Category: Health

What The Health

Director’s Name- Kip Andersen, Keegan Kuhn

Released Date- 7 March 2017 

What the health is a documentary directed by Kip Andersen in 2017. This documentary tries to uncover the secret to the major health issues like obesity, cancer and diabetes in America. While having positive intentions the documentary falls short when it comes to facts and placing its arguments. Various nutrition scientists disagree with the ‘facts’ mentioned in the documentary. Upon watching the documentary one might feel that the documentary highly favors veganism and in a way forces us to adopt the vegan lifestyle.

Veganism is a lifestyle where one cuts out all the animal related products from his diet. From meat to poultry to even dairy products. It’s a strict plant based diet which grew into popularity in 2016. While there is nothing wrong with a plant only based diet the documentary uses manipulation and exaggeration to sort of force veganism on its viewers.

The documentary claims with absolute confidence that eggs are as bad for us as smoking is. Which according to almost every study done on eggs ever is not true. Eggs are an amazing source of nutrients and are in no way even close to being as harmful as smoking cigarettes. The documentary also says that eating processed meat increases the chances of cancer and diabetes whereas many studies done all over the world by nutrition scientists say that meat is a great source of protein and is no way connected to cancer. The same is said about milk in the documentary- “milk causes cancer”. Milk is a great source of protein and calcium and according to recent studies no dairy product is remotely connected to any kind of cancer.

Although consuming processed meat is not the best eating habit as any kind of processed food has some risks to it but in no study does it say that eating processed meat is on par with smoking cigarettes. Cigarettes in the film are used as a measuring unit to explain the risk of consuming non vegan items. Cigarettes contain tobacco which has a direct link to cancer. no non vegan food comes remotely close to that.

The health research data we have access to today is not as definitive and as precise as we would want it to be. As no tests of a big enough magnitude can be done on two different groups of human beings forcing eating habits on them and recording the results. So all the data we have can never be precise. We can tell which food might risk what disease but we can never be 100% accurate about it. Despite the massive effort that went into the making of this documentary, very little to no science is behind it and if fact checked, it’s not worth watching. The documentary is very biased and only appreciates a vegan diet. Although vegan diet is not unhealthy, it’s certainly not the only way to be in the healthiest shape. Non vegan food has important nutrition values as well and if eaten with proper attention to nutrition count, it is equally beneficial. 

“Not all scars are visible”- Mental health

You might consider yourself to be physically healthful but do you possess a healthy state of mind? How frequently do you consider mental pressure, anxiety or an ill mood? We all must be conscious of the point that a healthy mind as well as a healthy body, both are a part of what makes us whole. Consequently, looking after mental health is as fundamental as caring for the physical health.

A healthy mind encompasses the ability of individuals that allows him or her to withstand the stressful and troublesome situations of life, work productively and contribute their presence in the community. But multiple times people are not competent to look after what they think intense in their minds. That is when the mental disorder begins. A consequence of which they might suffer from depression, anxiety, autism, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, dementia and many more. These disturbances makes them feel sad and makes their mood low. They may face severe mood fluctuations of highs and lows and make them unable to cope with even simple life problems. They may face problems while concentrating and have reduced ability to think keeping them confused all day long.

Accordingly, factors that may affect mental health are:

  • Abuse: This may be physical, sexual, oral or psychological.
  • Physical indisposition: This includes diseases, injuries or other physical disabilities.
  • Social connections: Includes any separation, divorce, family loss etc.
  • Difficult characters: people who exhibit irrelevant behaviour, extreme lying, violence, inappropriate actions.

Have you ever heard about the terminology D.O.S.E?

If not, then this might surprise you as holding a healthy mind starts right here. D.O.S.E exists for Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins. Dopamine among the four is the fundamental chemical that emanate positive emotions in the body. Let’s understand how these chemicals function:

Dopamine: This is something that we can consider as ‘The Happiness Drug’. This motivates us towards our goal that we aspire to accomplish in our existences. Without Dopamine one never would have had the enthusiasm to achieve what they strive for, and the essential happiness We may also refer it to the slight joy that we feel in out day to day life.

How to retain a Healthy Mind?

Now as we know that a healthy mind prepares a happy mind, we also need to comprehend how to do so. A healthy mind is what helps us throughout our entire being therefore the following could be done for our mental health:

  • Being active: Exercising will support the physical as well as mental health.
  • Talk to yourself: Make time and efforts into bridging relations with yourself, keep telling yourself that You are worth enough.
  • Keep learning: Keeping the mind healthy; learning new skills, languages, sports, information etc. has proved constructive.
  • Quit the addiction: Healthy mind is related to a healthy body, any alcoholic or drug addiction would impede the situation.

An unhealthy mind is considered the worst place to be. This state of mind would make you either win or vanish. Make some time for your mind. Care for it and it would take care of you.

Why Mukesh Ambani is more successful than Anil Ambani? – Inspirational story…

Once before in 2019 Mr. Anil Ambani either you pay Eriksson 453 crore rupees or go to jail that time is super rich brother saved him from that feed and then it happened again this year you are personally liable to the three Chinese bank for our comms use of 700 million dollars, but sir I have a net worth of zero you Daikin industrialist socialite and fitness enthusiast there riches-to-rags story of Anil Ambani could well be a plot for a Bollywood film just like his father the Dhirubhai Ambani.

Image source: Business Insider

Dhirubhai Ambani also inspired a film guru  Dhirubhai was legendary for his audacious vision and his ability to successfully implement it

“If you don’t build your dreams someone else will hire you to help them build theirs while”

Started as a petrol pump attendant in Aden Yemen his son’s vocational him walk straight to the directors cabinet while returned to India with just 500 rupees set up reliance and took it public in 1977 the boy started life sitting on its board and that time of his death in 2002 Forbes ranked Dhirubhai Ambani as the world’s 130 eighth richest person with a net worth of 2.9 billion dollars leaving behind one of India’s biggest companies worth 75 thousand crore unthinkable to him that his two sons would fight over his legacy. Dhirubhai did not leave behind the wheel despite cracks forming between the two brothers even during his lifetime who were then Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries respectively after the father’s death these cracks came wide into the open over who would own which company. There was no question as to who would get their flagship petroleum company reliance because Mukesh was the one who had built them main Patal Ganga plant and understood the business intricately Reliance Communications India’s second largest telecom company at the time was also micaceous baby having an vision and build it from scratch but Anil wanted it. Finally, it was their mother Kokilaben in 2004 five I need are calm mom supported by external negotiators chartered accountant s guru-murthy and banker KV Kamath who stepped in to divide the conglomerate Mukesh got all the old economy companies Reliance Industries petroleum IPCL infrastructure while Anil got all the new economy companies and renamed his group ad AG telecom Reliance Capital Energy Natural Resources and broadcasting and his legacy left him as the sixth richest man in the world with a net worth of more than 42 billion dollars just one step below his elder brothers forty three billion. It was broadly expected that since Ana had control over sundry sectors he would do better than Mukesh in the long run in his quest to further strengthen his hold in this sunrise sector in 2005 Anil bought ad lab films and their chain of theaters big cinemas which by 2008 had become the largest multiplex chain with 700 screens across India and overseas he also signed a 1.2 billion dollar deal with American filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s production company DreamWorks in the same year making some Academy award-winning movies.

Anil Ambani - Wikipedia

Image source: Wikipedia.org

When Anil floated an IPO for Reliance Power it was subscribed in 60 seconds and record for Indian capital markets a Mills flamboyant lifestyle was a fairytale like his proximity to Bollywood celebrities on a loose was my genre program to politicians like Samajwadi parties. Amar Singh who had enough clout to have him nominated as AI onion through by Ambani having being elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha like his bi-weekly helicopter flight from his South Mumbai home to our comms office in Navi Mumbai named Dhirubhai Ambani knowledge seeking or his love for running and fitness which he apparently took up after an American investor.

Mukesh Ambani

Image source: Forebs

Mukesh boasting of the most expensive house in Asia worth 700 million dollars four and a half thousand crore anil planned his own luxurious house aboard also worth about the same amount in Bandra Pali Hill which is still under construction with so much money and attention around it seemed Anil star would shine forever things however did not go as planned relations between the once close brothers that were until then civil Saud instead of renegotiating an old deal in 2010 and Anil took Mukesh to court over the supply price of gas from Reliance Krishna Godavari Basin. Mukesh refused to supply him gas at the contracted price under the terms of the 2005 gas agreement brokered by their mother who Kokila had contracted to supply gas to onions our NRL at two dollars 34 cents per mm BTU even though its price had since risen sharply in international markets but the Supreme Court in accordance with the government’s gas utilization policy fixed the price at four dollars 20 cents per mm BTU in favor of Mukesh as Anil his next hit was in Telecom when our comb was set up they adopted the cheaper CDMA technology. While rivals such as Airtel and Hutch used the more expensive GSM while CDMA was a superior technology at 2g and 3G levels the world was moving towards 4G and beyond which it could not support once the tenure anti-competition clause with his brother lapsed into end Mukesh launched Jio and changed the face of the telecom industry in India within three years of Jio’s launch our comes one point six five lakh crore market capitalisation lost over 98% of its value and eventually went into insolvency proceedings in May 2018 both these were big setbacks for Anil.

Anil Ambani falls off billionaire club; equity wealth crashes from ...

Image source: Business Today

Now his dominoes began to fall one by one in an effort to reduce debt in 2014 Anil sold big cinemas to Carnival for seven hundred and ten crore and two years later parts of his TV and FM radio business to Zee for one thousand eight seventy two crore during his head is Anil to showcase his engineering capability took huge loans to build Mumbai Sea Link and the city’s verso Agard copper Metro both projects done below cost despite things falling all around him. Anil without domain knowledge tried his hand in the defense sector when in 2016 he bought p-pop of marine and offshore engineering so it was no surprise when the diversification failed and the market cap of Papa renamed Reliance navel fell ninety percent in 2019 from a billion dollars to a hundred million the Fuhrer over the Rafael deal in Parliament also added to his woes finally the profit making and cast generating Reliance Energy was sold off to Adani in 2017-18 for 2.5 million$ 18,000 crore took pay off debts loans that Anil defaulted on worth twelve thousand eight hundred crore also played a part in the downfall of yes bank as of December 31st 2019 Anil Ambani telecom naval infrastructure and power businesses have defaulted on loans over 43860 dollars his pile of deaths has also affected his other projects we had the Delhi Metro or power projects in Madhya Pradesh while Mukesh Ambani’s wealth saw ups and downs but remains steady at 43.1 billion$ last year on his fortunes tumbled to 1.7 billion and is reported to be worth less than 1 billion.

10 amazing facts about Mukesh Ambani's home 'Antilia' - Photos-1

Mukesh Ambani House (Image: Business Today)

Anil monies deadly sins poor strategy are calm lost out when 4g came this way known drawback in CDMA pride chasing prestige projects with long returns rather than the bottom line like the ceiling over ambition looking outside of core competence areas like venturing into defense mismanagement taking more loans than the ability to pay in worst case scenarios like our comm navel etc mukesh on the other hand has not only kept a deep focus on his core business but entered two major sunrise sectors retail and telecom through a well-crafted strategy. Anil is not the only one to lose his fortune Ranbaxy is Shiv endure and Melinda Singh lost their ancestral 2 billion empire Ashika then Ravi can through you had to let go their bankrupt Essar Steel to ArcelorMittal VG Siddhartha of coffee cafe day ended his life citing debts and pressure from lenders the rage girl had to step down as chairman of Jet Airways which eventually wound up operations under a debt of 8500 TV mogul Subash Chandra lost his stake in Zee TV due to mounting debt the once billionaire is currently battling a lawsuit by three Chinese banks which are trying to recover 680 million$ they lend to our Comment 2012 debt backed by onions personal guarantee in a further spate of bad luck Reliance Capital the only business which was still doing well also got hit due to global recession after the corona virus epidemic a London Court has now asked him to deposit a hundred million dollars in six weeks but Anil pleaded, “I do not hold any meaningful assets which can be soon to pay them” now that the six week deadline is over and Anil is still out of jail it appears that he had enough personal funds to make the payment after the Jio-Facebook deal big brother Mukesh sauce even higher but with limited resources left the question is what next for Anil Ambani Baseball’s Limerick this is the story of Anil Ambani how his life was once full of glory but his death overloaded and capital eroded what chapters are left in this riveting story.

Correcting bad posture

First and foremost, let’s take a moment to define posture and what it means for your health

Keeping a solid alignment means that our muscles are used correctly. It decreases wear-and-tear on the joints which could result in some crappy conditions (like arthritis).

Posture impacts the bones and muscles in our upper bodies.

It minimizes the strain on ligaments holding up your spine, but it also lets muscles work efficiently and use up less energy.

A bad alignment can not only screw up your physical health but your mental health too.

We’ll be addressing it in three main areas: the neck, the shoulders, and the thoracic spine.

  1. Fix Your Office Chair
    The first step in fixing bad posture in men is addressing the workplace. Many guys work from offices with computers and chairs.
    The best way to take on this endeavor is by aligning your tools in order to engage in a way that best supports your body.
    Prioritize lumbar support for the chair, and adjust its height so you can use the keyboard with your forearms parallel to the floor.
    Keep your feet flat on the floor. If the chair is too high, see about finding a footrest. Ensure that your screen is at eye-level.
    Place the mouse as on the brink of you as possible. A mat with a wrist cushion is a great help in preventing any unnecessary bending.
    It’s a series of simple fixes that go a long way.
  2. Go Swimming

Swimming is a godsend when it comes to solid exercise because it engages your entire core, working it out evenly.Swimming stretches the muscles in your torso to better resemble ideal posture. Doing so repeatedly strengthens your torso.
It helps your shoulders too. Since you need to pull your shoulder blades back for the right motion, it encourages a great habit for off the pool as well.

  1. At The Gym? Try These Exercises

Here are two which can do just that:

The lat hang loosens tight muscles in your chest and upper back. To do this, look for your nearest assisted pull-up bar. Rest your knees on the platform and grip the bar with both hands. It looks like a pull-up starting position, only you let your torso hang. If you feel it on your chest and armpits, you’re on the right track.
Seated low rows loosen up your traps. Grip the handles on a seated rowing machine, pull the cable, and keep your shoulder blades as tight as you can!

  1. Looking Down At Your Phone
    We got science to back this one up from a 2016 study out of the Journal of Physical Therapy Science.

Their goal was to determine a relationship between posture and respiratory function. They assessed several participants and their breathing ratios while looking down at their phones.

I won’t spend too much time on specifics, but they discovered that prolonged smartphone use could negatively affect BOTH your posture and breathing.

  1. Fix Your Forward Head Posture
    Forward Head Posture (FHP) is also known by a number of creative epithets like nerd neck and scholar’s neck.

Essentially, it happens when your head leans forward and your neck ends up being crooked. It’s prevalent for those of us who spend a lot of time on the computer.

Letting it go unchecked can lead to potentially serious conditions like Osteoporosis, Cervical Spine Arthritis, and continuous shoulder blade pain.

FHP also weakens most of your neck muscles, and even strain those on your upper and mid-back.

If you lean up against a wall and your head doesn’t naturally touch it, you might have FHP.

So, what are some steps you can take to improve it?

Try massaging your SCM (Sternocleidomastoid) muscle, which are the tight bands that extend in a “V” from your collar bone. Just press two fingers to them and begin the massage.
Start some neck flexion to stretch the back of your back neck muscles. Tuck your chin in with one hand and use the other to slowly pull your head to your chest.

  1. Take Care Of Rounded Shoulders
    When it comes to correcting bad posture in men, rounded “mom” shoulders are all-too-common. It describes a resting shoulder position which is abnormally forward from the body’s true alignment.

hunched shoulder posture
Out of the types I’ve listed, this condition more immediately affects first impressions. Fortunately, you can remedy that.

The handclasp stretch is done by standing up straight, reaching for the sky, and clasping your hands together to establish the stretch. Gently push your shoulders back while keeping your neck straight.
Use the door frame to stretch your chest and shoulders. Place both hands on opposite sides of the doorway just above your head height. Gently lunge forward.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together while standing up straight, holding for ten seconds at a time.

  1. Fixing Spine Curvature – Kyphosis
    Kyphosis is a common issue that often affects adolescents and adults. It has to do with the abnormal development of spinal muscles, which bad posture can accelerate.

Preventing Kyphosis is a matter of a few simple exercises.

Knee rolls are done by laying on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Move your knees slowly to one side until you feel it in your back.
With the same starting position, arch your back while keeping the upper back and butt on the floor.
Finally, bring your knees to your chest. Repeat this five times with both legs.

  1. Fix Your Diet

It seems obvious when you think about it: Excess body fat adds to the weight your bones need to bear. This can, in turn, cause a lot of lower back pain.
You should also prioritize foods which strengthen your bones – your posture will be improved in turn. Vitamin D and calcium are great to start with.

Too much alcohol and caffeine intake are actually detrimental to bone health.

Dexamethasone- Corona Vaccine Update!!!

Finally some good news today dexamethasone is now being called a major breakthrough based on a recent randomized controlled trial in the UK. Dexamethasone also known as Decadron is an example of a glucocorticoid are sometimes referred to as corticosteroids other examples of glucocorticoids include hydrocortisone methyl prednisolone prednisolone, prednisone beta methazone and triamcinolone so glucocorticoids are a class of steroid hormones that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor in the body cortisol aka hydrocortisone is the glucocorticoid.

pexels-photo-4031867.jpeg
Photo by Edward Jenner on Pexels.com

We naturally make in our body it’s essential for life it regulates or supports various cardiovascular metabolic and homeostatic functions it also plays a big role in our immune system especially when it comes to reducing certain aspects of inflammation this is why we use them all the time in medicine we sometimes give these steroids for asthma copd rheumatologic type diseases and countless more diseases. Sometimes it is also given for steroids for meningitis and also for some forms of cancer we also give them in the early course of severe ards acute respiratory distress syndrome whether that ards is due to infection such as pneumonia or vaping lung injury or whatever the cause for severe ards we typically give methylprednisolone or solumedral at a dose of one milligram per kilogram per day. So, for most people that ends up being around 80 milligrams per day so this is the equivalent of 15 milligrams of dexamethasone the idea here is to suppress the cytokine storm that has taken place meaning that the massive amount of inflammation that causes lung damage and can indirectly cause damage to other organs as well our body naturally makes cortisol in our adrenal glands specifically in the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex the adrenal gland then secretes cortisol into the bloodstream and the cortisol travels to different tissues of the body and then binds to the glucocorticoid receptor inside cells it then stimulates the cell to make more anti-inflammatory proteins and causes the cell to make less pro-inflammatory proteins but giving someone glucocorticoids meaning steroids to someone who has an infection is somewhat of a tricky thing because the fear is that if you suppress the body’s immune system it has the potential to make the infection worse. Sometimes the body’s immune system does more damage than the actual infection for example in cases of meningitis that is due to either streptococcus or tuberculosis we give steroids because the medical evidence shows that they have better outcomes when we do so and giving someone steroids for viral pneumonias like influenza is more controversial because doing so generally leads to worse infection with that said if the viral pneumonia is so bad to the point of causing severe ards most doctors will give steroids in that situation. So this is why, the general medical guidelines so far recommend against giving steroids for covert pneumonia unless the patient has severe ards and we’ve been waiting for randomized controlled trials to come out for steroids in covid and here we are now with this study so in march of 2020 the recovery trial which stands for randomized evaluation of covid-19 therapy was one of the randomized control trials that actually looked at several different potential treatments for covid which included low-dose dexamethasone this trial was done in the UK.

skynews-dexamethasone-covid-19_5014958

Image source: Sky News

Over 11 500 patients in it so this trial has not been peer reviewed as of has not been published in the journal yet so everything I know so far is based on what’s been released to the general public in this trial over 2100 patients were randomized to receive dexamethasone specifically six milligrams once per day for 10 days and this group was compared with over 4 300 patients that were randomized to the standard care alone so 6 milligrams of dexamethasone is the equivalent of 32 milligrams of methylprednisolone so this is about half the dose we would typically use for someone with severe ards so among the patients who received standard care alone 20-day mortality was highest in those who required mechanical ventilation this was 41 and then intermediate in those patients who required supplemental oxygen only this was mortality rate of 25 percent and the mortality rate was lowest among those who did not require supplemental oxygen in which that mortality rate was 13 for patients who were on mechanical ventilators dexamethasone reduced mortality from 41 percent to 28 percent for patients who needed supplemental oxygen it reduced mortality from 25 percent to 20 percent and there was no benefit among those patients who do not require supplement oxygen in other words if someone only had mild disease there was no point in giving dexamethasone so based on these results one death would be prevented by the treatment of around eight ventilated patients. So that’s the number needed to treat for ventilated patients and then the number needed to treat for the ones who required supplemental oxygen that number needed to treat would be 25 so these preliminary results are significant but it doesn’t mean that dexamethasone is a miracle drug it’s certainly not a cure but it does seem to help based on these numbers index and methazone could be of huge benefit and not just rich countries but poorer countries as well because this drug is very cheap and is widely available so this is great news and very exciting but there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered like what is the ideal dose should we use higher doses in patients who are mechanically ventilated with ards and when will it be approved for use in the united states and we’ll get these answers pretty soon now another.

person holding petri dish
Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

Interesting question is should we give decadron dexamethasone to people who have mild disease now even though this study didn’t show any benefit the reason why i bring this up is because some people start out with mild disease and then go on to have moderate or severe disease and we have no way of predicting who goes on to do that and also it happens very quickly lots of times someone could be doing just fine and then all of a sudden within hours they all of a sudden are deteriorating and they have severe disease so should we give those patients decadron regardless is there any harm doing so that’s another question that remains to be seen.

Allahabad HC Grants Wife Guardianship Of Husband In Comatose Condition

It is most refreshing, most pleasing and most heartening to see that in a commendable, courageous and conscious decision, the Allahabad High Court in Uma Mittal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors in Case – Writ – C No. – 40096 of 2019 delivered just recently on June 15, 2020 has very rightly and remarkably allowed the plea of a wife to be appointed as the guardian of her husband lying in vegetative state even though it conceded that there is no law for appointment of guardians for a person in a comatose state. It also added that the court was obliged in its capacity as a ‘parens patriae’ to do justice to the petitioner. No wonder that this is being very rightly hailed in many newspapers and media! Why on earth should a woman who is a man’s wife be denied this?

                                           To start with, we see that in this latest, landmark and extremely laudable judgment authored by Justice Shashi Kant Gupta for himself and Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery, the ball is set rolling in para 1 wherein it is observed that, “The present writ petition has been preferred seeking the following relief:

(a)          issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus appointing petitioner No. 1, namely Uma Mittal, W/o Sri Sunil Kumar Mittal, as the guardian of her husband to protect his interest, administer bank accounts, investments, proprietorship business, etc. and in the event of necessity, to sell the immovable property standing in the name of her husband and to use the proceeds towards medical treatment of her husband and family welfare expenses.”  

                                         As it turned out, para 11 then reveals that, “In support of his contention, learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance upon the following decisions:-

(I)                         Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug Vs. Union of India; (2011) 4 SCC 454 (Paras 127 & 131);

(II)                     Shafin Jahan Vs. Asokan KM; (2018) 16 SCC 368 (Paras 45 & 46);

(III)                  Shobha Gopalakrishnan and others Vs. State of Kerala and others; (2019) SCC Online Ker 739 (Para 42 & 43);

(IV)                 Vandana Tyagi Vs. Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and others; (2020) SCC Online Del 32 (Para 76);

(V)                     Philomena Leo Lobo Vs. Union of India and others; (2017) SCC Online Bom 8836 (Para 6);

(VI)                 Dr. Kuldeep Chand Maria Vs. Union of India & Others; (2016) SCC Online HP 497 (Para 4).”

                                            While dwelling on the Medical Examination Report, it is then pointed out in para 17 that, “A perusal of the said report clearly indicates that on examination, the patient was found in an unconscious state and is not oriented in time or place and was also not responding to any painful stimuli. Patient is also not in a position to recognize the people around him and not in a position to make any signatures or perform any other physical activity. Thus, the husband of Petitioner No. 1 was found in a vegetative state.”

                                              To put things in perspective, it is then envisaged in para 18 which is briefly stated here that, “From a perusal of the record and the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner, it is evident that the husband of the petitioner, SKM is lying in a comatose state. The petitioners have already incurred huge expenses in connection with the treatment and have exhausted their financial resources. They are in a state of despair, abandonment, isolation and are undergoing agony, stress and depression on account of pathetic condition of the victim who is lying in a vegetative state, as such, the petitioners were compelled to approach this Court for appointing the petitioner no. 1, wife of the SKM to be his Guardian submitting that no legislation in India provides for appointment of Guardian for a person lying in comatose state unlike legislation for appointment of Guardians for minor and persons with other disabilities like mental retardation etc. While referring to the judgment passed by Kerala High Court in the case of Shobha Gopalkrishnan (supra), learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that, while invoking the doctrine of “parens patriae”, the Kerala High Court, has appointed the legal heir of the victim as a guardian, holding that no legislation in India provides for appointment of guardian to a person in a comatose state. The said judgment of Shobha Gopalkrishnan (supra) has been followed by the Delhi High Court in the case of Vandana Tyagi (supra), wherein discussions in this regard have been made from Paragraphs 57 to 68.”

                                        Be it noted, it is then stipulated in para 25 that, “Thus, a perusal of the aforesaid decisions clearly indicates that the Constitutional Courts may also act as parens patriae so as to meet the ends of justice. The Constitutional Courts in the country have exercised parens patriae jurisdiction in the matter of child custody, treating the issue of custody of a child to be of paramount concern. Similarly, the doctrine has been invoked in cases where a person who is mentally retarded, is produced before a Court in a writ of Habeas Corpus. These are the rare situations, when the Court can invoke the aforesaid doctrine.”

                            More significantly, the Bench then minces no words to state in para 26 that, “In our opinion, in the present case this Court cannot shirk its responsibility when a distress call is given by a sinking family of a person lying in a comatose state for the past year and a half. The dominant factor, after all, is not enforcement of rights guaranteeing protection of life of warring parties under Article 226 of the Constitution but the protection of the rights of a human being lying in a comatose state under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Court under Article 226 can pass orders and give direction as are necessary for subserving the ends of justice or to protect the person who is lying in a vegetative state. Under the circumstances, this Court, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is the ultimate guardian of a person who is lying in a comatose/vegetative state and may provide adequate relief of appointment of a Guardian.”    

                                  Equally significant if not more is what is then stated in para 27 that, “It may be noted that the Division Bench of Kerala High Court in the case of Shobha Gopalkrishnan (supra) has framed certain broad guidelines with regard to appointment of guardian qua a person lying in a comatose state since no specific provision was available in any statute in this regard. The guidelines framed by the Division Bench of Kerala High Court appear to be formidable and sound and, therefore, can be used as framework for formulating guidelines that need to be implemented in the State of Uttar Pradesh till such time, the legislative enactments are framed and specific provisions are made as to how guardians are to be appointed qua persons in a comatose state.”

                                   Most significantly, it is then laid down in para 28 that, “Thus, taking a cue from the decision of Shobha Gopalakrishnan (supra), we fix the following norms/guidelines as a temporary measure till an appropriate enactment is legislated as to how guardians are to be appointed vis-à-vis an individual who is lying in comatose state:-

“Guidelines

(i)  A person(s) who seek(s) to be appointed as guardians vis-à-vis an individual, who is lying in comatose state, shall in their petition to the High Court (in short ‘Court’) disclose the details of all tangible and intangible assets of such an individual. The details as to their location and approximate market value shall also be disclosed. In case of bank accounts, stocks, shares, and debentures and other investments are concerned, material particulars will be provided.

(ii) The Court will have the person lying in comatose examined by a duly constituted medical board which would include, inter alia, a neurologist.

(iii) The court will also direct the concerned SDM/Tehsildar in whose jurisdiction the person lying in comatose is said to be located to carry out an enquiry to establish the veracity of the assertion and to gather material particulars concerning the person(s) who approach the court for being appointed as guardians. The enquiry will, inter alia, gather information as regards the relationship that the person(s) who wish to be appointed as guardians has/have with the person lying in comatose state. Information with  regard to the financial condition of persons wanting to be appointed as guardians shall also be collected apart from other aspects which may have a material bearing in then discharging the duties of a guardian. Any conflict of interest concerning the affairs of the person lying in comatose state will be brought to fore in the report generated during the course of the enquiry.  

(iv) Ordinarily only that person will be appointed as guardian who is a spouse or a progeny of the person lying in comatose. The person seeking appointment as a guardian in his petition to the court will, however, disclose the particulars of all legal heirs of the person lying in comatose. In the event, the person lying in comatose has neither a spouse nor any children or even any legal heirs or if he/she has such persons in his life but stands abandoned by them subject to the permission of the court his next friend who wishes to be appointed as a guardian can approach the court with such a request. In the alternative, the Court could direct the Department of Social Welfare, GNCTD to appoint a public official such as a Social Welfare Officer or a person holding equivalent rank to act as the guardian of the person lying in comatose state.  

(v) Only that person shall be appointed as a guardian who is otherwise in law competent to act as a guardian.

(vi) The order directing appointment of a guardian shall specify the assets qua which the guardianship order is passed. The court will be empowered to modify the order and bring within its sweep other assets, if required, in the interest of the person lying in comatose state. In case liquid funds are not available and there is a requirement to sell the assets of the persons lying in comatose state, upon the guardian approaching the court, necessary directions could be passed in that behalf.

(vii) The person appointed as a guardian will file every six (6) months (or within such period as the court may indicate in its order) a report with the Registrar General of this Court. The report shall advert to the transactions undertaken by the guardian in respect of the assets of the person lying in comatose state. Besides this, the report shall also indicate the funds, if any, received by the guardian and their utilization for the purposes of maintaining the person lying in comatose state.

(viii) The Registrar General of this court will cause a separate register to be maintained which will set out inter alia the details of the proceedings, the particulars of the person appointed as a guardian and orders, if any, passed after the appointment of the guardian. Measures will also be taken by the Registrar General to preserve the reports filed by the guardian from time to time.

(ix) It will be open to the court to appoint a guardian either temporarily or for a limited period, as may be deemed fit.

(x) In the event, the guardian appointed by the court misuses his/her power or misappropriates, siphons or misutilizes the assets of the person lying in comatose state or fails to utilize the assets in the best interest of the person lying in comatose state, the court would have the power to remove the guardian and appoint another person in his/her place. The substituted person could also be a public officer such as a Social Welfare Officer or an officer holding an equivalent rank.

(xi) The guardian appointed by the court will ensure that the transactions entered into by him or her comport with the relevant provisions of the law.

(xii) In case a relative or a next friend of the person lying in comatose state finds that the guardian is not acting in the best interest of the person lying in comatose state, such person will also have the locus to approach the court for issuance of appropriate directions and/or for removal of the guardian.    

(xiii) In case, the guardian wishes to move the person lying in comatose state to another state or even to another country for the purposes of securing better medical treatment for the person lying in comatose state, he/she would approach the court for necessary permission before undertaking such an exercise.”

                                For the sake of brevity, the essence of what is mentioned in para 33 is that the Bench directs that while accepting the medical report of SKM submitted by the Medical Board, we hereby appoint the Petitioner No. 1, Uma Mittal, wife of SKM as the guardian of her husband SKM, who is in a comatose condition, vested with the property of her husband SKM to do all acts, deeds and things for the proper care, welfare and benefit of the SKM and his children and with power to do all acts, deeds and things with respect to assets and properties of the SKM.

                                          What’s more, the Bench then notes in para 36 that, “It is further directed that the Petitioner No. 1 would file a report with the Registrar General of this Court every six months, detailing the transactions in respect of the assets of SKM.”

                                         Furthermore, the Bench then observes in para 37 that, “Before parting, we wish to recommend to the Central Government to consider enacting an appropriate legislation pertaining to appointment of guardians qua persons lying in a comatose state, as no remedy is provided in any statute to persons in comatose/vegetative state, (as already discussed in detail in earlier part of this judgment), unlike legislations for appointment of guardians for minors and persons with other disabilities, including like mental retardation etc.”

                                        Finally, it is then held in para 40 that, “Registry is required to forward a copy of this judgment to the Secretary, Law, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, for information and appropriate steps.”

                                       To sum up, this is a very well written, well reasoned and well worded judgment which goes beyond the drafted law for which it has rightly received huge applause from all quarters. The two Judge Bench of Allahabad High Court very rightly empowers the wife to be the guardian of her husband lying in vegetative state by allowing her plea. It also very rightly calls upon the Central Government to pass an appropriate legislation on this subject. Needless to add, Centre must now act promptly on this accordingly!    

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

GOOD LABORATORY PRACTICES AND BIO-SAFETY METHODS

  1. When you arrive the laboratory, the first thing is that you must wash your hands with a disinfectant soap for your immediate sanitization.
  2. Eating anything in the laboratory area and smoking is strictly prohibited. Do not put anything in your mouth such as pencils, labels, or fingers. Do not store food in areas where microorganisms are stored.
  3. Purchase a lab coat and safety glasses and use them. Leave protective clothing in lab and do not wear it in non-lab areas.
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  1. Avoid loose fitting items of clothing. Wear appropriate shoes (sandals not allowed) in the laboratory.
  2. Backpacks, purses and quotes should be placed in the cubbyhole by the front door of the lab. Place needed items on the floor near your feet, but not in the aisle.
  3. Disinfect work areas before and after use with 70% ethanol and fresh 10% bleach. The regular disinfection of the laboratory surfaces must be done using appropriate disinfectants like hypochlorite solution which kills almost pathogenic microorganisms.
  4. Label everything clearly.
  5. Caps and lids of reagents, solution bottles, and bacterial must be replaced properly in order to prevent contamination and petri dishes must not be opened directly in the lab unless absolutely necessary.
  6. Inoculating loops and needles should be flame sterilize in a bunsen burner before you lay them down.
  7. Turn of bunsen burner when not in use. Long hair must be restrained if bunsen burner are in use.
  8. Flame sterilization using alcohol must be done so carefully and it must be kept in mind that no papers or similar materials that can catch fire easily are nearby.
  9. Treat all microorganisms as potential pathogens and culturing of microorganisms must be done inside a special sterilized laminar flow hood and not outside it because many air-borne microorganisms can be spread.
  10. Wear disposable gloves when working with potentially infectious microbes and samples. If you are surely working with a pathogenic sample, you must handle it with extra care so that it doesn’t spill out on you or on any surface of the laboratory.
  11. Sterilize equipment and materials.
  12. Never pipette by mouth.
  13. Consider everything a bio hazard. Do not pour anything down the sink. Autoclave liquids and brought cultures to sterilize them before discarding.
  14. Dispose off all solid waste material in a biohazard bag and autoclave it before discarding in the regular trash.
  15. There are a special column of safety equipment in the laboratory which you must be aware of so that in case of any emergency you can make use of those safety equipments.
  16. Dispose of broken glass in the broken glass container.
  17. Dispose of razor blades, syringes, and sharp metal object in the “sharps” container.
  18. If by any chance, there is any type of spill of sample or culture or any media, you must immediately contact your instructor or mentor so that he/she can help you and find a solution to remove it from the surface. If you’re able to clean the spill by yourself do it immediately.
  19. In the same way, in case of any mishappening or sudden accident, you must immediately report to your instructor for the immediate help.

“Deserts-A solution for Rising Global Environment Crises”?

Global warming, climate change, melting of ice, earth temperature increasing and many more are some common natural phenomena happening these days with a sure shot affect on our future life. Even today, we acknowledge many examples of these phenomena as well as well researched papers which surely don’t deny the fact that these are surely happening. Countries across the world have been discussing this serious issue of climate change and global warming and have been coming up with brilliant ideas and policies to fight back. These technologies and various steps include a shift from Non sustainable resources to more Sustainable ones so as to reduce carbon emission and from them and getting a better and pure form of energy in endless quantities. Many nations have shifted to wider use of wind energy and solar energy as a mode of generation of power from them in various day to day activities. Many countries have also come up with a policy of carbon tax, which surely is charged from the companies and industries from which the emissions of carbon content is more. Also if any country buys fuel from the other country, carbon tax is included in it, which surely motivates people to cut down usage of these resources and also slow down their extra money cost in the form of fines. 

So we all know that it’s really an important issue and need to work on till it becomes too late. But we do lack some of the technologies which could have a stronger impact on these or the resources which are available like sustainable one, it proves somewhat expensive to most of the countries with low economy so what’s the solution,”Is there any way we could undo and alter these activities and thus make our environment cleaner”. There are various researches and thoughts on these activities which can be done and varius good engineering methods have come into existence to fight these. One of those and widely accepted one is “Afforestation”. The term is self explanatory which means to increase the growth of plants and trees around the world and thus increase their quantity and improve quality of air as these would absorb more of the carbon-dioxide present in air. It’s a well known phenomenon and a lot many countries have been into it for quite a few years. But the main issue with this is, that we humans so lack the availability of land for the same. For trees to be grown, we need the required environment and the important is the space and fresh water resources. But we do lack it’s availability , also for the reason that we require much of our land for building hotels and other commercial activities in response to the growing population. But there are various regions which have large amounts of space and area, and are not used by humans and are widely available. These are the toughest terrain and known as deserts. These deserts have large space and thus can be used to plant trees without much human getting affected. The main issue is how can we irrigate, as we know they are desert because they lack water, then how is it possible. And if it is possible, will it not become desert again?

It’s possible as per many people doing research on this as they believe by the growing technology of desalination of water, we could utilize the water for irrigation. The benefits of utilizing these spaces are that these have lesser people living in it . So selecting the trees which are friendly to these climatic conditions would be the better option. Which could grow easily and used for commercial activities also. The benefit of growing more trees in these areas would be the amount of carbon content absorption would increase. Also we could cut down some of the trees as for the new ones to grow since it wouldn’t affect much this cycle since this would be practising around the world. We would use them for construction activities, for feeding animals and also liquifying most of them to biomass fuel, thus a pure and much better source of power for our other activities also, reducing the carbon content, and increasing economies. Also we know that most of these deserts acquire large amounts of ground water hidden under them, for example- Sahara. Which could initially be used for irrigation initially. Also the power required for the technology for the same could easily be generated from the solar energy trapped in there solar panel 

So it seems according to research being done by various scientists and weather experts. But there are some other problems which could be faced in doing these projects. The water required would be clean, and thus desalination must be done carefully. But it’s output of concentrated salts dissolved in water in oceans could be harmful for the aqua life. Still this is just a thought which might affect the resulting increase in carbon content to reduce down. But still it seems difficult to make these ideas go on since they do require a large sum of money and also success of these are sureshot not acknowledged, since it’s still a question that wouldn’t these lands again transform into deserts again and lead us to big economic loss around the world. 

“Various steps and policies are into actions with faster growing technologies so as to reduce the carbon content from them and shifting towards  pure form of energy which is much cleaner, much cost effective and much safer for our planet”. 

Jal hi Jeevan hai

Water is life. Imagine earth without water- the soil without water in it will grow nothing it would be lifeless, dust, sand, or rock. Imagine air without water, it would be impossible to breather in. 80% of our body is made up of water.

How much water we have?

The Earth is full of water. There is water on surface of the earth in form of rivers, oceans, lakes and ponds. There is water below earth surface. Water is also present in form of ice in glaciers and in form of vapour in air.

About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is water-covered. So it would seem that water is one thing we would never have to worry about. But actually here is. 96.5 percent of Earth’s water is in oceans- which is saline. While oceans also support life, but when it comes to land animals and plants, we need non-saline water, we need drinkable water. Which is less than 3% of the entire reserve.

Water Cycle

Description: Diagram of the water cycle showing evaporation, condensation, and precipitationWater is never ever sitting still- even when it appears to. Thanks to the water cycle, water is constantly changing form and place. Water from oceans evaporate under Sun, these vapours form cloud which brings rain across planet. Entire earth’s water supply is constantly moving from one place to another and from one form to another. If there was no water cycle, the water will become stale, bacteria and fungi will grow in it- making it unusable for humans.

Water Consumption Trend

Description: https://www.ourplanet.com/imgversn/141/images/glance/glance1.jpgWater is required for our day to day activities- from needs like food to wants and luxuries like playing golf. The demand of water has been constantly increasing. And unfortunately most of this is for freshwater, we have not been able to use saline water (and even if we learn to transportation will be a challenge.

Since 1900, the population of earth has more than tripled. The water demand per capita is constantly increasing. This has increased our water consumption exponentially. It has been estimated that humanity now appropriates 54 percent of accessible runoff, and could be using 70 percent by the year 2025 [3].

Population distribution and water stress areas

The amount of freshwater in the world has reached to almost a constant level over billions of years of earth and water cycle. So why there should be a water crisis now? What has changed? Well, population explosion is definitely an issue. Another critical thing is uneven distribution of population. It is not at all mapped to the freshwater supply (which is not very practical or easy either).

At present some 40 percent of the world’s population live in areas with moderate to high water stress. By 2025 this is expected to increase to two thirds – or 5.5 billion people [3].

Day Zero

The threat to water availability is scary and more imminent than ever. Day zero is the day when water supply in a city will have to be stopped.

Cape Town, South Africa, is the first city to face this threat [4]. There were huge campaigns and awareness programs run in the city to educate the citizens to cut down their water needs. They had to stop watering their gardens and even cut on flushes in the toilet.

Day zero threat is not just looming over Capetown but dozens larger cities like Bangalore, London, Tokyo are facing this threat [5]. Thankfully, the Day zero clock of Cape Town has been advanced by a year. But the threat is not at all over. Unless we make habit of better water recycling and make lifestyle amends, day zero is hanging over our heads.

VELOFEL SOUTH AFRICA

A healthy sex life is an important part of relationships, as well as your life. It is very important for your body to feel happy and content in order to free your mind from all sorts of stresses. Today’s generation is leading a sedentary lifestyle wherein they are under continuous stress. To relieve your mind of unnecessary stress, you need to relax your body sexually. In addition to this, it is a key factor in building and maintaining a good relationship. With time, men face different sexual problems. They face problems such as erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, insufficient erectness of penis, low sexual urge etc. All these issues are nothing to worry about and absolutely natural and experienced by a large population of men. But unfortunately, these issues may perturb the relationship of men with their partners. This lowers their confidence and thus, ends many relationships.
To your surprise, there’s no need to worry anymore as we here introduce a product that will transform your sexual life from poor to excellent. It’s called as Velofel. It is a completely natural and herbal formulation which improves the quality of your sexual life and along with it resolves any sort of problem. It works like magic and improves your performance in an unimaginable way. Velofel aims to improve your sexual capacity in a way which adds to your partner’s pleasure and automatically yours too. This product is the doctors’ current favourite.

About Velofel South Africa

Velofel is a new male enhancement supplement brought in the market to solve all the sexual tensions faced by men. It is a 100% natural and herbal supplement which solves all the problems faced by men in bed. It works to solve the root cause of the problem which is low production of the hormone, testosterone. Testosterone is the hormone which is responsible for sexual urges and performance. This product identifies and rectifies the factors hindering production of testosterone. Low testosterone levels are cause of problems like brokenness, erectile dysfunction, and inadequate hardness of penis, low sexual urge and many more. These problems are very disturbing for a relationship and can lead to the end of any. So, sexual problems should not be taken lightly and brought into consideration. There are many people who are shy of admitting and treating issues with self, this is nothing to be hesitant for. With increasing age, facing any sort of sexual issue is completely normal and happens to everybody. Instead of bottling it up, open up and treat it using Velofel.

The ingredients present in the formulation work to naturally increase the testosterone levels and solve all the issues. If you use the product regularly without any skip, it improves your libido levels. This product will bring back the beast in you and offer you a long lasting experience in bed. Velofel is nothing less than a boon for men struggling with sex. It adds spark to their dull quick sessions by completely fulfilling sexual desires of men as well as their partners. It in turn makes their relationship stronger and more fruitful.

A glimpse at the most famous medical practitioner.

Biology, a term that defines the study of all living things. A major branch of biology is anatomy or the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. The study of anatomy has led early doctors and physicians to know more about the body and how to mend it or reduce its ailments. Almost all branches of the practice of medicine can in some way trace their origins to the study of anatomy. One of the most renowned physicians of medical history is Galen of Pergamon, who is also the most notorious. This towering figure in the field of medicine had doctors all of the world fearing and revering him not only during his lifetime but nearly 1300 years later as well. He was a Greek physician, author, and philosopher, working in Rome, who influenced both medical theory and practice until the middle of the 17th century CE.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

As a teen Galen left his hometown to pursue his love of medicine to the Mediterranean. When he returned, he was now seemingly an expert in anatomy and a very gifted surgeon. Ever the showman, he would enter public anatomy contests to show up his fellow physicians. HE did a lot of things which were outlandish and in taunting his rivals, he made them lose their reputations. He once made a pig lose its voice by tying of its nerve, in another instance he disembowelled a monkey and then did a surgery to repair it. A meticulous man, he milked the branch of anatomy for all its worth. While his peers would discuss symptoms and origins of various diseases, Galen was focused on anatomy. But since he was a physician in the roman era, and the roman law prohibited the use of human cadavers, he had to make do with animals. He carved up nearly every kind of animal he could find in his pursuit to realize his theory, that each organ had its own function. He did numerous experimentations and despite his handicap of not being able to use human cadavers, he produced some remarkable results. Galen was the one who proved that it was the brain that controlled the body and not the heart. he did so with one of the most outlandish experiments ever, which needed someone to be crazy and zealous as well as insanely talented according to those times. Fortunately, for Galen, he checked all the boxes. To prove this theory, cracked open the cranium of a cow while it was alive and prodded different parts of it to link to various functions. However, these experiments also resulted is misconceptions which were way off the actual truth. He thought that the liver and not the heart pumped blood and it would deplete completely in a one-way trip. He also gave his overwhelming support to a dreadfully wrong theory of the Four Humors. This stated that that the body functioned through the balance of four body fluids. This created a lot of problems and resulted in many unnecessary deaths. Galen, being ever so vain, penned down each of his discoveries ranging from anatomy to nutrition to bedside manner. Galen’s books became a staple for anyone pursuing the medical science. He was so revered that even when doctors would open up human cadavers, they would repeat Galen’s mistakes despite seeing clear evidence against it. He was so popular that the few practitioners who contradicted them were either ridiculed, ignored or silenced. It wasn’t until the !7th century that renaissance anatomist Vesalius who contradicted him, and successfully changed the mind of people. Even then it took nearly 300 years for the misguided works of Galen to fade away.

This serves as a reminder that science is evolving every day, what might be considered a plain fact today, might be a gross misconception tomorrow.

SC Allows Woman With Twin Pregnancy To Medically Terminate One Foetus With Down Syndrome

In an interesting turn of events, we saw how just recently on June 16, 2020, the Supreme Court went ahead to allow a woman bearing 25 weeks old twin pregnancy, to undergo procedure for foetal reduction on the grounds of “serious foetal abnormalities”. It must be mentioned here that a three Judge Bench of Supreme Court comprising of Justices R Banumathi, Indu Malhotra and Anirudha Bose allowed the special leave petition preferred against the order of the Bombay High Court, whereby the petitioner was denied relief. It must also be mentioned here that termination of pregnancy on the ground of “physical or mental abnormalities” of the unborn child as envisaged in Section 3(2)(ii) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 clearly states that a pregnancy may be terminated by a registered medical practitioner where the length of the pregnancy exceeds twelve weeks but does not exceeds twenty weeks, if not less than two registered medical practitioners are of opinion, formed in good faith that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.

                              Truth be told, we see that here in the present case, the women was 25 weeks pregnant, i.e. beyond the threshold provided under the Act. The women needed permission of the Court to do what she wanted. She had to therefore approach the Court seeking permission to terminate the pregnancy.

                               To start with, the ball is set rolling in para 1 wherein it is stated that, “We have heard Mr Colin Gonsalves, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner.” It is then stated in para 2 that, “The petitioner who is now pregnant by about 24-25 weeks, had sought permission for foetal reduction of one foetus which is affected with down syndrome.”

                                While elaborating on the background of the case, the Bench then points out in para 3 that, “By order dated 22.05.2020, the High Court had declined to grant permission for foetal reduction. The High Court was of the view that it may not be safe for the mother, and secondly foetal reduction of one foetus, may affect the other normal foetus.”  

                                           Going forward, the Bench then brings out in para 4 that, “By order dated 10.06.2020, we had directed the same Medical Board to be re-constituted, and submit an additional report on two issues: (i) To give further opinion whether the abortion of one foetus will affect on the life of the petitioner-mother; (ii) Whether the abortion of one foetus will have an effect on the surviving second foetus.”

                                       To be sure, the Bench then recalls in para 5 that, “We had further directed that an Additional Member be included in the Medical Board, who is a specialist in Foetal Medicine. The Medical Board included Dr. Purnima Satoskar, MD, a Full Time Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Seth G.S. Medical College and Head of Unit & Foetal Medicine Department at Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital, Mumbai, who has examined the petitioner – Komal Hiwale and has given the following opinion:

“After going through all the reports, I conclude that she has dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy. Today she is around 25 weeks pregnant. One foetus is affected with trisomy 21. The other foetus (fetus A) is chromosomally and structurally normal.””

                                       It would be worthwhile to mention here that it is then laid bare in para 6 that, “Dr. Purnima Satoskar has referred to the Guidance Note for Medical Boards for Termination of Pregnancy beyond 20 weeks Gestation as recommended by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, which permits selective foetal reduction and gave her opinion as under:

“Note on trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome)

This is a chromosomal abnormality and has no treatment. The baby will suffer from significant mental retardation, intellectual disability and may also have other health conditions like heart disease etc. in the affected person. Thus, leading to severe limitations on the patient who needs a full time caregiver and causes mental, logistical and financial challenges to the parents.

It is classified in the list of substantial and serious abnormalities by the MDHFW in its Guidance Note for Medical Boards for Termination of Pregnancy beyond 20 weeks Gestation.””

                                         More crucially, it is then very rightly underscored in para 7 that, “Dr. Purnima Satoskar, in her conclusion, has opined that there is no direct risk of the procedure to the normal twin and opined as under:

“In dichorionic twins, there is no direct risk of the procedure to normal twin as the circulations of the twins are separate.

The procedure carries negligible risks similar to amniocentesis to mother and is proven extremely safe and large series with no maternal deaths.

After discussing this at length with the mother, she voluntarily came up with selective foetal reduction as her preferred choice after fully understanding the risks and benefits and has submitted a handwritten letter expressing the same.

In conclusion, I find no medical reason not to provide the treatment of foetal reduction converting the twin pregnancy with one twin affected with Down syndrome to singleton pregnancy.””

                                   Furthermore, it is then pointed out by the Bench in para 8 that, “We have gone through the earlier report and also the present report submitted by the Medical Board.”

                                      Finally and most crucially, the three Judge Bench of the Apex Court while disposing of the special leave petition and considering all the facts of this particular case holds in para 9 that, “In view of conclusion of the Medical Board, the impugned order of the High Court is set aside and the petitioner – Komal Hiwale is permitted to undergo foetal reduction as per the procedure stated by Dr. Purnima Satoskar. The petitioner – Komal Hiwale as well as her husband shall give their individual consent for selective foetal reduction. A copy of the two affidavits shall be filed before this Court and the same shall form part of the record.”

                        In conclusion, the three Judge Bench of the Apex Court has very consciously, very convincingly and very commendably permitted a woman who was bearing 25 weeks old twin pregnancy to undergo procedure for foetal reduction on the grounds of “serious foetal abnormalities”. There can be no denying or disputing it! It goes without saying that it is just a mere coincidence and nothing else that the two Judges out of the three who delivered this latest, landmark and extremely laudable judgment – Justice R Banumathi and Justice Indu Malhotra are themselves woman!   

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

World Picnic Day…

We celebrate world picnic day on 18 June, and It’s often claimed that life is no picnic but today it is! International Picnic Day is a chance to eat out in the open air with friends or family. The word “picnic” comes from the French language, and it’s believed this type of informal outdoor meal became a popular pastime in France after the Revolution. As fans of Jane Austen’s novels will know, 19th-century picnics were elaborate social occasions, with menus featuring a wide range of cold meats and pies that took days to prepare. International Picnic Day is celebrated in many countries, though its origins are uncertain. Charity events, school picnics, and all kinds of other group meals are organized to mark the occasion. You could also bike, walk or hike to a nearby beauty spot, or just take your sandwiches and cold hard-boiled eggs into the garden and enjoy an al fresco lunch.

International Picnic Day is observed on June 18, every year. It is a day to encourage people to go outdoors and enjoy a hearty meal in nature, with other people’s company. In the early days, people used to go on a picnic as an escape from their daily lives. The true origin of International Picnic day remains unknown, but it can be traced back to the end of the French Revolution and the Victorian Era. This day is also marked by various charity events and school picnics. People all around the world meet their friends and family and go on picnics. They generally used to carry food, outdoor games, soft drinks, juices, and other essentials to share it with their travel partners. According to the Guinness Book of World records, the largest Picnic took place in  Portugal. In Australia’s Northern Territory, the International picnic day is celebrated in August on the first Monday of each year. It is a popular concept in that area and the general public gets a day off on this day. Schools and Colleges are also shut on this day.

gettyimages-475200404

Asian people do not give any importance to the picnic day, and this day always celebrated in Australia and the U.S., Australian celebrate Picnic Day events since the late 1800s in Northern Territory. The Harts Range Races in Central Australia are held each Picnic Day long weekend. The races began in 1946 when three brothers Bennett, Quinton, and Kil Webb from Mount Riddock Station raced stockman Jack Schaber and the regional policeman Senior Constable Bob Darken over a distance of about a mile to the Ulgarna Yards to determine who had the fastest horse.

Moreover, in the U.S., Picnic Day is organized by a board of directors consisting of 18–20 students, ranging from different backgrounds and talents. Directors are full-time students and active participants of other extra-curricular activities and events at UC Davis. Every year, the board of directors selects a theme that will reflect the mission and vision of that year’s Picnic Day, and they also organized a different kind of themes and parade marshals each and every year since 1942 the themes started and in 1962 the parade marshal was started.

Here are some advantages and benefits of a picnic:

  1. Spending time outdoors, basking in nature, breathing fresh air, and enjoying a great view. The pure air invigorates you and leaves you feeling rejuvenated.
  2. Spending time with family is always a great bonding experience. In the fast-paced, urbane lifestyle of today, there is often limited time for maintaining relationships with some of the most important people in your life.
  3. Since picnics often take place in warm environments, the tendency to participate in relaxing small talk is high.
  4. While picnics offer many social benefits, you don’t have to spend the entire time chatting up a storm.
  5. Meals prepared and eaten at home are usually more nutritious and healthy than eating out and particularly so when you bring food for a picnic.
  6. Eating lunch outdoors is a natural mood booster. You can be amazed at how much the lack of sun in your body can affect your mood.
  7. Picnics are a great stress buster as it helps reduce the stress and anxiety related to work and home.

Please, spend time with family at outdoor and spread awareness regarding it.

thanks for reading.

 

“Valuing Picnics -This International Picnic Day”.

Human beings have been living on this planet since ages  working hard for their survival, finding food, water and shelter to life. These activities are still a part of many individuals as they do travel not for fun but for finding jobs and better homes. In earlier times, men used to stress a little less as they didn’t have much to worry  about. Spending Time with their family, friends and even animals and thus led a peaceful and happy life. In earlier times happiness meant to have proper food with loved ones, with water and shelter. But with the definition of happiness changed and transferred to things and materials. People were happy buying cars, bikes, homes and watching movies, playing video game and this got addicted to those. Man has spoilt his life working all day long, making his/ her feel like a couch potato. 

But sooner the idea of recreational activities started to flow and people became fascinated towards these thoughts . They often thought of going and doing these activities which included trekking, hiking, travelling to mountains, enjoying the beach, river crossing, paragliding, skydiving  and many more. People used to enjoy their weekoffs by these activities which not only helped them feel relaxed but also remain happy and spend time with their closeone. Excluding all these, there is one more activity, which people used to don, but has seen a significant decline which is Picnic. “Picnic” includes having meals outdoors, playing games and having the essence of nature and enjoying it. It generally includes a visit to outdoor having a better view, may be park, lakeside, or beachside or any it get, bring any individual close to nature and their close ones. People most often went on these drives and enjoyed picnics. Also “International Picnic Day” is celebrated around the world on 18th June and people around the world come together in their local areas and visit local parks, enjoy nature, lay down on sheets and have a better view of mountains or rivers or beaches while enjoying their food and many more. So it’s a day full of compassion, emotion, togetherness and understanding each other. 

But it seems to be reducing these days. People hardly have time for these or any recreation activities, working all day along working on their projects and the race to earn more money. This really affects relationship status with the close ones and even social relations. But the need of the hour is the shift one thoughts and priority from materialistic world to the more spiritual and show affection towards the living ones around us. Greed for money has led many dynasties to destroy, and relations to get smashed away. We need to understand that these times of happiness while on picnic or trekking or any other activity help us fight our bad times with our closed ones. This not only brings back the culture of sharing ideas but also shares out what any individual bus is going through. Support of family and friends help any individual to come up and win at any situation. 

“So the main motive of Picnic and other recreational activities is to understand and improve our relationships in this tough world, make more memories and aroma of happiness and enjoy nature and it’s beauty. Time needs to be devoted as the first priority to these activities, thus making our relationship strong, unity in thoughts and strength in the individual personalities”. 

Yoga for seniors

When you come to old age, all the fancy aspirations are over, and you experience yourself as childlike again. But at a biological level, aging also results in the accumulation of cellular damage over time which leads to a progressive decrease in physical and mental capacity of the body. Familiar conditions in older age include back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, depression, heart disease, etc. so, if you are a senior and looking for some therapeutic practices to avoid these conditions, then you are at the right place! Yoga carries some low impact incredible poses that you can practice even in your nineties. In this article, I’m discussing yoga poses categorizing them on the basis of


•Standing yoga poses
•Laying yoga postures
•Sitting yoga postures


You can choose from the poses in terms of your present level of flexibility and medical conditions associated with your body. It is highly recommended to practice any yoga pose under the supervision of a verified yoga teacher. They can help you with the modification in the poses and customized it for your body.

Great years for fitness


Fitness is not only about looking good. If you wake up happy that’s enough to determine your health in many ways. Yoga cultivates a mind-body-emotion link, combines stretching with a deep breath, and develops relaxation. Practicing yoga in old age makes you touch some spiritual aspects along with its physical benefits. Yoga is one of the safest forms of exercise available for seniors with immense benefits.

Benefits of yoga for seniors


Although yoga has tremendous health benefits on the mind and body irrespective of the age of the practitioner, for seniors, the values of the benefits are more. Here I’m listing some benefits of yoga that seniors or old age people will easily relate to

Fitness and ability levels


Practicing yoga enhances one’s fitness level that results in an improved ability to do day to day work. There are numerous yoga postures available to strengthen the core and develop a strong foundation of the body. Yoga reduces the risk of falls in the case of seniors as it provides stability in the system.

Maintains equilibrium


Elderly people are often noticed with some unconscious movement of the body part, especially hand, yoga can help in improving this state of the body. Practicing yoga regularly creates equilibrium in the body and generates a certain level of awareness of the movements.

Improves flexibility


Yoga movements are so fantastic to generate an extra stretch in the body without causing any damage to the body. Flexibility in the muscles encourages the tissues to loosen and relax, which eventually helps to amplify their range of motion.

Encourage deep breathing


As yoga involves the coordination of breath and movements in the body, it results in expanding lung capacity to hold breaths for an extended period. Holding the breath for a longer period enhances the overall pulmonary health and respiratory function of the practitioner.

Bone strength


In elderly age, most people tend to have problems with brittle bones. Consistent practice of yoga can improve the weight-bearing power of the bones and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Some promising researches claim to improve bone density in the body by Yoga practices.

Alleviate anxiety and stress


Anxiety at an elderly age is not new to this generation. Yoga encourages mindfulness and calmness in the system and prevents the day to day stress through conscious breathing and meditation. Researchers claim that meditation stimulates memory centers inside the brain and reduces the risk of depression among seniors. Yoga activates the “feel-good” prefrontal cortex and boosts the emotional health of the practitioner.

Improved sleep quality


Sleep disturbance is a common problem among people of old age. Sleep deficiency at this age is linked to the increased risks of high blood pressure, heart strokes, diabetes, etc. Potential sleep ensures the removal of toxins from the body and allows the brain to function properly. Performing yoga daily can help to treat sleep disorders like insomnia, relaxing the tissues in the body, and encourages a better quality of sleep.

Yoga poses for seniors


No yoga pose is specially designed for a person belonging to a particular age. You can practice yoga at any age depending on your body limitations. Old age can be a miraculous part of life if you establish yourself in yoga. Yoga is one of those exercises which you can continue throughout all stages of life, as yoga itself is said to be the study of life.
As I mentioned that there is no pose specially designed for seniors, but if you are a beginner then it is recommended to start with some slow and light poses and then take it to the moderate level. Here are some beginners yoga poses for seniors to start with;

STANDING YOGA POSES FOR SENIORS

•Trikonasana (triangle pose)
✓ Helps to create a stretch in the hip and lower back region of the body
✓ Improve the balance of the body
✓ Regulates blood pressure

•Katichakrasana (standing spinal twist)
✓ Helps to produce movements in lower spine and neck
✓ Provides stretch in the arms, knees and neck muscles
✓ Ensures firm movements of the feet

•Vrksasana (tree pose)
✓ Strongest pose in maintaining balance
✓ Enhance hip and leg strength
✓ Provide stretch in the arms, legs, and centers of the body

•Tadasana (mountain pose)
✓ Sets the foundation for alignment of the body
✓ Improves sensibility of the body
✓ Corrects unconscious postural patterns

SITTING YOGA POSTURE FOR SENIORS

•Badhakonasana (butterfly pose)
✓ Regulates digestion by clearing the bowel movements
✓ Gives a stretch to the thighs, knees, and lower back region
✓ Removes stiffness and pain in the legs

CHAIR YOGA FOR SENIORS


Chair yoga or desktop yoga is in trend as it allows anyone to conveniently perform these asanas while sitting on the chair. Seniors can be benefited from chair yoga postures such as neck roll, spinal twist, temple rub, bending of arms and legs, and seated forward and backward bend. Benefits of chair yoga poses are:


•Relaxes the neck and removes stiffness in the back and neck region
•Alleviate fatigue and tension in the muscles
•Increase flexibility
•Coordinate body and breath movement and generates a sense of balance within the system
•Increase focus


Try doing these yoga poses under the supervision of a yoga teacher or your family members to prevent any damage to the body. The yoga routine can help you in spending your old age time perfectly without facing any health issue.