for the drugs.

It is thought that 15million people will benefit from checks. The move could prevent a further 15,000 heart ‘events’ each year, such as heart attacks and strokes, in addition to the 7,000 heart attacks already being prevented.

But GP Dr Malcolm Kendrick, author of The Great Cholesterol Con, said the jury was still out on whether statins provide any overall health benefit for people without a history of heart disease.

Dr Kendrick, a long-standing sceptic about statins for those at low risk of heart problems, said: ‘The suggestion that people at low risk should be taking drugs for the rest of their lives is not supported by the trials.

In addition to the lack of benefit and expense, statins carry a substantial burden of side effects.’

The Department of Health said it would study the findings.

Source:Mail Online. 1st. July.’09

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Putting People on a Pedestal
When we fall in love with someone or make a new friend, we sometimes see that person in a glowing light. Their good qualities dominate the foreground of our perception and their negative qualities. They just don?t seem to have any. This temporary state of grace is commonly known as putting someone on a pedestal. Often times we put spiritual leaders and our gurus on pedestals. We have all done this to someone at one time or another, and as long as we remember that no one is actually ?perfect,? the pedestal phase of a relationship can be enjoyed for what it is?a phase. It?s when we actually believe our own projection that troubles arise.

Everyone has problems, flaws, and blind spots, just as we do. When we entertain the illusion that someone is perfect, we don?t allow them room to be human, so when they make an error in judgment or act in contradiction to our idea of perfection, we become disillusioned. We may get angry or distance ourselves in response. In the end, they are not to blame for the fact that we idealized them. Granted, they may have enjoyed seeing themselves as perfect through our eyes, but we are the ones who chose to believe an illusion. If you go through this process enough times, you learn that no one is perfect. We are all a combination of divine and human qualities and we all struggle. When we treat the people we love with this awareness, we actually allow for a much greater intimacy than when we held them aloft on an airy throne. The moment you see through your idealized projection is the moment you begin to see your loved one as he or she truly is.

We cannot truly connect with a person when we idealize them. In life, there are no pedestals?we are all walking on the same ground together. When we realize this, we can own our own divinity and our humanity. This is the key to balance and wholeness within ourselves and our relationships.

Source: Daily Om

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Botanical Name:Grecian Foxglove
Family lantaginaceae :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantaginaceae
Synonym igitalis lamarckii auct. balcan.
Common Name:Woolly Foxglove, Grecian Foxglove
Other Common Names:Ari Quwani [E], Degitalis [E], Grecian Foxglove [H,P,B], Ke-Zigitarisu [E], Sahr Al Kishteban [E],
Kingdom: Plantae

Habitat:Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge. Native to Eastern Europe.One of the biggest populations can be found near Bácsalmás in Hungary.

Description:
An evergreen biennial/Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.3m or about 13 to 26 inches. . It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen in September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.
...
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Digitalus lanata, like some other foxglove species, is highly toxic in all parts of the plant.

Grecian Foxglove produces spikes of white flowers each of which has purple veins. The flower spikes give the plant its height. Flowering occurs in early  summer. Volunteer plants will grow if the plant is allowed to form seed.

Cultivation details
An easily grown plant, succeeding in ordinary garden soil, especially if it is rich in organic matter[1]. It prefers a neutral to acid soil and also succeeds in dry soils and, once established, is drought tolerant[188, 190]. It prefers semi-shade but succeeds in full sun if the soil is moist.

The Grecian foxglove is cultivated for the medicinally active glycosides that are contained in the leaves. This species is preferred over D. purpurea as a source of glycosides for the pharmaceutical industry.

Plants are either biennial or short-lived perennials.

Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits.

This species can develop crown rot and root rot when growing in damp conditions.

Propagation: Grow new plants from seed.

Medicinal Uses:
The Grecian foxglove is a widely used herbal medicine with a recognised stimulatory effect upon the heart. It is also used in allopathic medicine as the main source of the cardiac glycosides that are used in the treatment of heart complaints. It has a profound tonic effect upon a diseased heart, enabling the heart to beat more slowly, powerfully and regularly without requiring more oxygen. At the same time it stimulates the flow of urine which lowers the volume of the blood and lessens the load on the heart. The plant contains cardiac glycosides (including digoxin, digitoxin and lanatosides). Digitoxin rapidly strengthens the heartbeat but is excreted very slowly. Digoxin is therefore preferred as a long-term medication.

The leaves are cardiac, diuretic, stimulant and tonic. The leaves should only be harvested from plants in their second year of growth, picked when the flowering spike has grown and about two thirds of the flowers have opened. Harvested at other times, there is less of the medically active alkaloid present[4]. The seed has also been used in the past[4]. The leaves also have a very beneficial effect on the kidneys, they are strongly diuretic and are used with benefit in the treatment of dropsy[4]. Great care should be exercised in the use of this plant, the therapeutic dose is very close to the lethal dose[222]. Their use should always be supervised by a qualified practitioner since in excess they cause nausea, vomiting, slow pulse, visual disturbance, anorexia and fainting[238]. See also the notes above on toxicity.

A homeopathic remedy is made from the leaves[9]. It is used in the treatment of cardiac disorders

In 1775 Dr. William Withering, an English physician, discovered the efficacy of Digitalis purpurea in the treatment of severe congestive heart failure. He attributed its efficacy to a diuretic effect and published his findings based on clinical observations in 1785. The pharmacological properties of regulating the heart rate and rhythm and strengthening of the heart muscle were discovered later.
The German ophthalmologist and botanist Ernst Fuchs is responsible for giving foxglove its Latin name in the Linneal binomial system of the naming of plants. To him and others before him, each blossom resembled a thimble, so he arrived at digitalis from the Latin digitus, finger and alis, suffix meaning pertaining to the qualities or characteristics of a finger.
The thimble resemblance of the blossoms is also responsible for the English common name foxglove: ?gloves for little folks?, and the common German name der Fingerhut which translates as the finger hat (a thimble).
Digitalis lamarckii auct. balcan. is a, it is still used by some for plants available in horticulture.

Commercial uses
Digoxin, a drug which is used to treat some heart conditions, is extracted from the leaves of Digitalis lanata

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis_lanata
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/00002107.html
http://www.piam.com/mms_garden/plants.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Digitalis+lanata

Skim milk helps people feel full, thanks to its high protein content, lactose sugar and its thickness.

Researchers found that drinking fat free milk in the morning helped increase satiety and led to decreased calorie intake at the next meal, compared to a fruit drink. Those who drank milk ate about 50 fewer calories (or nearly nine percent less food) at lunch.

In the study, 34 overweight but otherwise healthy men and women participated in two testing sessions, one in which they were served about 20 ounces of fat free milk, and one in which they were served the same quantity of a fruit drink (each contributing 250 calories to their breakfast).

During the four hours between breakfast and lunch, the men and women gauged their feelings of fullness and were allowed to eat until they were comfortably full at lunch.

The researchers found that the milk-drinking adults reported feeling fuller and more satisfied and therefore ate fewer calories at lunch.

The researchers suspect that milk’s protein content (providing 16 percent of the daily value per cup), the lactose (the natural sugar in milk) or simply the thickness of the beverage may play a role in the satiety benefits.

And, research suggests choosing foods that can help enhance satiety is an important success factor in any weight management plan, according to a Eurekalert release.

These results are slated for publication in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Source: The TimersOf India

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