Travel Blogs I Read

I read a only a few Travel blogs. Some of them are-

1. Kunzum - This blog is written by Ajay Jain who travels to new places and writes about them on his blog. If you are India-centric traveler, this is a good blog to read.

2. The Wandering Mind - Anu writes about her travels on her blog. It is full of interesting places she visits.

More about these two blogs when I do a full review on them.

Tips for Traveling to India - Part 2

This post is continued from my earlier post Tips for traveling to India

6. Food Is Spicy:

In general, food is spicy. In most places in India, especially in the northern and western regions, cow is a sacred animal. So beef is not widely available. If not from high-priced hotels, meat may not be a good option. For strict non-vegetarians, it always better to go for fish, especially in coastal places.
Read Restaurants in New Delhi before going to eat out in New Delhi.

7. Beware of Cunning Agents and Pick-pockets:

Once in India, keep in mind that not all people approaching you are genuinely interested in helping you. Some people earn their daily bread by cheating the helpless tourists. Also, always keep only small amount of hard cash with you. Debit cards or credit cards will do. When you are in trouble or have lost way, it is better to approach a police man. Most of them understand English, though may not be able to speak in English.

8.Bargain Hard:

When you go for shopping, don’t purchase anything without bargaining. It is common in India. This bit of advise is for road side stalls only. If you enter a big mall or a posh shop, remember bargaining is frowned upon.

9. Respect Holy Places:

If you go to holy places, such as temple or mosque, remove your footwear before entering. Also do not smoke inside the holy places. Some places require you to cover your head and/or wash your hands or feet.


10. Always Carry ID Cards:

If you land on some trouble, the first thing authorities ask for is an identity card. If you can produce a valid passport and or some other equally sound identity proof, your safety is half ensured.

Best tip:

Book in advance. If trying to get away from the boring, impersonal hotels of New Delhi try Bed and Breakfast New Delhi.

Tips for Traveling to India

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when traveling to India

1. The Subcontinent:

India is a vast country with 28 states, each of which is a small country by its own right. Each state has its own language, culture and climate. Actually it is like many nations existing within a single large nation. No wonder India is called a subcontinent. The only thing common is an impressive array of unique tourist places.

The idea of size can be assessed by the fact that the whole of U.K can fit into the state of Uttar Pradesh

2. The Summer-winter Divide:

The majority of places in India experience two diametrically opposite weather changes in a year. Summer is extremely hot and humid, while winter is chillingly cold and foggy. Generally, summer starts in March and extends till July, when the monsoons take over. Winter arrives three months later at November and goes on till February. So be prepared to dress for the weather.

3. Book Accommodation in Advance:

A lot of good hotels in India provide online reservation facility or you can call them and book rooms. Scan the web and book a hotel room that suits your budget well in advance. Otherwise one may never know when an emergency creeps up. An all-India level examination or a massive political rally in a particular place can quickly fill the hotel rooms. So it is better to reserve the hotel rooms in advance. Bed and Breakfast in Delhi is a recent introduction by the government of Delhi - so they are worth checking out.


4. Land on Metros:

The four metro cities in India are well-connected in international aviation map. So identify the metro city nearest to the place you want to go. Delhi (Northern India), Mumbai, better known as Bombay (Western India), Kolkata, better known as Calcutta (Eastern India), and Chennai, earlier known as Madras (Southern India), are the four metros in India. They are generally well connected and give you an in-sight into the customs and culture of the state. If you want to see the tourist attractions in New Delhi read here.

5. Keep a Map:

You have plenty of options for travel within India. Nowadays air tickets are becoming cheaper, with lot of domestic airline players coming into the fray. Trains are a good option, as train services exist even to remotest and farthest places in India. Official website of Indian railways is good place to visit while planning a trip to India. Always keep a map so that one can even depend on bus services or boat services to travel.

This post is split into 2 parts, Read the Tips for Traveling to India Part 2

Bristol - England's Firsy Cycling City

Bristol has been named England's First Cycling city in a £100 million Government campaign to encourage cycling.

This is Indeed good news for regular Cyclists, like myself, who tend to cycle for work and leisure. I wrote about Cycling your way to Health in a previous post. And in these sky rocketing petrol price days, the government scheme aims transform cycling by creating dedicated cycle lanes, better facilities and more training for children in Bristol. Among the features in Bristol will be the UK's first major bicycle rental network, modelled on a scheme in Paris.

I hope that this is rolled out all over the country and more and more people are encouraged to cycle to work and for leisure.

See this Cycling video

According to BBC, The Public Health Minister and Bristol South MP Dawn Primarolo said the scheme would help tackle growing levels of obesity in the UK.

"For most people, a great way to keep healthy is by building physical activity into everyday life, such as cycling to work or school," she said.

In developing countries like India, which has a large pool of cyclists, measures like dedicated cycle tracks on the road, cycling campaign by the Government and economic initiatives to cycle industry will go a long way to ease congestion, control pollution and ease the health problems of its population.

If you cycle to work & for leisure, please feel free to jot down your experiences.

Dangers of Body Piercings!

A new study published in the British Medical Journal found one in 10 people - and nearly half of all younger women - had a body piercing other than on the earlobe.

* Almost half of women aged 16-24 have had such a piercing.

* In those aged 16-24, health problems occurred with about a third of piercings and further help was sought in about one in seven, leading to hospital admission in about one in 100.

The article Body Piercings in England states that the complication rates are higher when body piercings are performed by non- specialist groups. Also many tend to get their body pierced by friends, relatives or some belong to the DIY (do it yourself)group!

The joint study between the Health Protection Agency and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine asked a sample of more than 10,000 people aged 16 and over in England whether they had been pierced somewhere other than the earlobe, and if they had suffered any complications as a result.

They found approximately 10% had some sort of body piercing, with women and younger people most likely to have one.

In women, the most common piercings were, in order:

1) navel
2) nose
3) ear
4) tongue
5) eyebrow
6) nipple
7) lip

In men:

1) nipple
2) eyebrow
3) ear
4) tongue
5) nose
6) lip
7) genitals.

To summarize, nipple piercing was the most popular in men, but one of the least popular in women, while navel piercing was by far the most popular in women (accounting for more than a third of all piercings in women) and much rarer in men.

The most common problems reported with piercings in those aged 16-24 were

1) swelling,
2) infection,
3) bleeding.

Not surprisingly, problems were most likely to be reported with

1) tongue piercings (50%),
2) piercings of the genitals (45%) and
3) nipple (38%).

Transmission of Blood borne diseases like Hepatitis B and C and HIV remain the most feared complication of these procedures if proper precautions are not taken.

According to BBC, the spokesman for the British Liver Trust, which offers advice on avoiding hepatitis infection, said: "It is important to remember the long-term problems that can occur, particularly if you get a piercing from a non-specialist.

"You put yourself at a high risk of contracting hepatitis B or C, both of which are serious, life-threatening conditions which can be fatal.

"You may not know you have contracted the virus until later on in life when the damage has already begun."

New Delhi Dentist - Review

I recently visited Delhi for a bit of work and Dental Tourism on the side. I particularly liked the information given on the site of New Delhi Dentist for Overseas Patients and for Dental tourism in Delhi.

I reached the clinic via Delhi Metro - a air-conditioned Tram like train on a concrete elevated track - like the London Underground - but on an elevated track. The nearest station to the clinic was Kohaat Enclave and I took a rickshaw.

The Dental Clinic (site name is New Delhi Dentist ) was very neat and clean and I was greeted by the receptionist who was very courteous. I had made an appointment and was seen to promptly - no waiting etc as is so common in England.

Dr. Arun Grover asked a thorough Dental and Medical history and after examination told me what was wrong and explained the whole thing to me in detail. This process took more than 30 minutes and I was amazed by his insight. He gave me an estimate of how much the treatment would cost me and I was amazed by the price difference.

In England, if you walk into a dentist office they take a minimum of 50 pounds for registration plus the cost of treatment and other things - the bill can easily run into a few hundreds if you have a slightly complicated treatment.

I was very impressed with the service he provided. And the icing on the cake was the bill. I was amazed that the dental care prices are so different in different parts of the world. Dr Grover has trained in England, Guy's and St. Thomas of London - so I knew that the treatment would be world class.

The best part was that he charges the Delhites and overseas patients alike and he publishes the charges on his notice board in the clinic.

Other Dental practices in India charge differently as they view the foreigner's as a "cash cow" - apart from Dr. Arun Grover.

Overall, I would rate his services as 5- star and I am happy to recommend his services to anyone and when I go back again to Delhi, I will surely get a Dental checkup.

By the way, I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast in Delhi during my stay and was amazed at their services - but that would be another blog post! :-)

My friend stayed at this place and his Delhi Inn Review can be read on my Blog.

American Army's Secret Weapon - Prozac!

Increasing levels of stress in the US Army regulars in Iraq have started a new trend - the deployment of anti- depressants in the armamentorium of the ordinary foot soldier.
According to one of the soldier's serving in the Iraq war for non-existent Weapon's of Mass Destruction (WMD) -

"When you search someone's house, you have it built up in your mind that these guys are terrorists, but when you go in, there's little bitty tiny shoes and toys on the floor — things like that started affecting me a lot more than I thought they would."

Soldier's per se are known to have a rough -tough image with admission's of mental health problem's being rare. The soldier's who admit to having problem's are given a supply of various anti-depressants to help them cope. US Army doctors have this to say.

The medicines are intended not only to help troops keep their cool but also to enable the already strapped Army to preserve its most precious resource: soldiers on the front lines.

The levels of stress are increased manifold when images of dead parts of small children or the shattered body of your best friend are constantly in your sight. These pills cannot erase the images imprinted in the mind of a young soldier but they do help with the symptoms of stress and anxiety and may help them to get back to full functioning capacity.

The use of anti-depressants restoring a soldier to "full functional recovery" allow the Army to avoid the cost of training and re-deployment of new recruits.
The downside to that is the long -term effects of Army regulars needing medication for depression and related mental health disorders.

This shows that the US Army is keen to have bandaged soldier's on active duty to what is already an over-stretched force and avoid the cost of training an re-deployment of new recruits.

According to a study, repeated re-deployments to the war zone are responsible for the increasing mental health disorders faced by the Army regulars.

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is common in soldier's facing the enemy everyday in difficult circumstances and having to face indelible memories of friends and foes bodies being blown off or "liquefied".

How this medicated, "Prozac-propped" US army of dazed zombies is able to do an increasingly difficult job which needs high level of concentration and split second decisions, is anybodies guess?

Delhi or New Delhi - Are they different?

Lots of people ask me whether Delhi is the same as New Delhi!

People think that these 2 are different cities - but they are one.

The Capital of India is New Delhi, this was made the capital by the then British rulers to showcase their total control over the Indian Subcontinent, in the year 1911.

Before that Calcutta ( now known as Kolkata)was the capital of India.

The task of building the new part of Delhi was given to an architect called Edwin Lutyens. Lutyens designed the new part with particular emphasis to wide tree lined roads, proper layout and a pedestrian friendly approach.

In contrast the Old part of Delhi is congested with narrow lanes and is not pedestrian friendly. Old Delhi houses markets which have been used for centuries for trade and are full of colour and activity.

If you are a traveler and want to visit Delhi, it is best to visit the Old part and the Lutyens part of Delhi - to get a true picture of life in Delhi.

In summary, Old Delhi and New Delhi are the same city. If you decide to travel to New Delhi, stay at a Bed and Breakfast in Delhi, India and try to get guided tours to both the old and the new part of Delhi - to get a feel of the city.

3 Sun-Screen Lotions to avoid this Summer!

A research published by Which - shows that 3 sun-screens fail to deliver the Sun Protection factor that they claim.

The 3 sun-screens to avoid this summer are:-

1. Marks & Spencer Formula Lotion - its actual SPF of 7.1 was less than half of that stated 15.

2. Malibu High Protection Lotion was found to be 10.2

3. Tesco Sun Protection Medium Lotion, with an SPF of 12, narrowly missed out on the 12.5 required to pass the industry standard test.


Best Buys Sunscreen Lotion

1. Sainsbury’s Sun Protect Lotion

2. Asda Sun System

3. Wilkinsons Wilko Sun Protection System Moisturising Sun Lotion.

All of them cost £3/- or less.


"Jessica Ross, editor of Which? Online, said: ‘Claims made by some sunscreen manufacturers are way off the mark and there are some shockingly bad products out there. Yet protecting yourself from the sun really doesn’t have to cost the earth.’"

So, when you go shopping for a sunscreen, buy the best buys and avoid the others. It is no use slapping some cream on and having no protection from the sun.

Review of Dermal Fillers in Doncaster, Sheffield

Currently, there is lots of interest in the Cosmetic Treatment Market for "Non Surgical Aesthetic Treatment". This article is to help raise awareness among residents of Doncaster & Sheffield about dermal fillers.

What is a Dermal Filler?

• A substance made from natural or synthetic material
• Injected into the skin, helps restore skin to its youthful appearance
• Thickness of the filler used depends on the depth of wrinkles or lines it is used to fill.

What makes a good Dermal Filler?

• Safe- non- allergic, no animal products, non cancerous
• Looks and feels natural
• No down time
• Affordable
• Long lasting
• Biocompatible

What are the types of fillers?

1. Natural Polymers:

• Proteins – (for eg: silk, insulin) COLLAGEN
• Carbohydrates – (for eg: cellulose, starch) HYALURONIC ACID

2. Synthetic Polymers:

• (for eg: Plastic, nylon, Teflon)
• Poly- L-lactic acid (Sculptra)
• Polymethyl methacrylate (Artefill)
• Calcium hydroxyapatite ( Radiesse)

Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is a naturally occurring sugar. Its most important characteristic is its water retaining ability. HA is found naturally in eyes, hair, skin, joints and gums. Cross linking of HA makes it less degradable in the body. Examples of HA dermal fillers include Restylane, Hylaform, Juvaderm etc.

Hyaluronic Acid Dermal Fillers are used to fill in:

• Frown Lines
• Lines between the nose and the lip
• Smokers lines around the mouth
• Lip enhancement


Dermal Fillers like Sculptra and Radiesse are used for facial volumising and contouring for :

• Cheeks
• Jawline
• Chin
• To fill in acne and trauma scars


Department of Health states that "Any fillers placed on the market as medical devices must meet the requirements of the Medical Devices Directive. Such materials must be CE-marked, which indicates that the manufacturer has verified that the product will not compromise the clinical condition or the safety of patients when used under the conditions and for the purposes intended, and that any risks are acceptable when weighed against the benefits anticipated from the clinical use intended by the manufacturer."

The risks of having dermal filers for "skin Rejuvenation" are

1. Allergic reaction to the material used
2. Nodule formation
3. Bruise to the treated area

How to chose a "Skin Rejuvenation" Provider

We as consumers should go to qualified people who have received training in handling and using dermal fillers.

I would personally go to a Doctor. Many people go to dentists and nurses too. Wherever you go make sure you choose a health provider who is registered with the "Health care Commission".

In Doncaster and Sheffield area Healthy Skin Clinic provides Dermal fillers and the treatments are done by a female doctor GP.

Project 4oarsome!

This post is on the request of Nick Dennison - who is a member of Team 4Oarsome.

This is a group of 4 guys who are taking part in the 2009 Woodvale Transatlantic Rowing Challenge- which is a rowing competition. The row takes approximately 50 days across 3000 miles of the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean.

They are racing in order to raise money for two great Charities, Help for Heros and CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young). Their site 4oarsome shows the map of the journey.

According to Nick, "We shall row in pairs two hours on, two off for 50 days braving high seas, salt sores and monster wildlife; aiming to be the first crew across the line in Antigua. We shall drink desalinated water and require 9000 calories of food each per day which shall be made up from dehydrated ration packs and high calorie snacks."

The Crew consists of James Scott: Dentist, Nick Dennison: Doctor, Ali Mcleod: Surveyor, Ed Jones: Biologist/ researcher.


They are asking for your support by becoming their "Landcrew" and supporting their charities.

Nick says "Check out our site 4oarsome for further details about the boys, the race, the boat and the charities. The site will be updated regularly to keep you all in the loop."

Inevitably there shall be a beard-growing competition for the “lost at sea look"......

The Atlantic Rowing Race will start on the 2nd December 2009.

All the best to the Crew of 4Oarsome !

Delhi Inn - Review!

The above picture shows some of the fruits he was served there.

My friend visited Delhi and stayed at Inn @ Delhi and was very impressed at the hospitality and decor and by the excellent company he got.

So impressed was he that he has asked me to blog about it! This is his review.

He chose Delhi Inn because of a review he saw on Tripadvisor and he was so taken by it; he decided to go & stay with them and try it out.

He traveled to Delhi in April 2008 and was greeted at the airport by a placard bearing taxi driver, who was professional and took him straight to Delhi Homestay. There he was greeted by the owners who "asked" how his journey was and served him a welcome drink. he was quite taken by that - having traveled and stayed at "dull & impersonal" hotels extensively - he was just not prepared for this kind family treatment. He couldn't believe that owners ( Mr. Subhash Chander & Mrs. U Subhash) could be so caring & nice. His past experience of Delhi was that of "pushy people" out to get your money from the rickshaw valla's ( tuk-tuk owner's - as they are called in Delhi) to the hotel owners.

He was taken to his ground floor room with a separate entrance, which he chose out of the other rooms as he wanted some independence and found out that the rooms were quite big from the usual Delhi hotel Rooms.

He had breakfast and was raving about the quality of breakfast he received ( fresh fruit daily with a different Indian dish every day) and the lively breakfast conversations. He was particularly impressed by the fact the owners treated him as their son and even took him for their "Birthday Part" to a posh club in Delhi, Gymkhana Club.

His stay of 3 days was extended to 10 days and he enjoyed every moment of it.

He especially liked the fact that he could go for a leisurely stroll in the 3 parks/gardens around the Delhi Inn in the evenings and get some peace & quite from the maddening crowd.

The location of the BnB is such that you are right next to the Mexican embassy and their are security guards all over the gated colony and one feels quite safe; having heard stories of muggings etc in Delhi.

Overall, he says that he will rate his experience as 5- star and would definately recommend it again.

Cycling your way to Health

I read with interest the following news item that –

“Rising petrol prices, growing awareness of environmental issues and the popularity of cycling as a recreation sport has fueled a surge in demand for bicycles around the world.”

If you look at it closely, it makes perfect sense to use Push Bikes (as they are called in England) or cycles – as often as possible. If your work place is near to home – then ditching the gas guzzling, carbon spewing, environmentally hazardous monster ( some guys call it a “car”) – makes a hell of a difference to the environment. Not to mention the obvious benefits to health and saving a little money.

Some guys I know are so lazy that they take out the cars for 300 yards trip as well! When will some people have the sense to walk or bike and be health conscious!


Not only cycling is good for the battle weary beleaguered ozone layer and environment, it has obvious benefits (read weight loss, good cardio-vascular workout and savings).

Hopefully with the rising oil prices we will see more interest in cycling our way to health.

A short re-cap on the health benefits of Cycling

Cycling increases your strength, Stamina, aerobic fitness and general muscle function with little risk of over-exertion or strain. It also encourages healthy behaviour, especially diet. Research says that once you are feeling healthy after shedding a few pounds, you become more health conscious.
Lowering Risk of Heart Attack
The heart muscles are strengthened, resting pulse is lowered and blood fat levels reduced. People who cycle regularly suffer far less heart diseases than people who don’t.

Shedding excess Weight

By burning body fat, and raising your metabolic rate you can lose weight. Cycling is also a more comfortable form of exercise for the over weight than many other activities. If you are over weight and trying to lose weight, cycling is certainly gentler on your knees than pounding the pavement with the knees getting the shock waves going through them with every heel strike.
Reducing Stress
Your anxiety, stress and depression are all alleviated, partly due to the exercise itself and also the sheer pleasure of riding a bike. In medical speak; this is due to the release of endorphins. Endorphins are “feel good” hormones that are usually released after a good workout and make you feel better. Bicycling is often faster across town than any other way of transport, especially in busy, congested cities like London for example. So, no more getting stuck in traffic jams and losing your cool.

Saves Money

Bicycling is a fuel-free form of transport. By switching from car & motor bike to cycle for short journeys, you save on petrol cost. Moreover, you don’t waste time exercising for the sake of it. Cycling fits into your daily routine.
Go green with Biking
Cycling is healthy, both for you as an individual, and also for the community you live in. You help to cut air, noise pollution and traffic congestion. Using a bicycle is easy, cheap, convenient, healthy and fun.

Sounds too good to be true!

Try it yourself. Join the millions of people who experience the sheer pleasure of riding a bike.

Soptlight On

This post will list the Spotlight On reviews done by me for easy reference and better navigability.

I will be using the spotlight section to write posts on prominent personalities that I know of and find interesting.

Reviews by Abhishek

This post will list the reviews done by me for easy reference and better navigability.

1. Laser Hair Removal Doncaster

2. Healthy Skin Clinic Doncaster

3. Delhi Inn Review

4. Project 4Oarsome

5. Review of Dermal Fillers in Doncaster and Sheffield

6. New Delhi Dentist - Review

Heart Disease Trends Reversing in Women in England

Oxford and Liverpool university researchers believe death rates among women aged under 50 may be plateauing after continuous falls since the 1970s.

They studied all deaths in England and Wales from 1931 to 2005 and found the pace of the drop had started to slow.

Heart disease death rates for all age groups increased until the 1970s, but have been falling continuously since.

The research paper titled “Patterns of coronary heart disease mortality over the 20th century in England and Wales: possible plateaus in the rate of decline” published in the BMC Public Health journal, were disturbing.

In Conclusion the report states - "Although CHD mortality rates continue to drop in older age groups the actual burden of coronary heart disease is increasing due to the ageing of the population. The rate of improvement in CHD mortality appears to be beginning to decline and may even be reversing among younger women."

The report pointed out that obesity and diabetes levels have been rising in younger age groups over the last 10 years, while physical activity levels have fallen.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director for the British Heart Foundation, which helped to fund the study, said the findings were "worrying".

"Heart disease should be a very real issue for all women, and younger generations must take action now to cut down their risk."

Read my previous posts on Target Heart Rate to measure your initial fitness level and monitor your progress in a fitness program.

Also see Smoking Kills Video - to stop smoking, another risk factor for Heart Attacks in Women.

Crash Diets Increase risk of Sudden Death

A study by the University of Scotland published online, suggests that binge eating and crash dieting may significantly reduce life expectancy.
Researchers from Glasgow University observed that fish given a "binge then diet" food regime had a reduced lifespan of up to 25%.

The scientists believe that the findings could have implications for teenagers and growing children who follow extreme patterns of dieting.

“Professor Neil Metcalfe said: “The fish on the fluctuating diet put just as much effort into breeding – the males became brightly coloured as usual and the females produced the normal number of eggs. However, on average their lifespan was three-quarters that of animals eating a constant amount every day.”

The research found that the difference in lifespan was not a consequence of more rapid ageing but an increase in the risk of sudden death.

They seem to suggest that Binge eating and then dieting, commonly seen in teenagers who are acutely “image aware” can lead to sudden death.

The study recommends that eating a constant amount of food every day is a healthier option.

Laser Hair Removal Doncaster

I was invited by Skin Clinic Doncaster to review their laser hair removal process.

Doctor of the Skin Clinic uses the aesthetic laser Suprano, a state of the art diode laser which is virtually painless and very effective for hair removal.

Here is a summary of what I learnt:-

* A series of 6-12 treatment sessions may be needed though improvement may be noticed after just one.

* Each treatment session may take 15 -30 minutes depending on the treatment area.

"Skin Clinic Doncaster's website states that a wide selection of skin complaints can be successfully treated with lasers like:

1. Permanent hair reduction
2. Colour and texture improvement
3. Facial and leg thread veins
4. Rosacea and mild inflammatory acne
5. Small haemangioma
6. Acne scars
7. Freckles
8. Warts and verrucae
9. Photo rejuvenation- skin tightening of face, cheek and neck
10. Reduction in fine lines and wrinkles: under the eye, crow’s feet and forehead
11. Tattoo removal"

Although laser hair removal is painless and permanent, it might take a few sessions for it fully remove unwanted hair - it depends on the skin and hair type.

I liked the fact that a Doctor is doing these procedures, after undergoing training and attending various courses abroad and getting the requisite certification. It is not run by a nurse or a hair dresser.

Most of the women, i was told, go to their local beauty saloon for Laser Hair Removal in Doncaster. They are not aware that Skin Clinic offers painless and permanent hair removal by laser in Doncaster. What a shame when you can have the same treatment by a trained, professional Doctor!

Indian's More Likely to have Heart Attack!

A study on the effects of Heart Disease on the Indian Population published by The Lancet states that -


“Around 60% of the world’s heart disease burden is expected to occur in India within the next 2 years. India also has higher rates of the types of heart disease that lead to worse prognosis than developed countries, and on average, heart disease occurs at a younger age in the Indian population. These are the conclusions from the authors of the CREATE Study - a prospective registry study in 89 centres from 10 regions and 50 cities in India.”

Heart Disease kills 7.1 million people globally every year.

It has been long known that South Asia has the highest level of acute coronary syndromes in the world, but this is the first comprehensive research which provides statistical data about heart disease.




The team studied nearly 21,000 heart attack patients admitted to 89 hospitals in 50 cities across the country.

The risk factors for Heart Disease in India are the same as elsewhere in the world and include the following:-

1. Tobacco use

2. High levels of lipids in the blood due to diets rich in saturated fat (ghee, butter, coconut oil)

3. Hypertension

4. Smoking – See my previous post about Smoking Kills

Factors specific to India are:-

1. The time taken to get access to medical help. On average, it took 300 minutes to reach a hospital in India, twice as long in rich nations. "Few patients used an ambulance to reach the hospital. Most used private or public transport" due to financial constraints, the report says.

2. Poverty also prevents most Indians from obtaining routine treatments including surgical procedures because most of them have to pay for it themselves.

3. The Indian patients were younger by three to six years than those in richer nations.

As Indian’s we need to be extra vigilant about Heart Disease.
The preventive steps that everyone should take to prevent heart disease are:-

1. Regular exercise. Exercise means targeting your heart rate according to your age.

2. Taking regular medication if known to have higher Blood pressure

3. Stop smoking – active and passive.

4. Avoid ghee, butter and food rich in fats

Target Heart Rate

What is "Target Heart Rate"?

Target heart rate is a way to measure your initial fitness level and monitor your progress in a fitness program. This approach requires measuring your pulse periodically as you exercise and staying within 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. This range is called your target heart rate.

Is “Brisk walking” enough for achieving Target Heart rate?

Some people can't or don’t measure their pulse exercising. If this is true for you, try using a "conversational pace" to monitor your efforts during moderate activities like walking.




If you can “walk and talk” at the same time, you aren't walking too hard. The concept of “saer” ( Routine early morning walk – popular in India – where you meet your friends to talk more and walk less, a “walk – talk –social catch up session”) is probably just an eye-wash.

Use the “Target Heart Rate” calculator below, to get an estimated Target Heart Zone.


Age Target HR Zone Average Maximum Heart Rate 100%
50–85 % 50–85 %


20 years 100–170 beats per minute 200 beats per minute
25 years 98–166 beats per minute 195 beats per minute
30 years 95–162 beats per minute 190 beats per minute
35 years 93–157 beats per minute 185 beats per minute
40 years 90–153 beats per minute 180 beats per minute
45 years 88–149 beats per minute 175 beats per minute
50 years 85–145 beats per minute 170 beats per minute
55 years 83–140 beats per minute 165 beats per minute
60 years 80–136 beats per minute 160 beats per minute
65 years 78–132 beats per minute 155 beats per minute
70 years 75–128 beats per minute 150 beats per minute



Your maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age. The figures above are averages, so use them as general guidelines.

Note of Caution: A few high blood pressure medications lower the maximum heart rate and thus the target zone rate. If you're taking such medicine, call your physician to find out if you need to use a lower target heart rate.

Smoking Kills - Video

Quit Smoking - More amazing videos are a click away

This is the "Metallic" voice of someone using a Voice - Device because his Voice Box has been taken out ( called a Laryngectomy in Medical Speak) due to Laryngeal Cancer.

Smoking not only causes Lung but also Laryngeal Cancer.

The tar going into the Smoker's lung can be seen by the video shown below.

You will realise why Smoking is called "Slow Motion Suicide" - Keep watching the amount of tar that comes out of 200 plus cigarettes - which many smokers consume in a few days.


Still Smoking? Watch This - Watch the top videos of the week here

Incredible India Video

Just found this Video at You Tube - quite interesting! Therefore posting here!

Brings memories of India and makes me wish I was there!

If you enjoyed this video and want to see more of these - do check out Bed and Breakfast New Delhi - it shows some more Indian Video's that you will like!

Skin Clinic Doncaster

Skin Clinic Doncaster is a skin clinic which has recently opened in Doncaster- with the aim of providing specialist Cosmetic care. It is run by a General Practitioner ( G.P) and provides various cosmetic treatments in Doncaster like Dermal Fillers, Medical Micro dermabration, Radio frequency Treatment– Body reshaping and Cellulite treatment and wrinkle relaxing treatment.

It is located at The SCOTT PRACTICE Premises, I Greenfield Lane, Balby, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN4 0TG.

Healthy Skin Clinic Doncaster states on its website -

Healthy Skin Clinic is the creation of a Doncaster Lady GP whose genuine interest in Dermatology and beauty have allowed her to consider how medical and cosmetic advancements combined with technology could give cosmetic improvements to the skin. Following market demands to supply effective medical treatments without going under the knife Healthy Skin Clinic selected a range of aesthetic treatments based upon the most effective procedures available today. All of the treatments at Healthy Skin Clinic are virtually pain free and offer long lasting effects without the need for any anaesthetic or recovery time. Performed by an experienced GP with specialist training in this field, you can be assured of a highly discreet, professional service for both men and women.

Aesthetic treatments offered at the ‘Healthy SKIN’ clinic make it possible for everyone to look your BEST and boost self confidence. The essence of feeling BEAUTIFUL is being comfortable in your own skin. Glowing skin reflects health and happiness inside and all it takes is a little extra care!"

Obviously this is very good news for people at Doncaster especially ladies who can benefit from the Services offered at the Healthy Skin Clinic Doncaster!

Sons !

Here is another joke that I received via email and I am posting it here so that I can share something with you all!

Our lives are so full of stress and trying to run from pillar to post, from one deadline to another - that we do not take time off to have some fun and jokes.

So here is another one for all those stressed out souls - something to laugh about!
If you want to read more - click on the label " Humor".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four friends, who hadn't seen each other in 30 years, reunited at a party. After several drinks, one of the men had to use the rest-room. Those who remained talked about their kids.

The first guy said, "My son is my pride and joy. He started working at a successful company at the bottom of the barrel. He studied Economics and Business Administration and soon began to climb the corporate ladder and now he's the president of the company. He became so rich that he gave his best friend a top of the line Mercedes for his birthday."

The second guy said, "Darn, that's terrific! My son is also my pride and joy. He started working for a big airline, went to the flight school to become a pilot. Eventually he became a partner in the company, where he owns the majority of its assets. He's so rich that he gave his best friend a brand new jet for his birthday."

The third man said: "Well, that's terrific! My son studied in the best universities and became an engineer. Then he started his own construction company and is now a multimillionaire. He also gave away something very nice and expensive to his best friend for his birthday: A 30,000 square foot mansion."

The three friends congratulated each other just as the fourth returned from the rest-room and asked: "What are all the congratulations for?" One of the three said: "We were talking about the pride we feel for the successes of our son...What about your son?"

The fourth man replied: "My son is gay and makes a living dancing as a stripper at a nightclub."
The three friends shifted uncomfortably. "Hmmmm, what a shame," one replied.
The fourth man replied: "No, I'm not ashamed. He's my son and I love him. And he hasn't done too bad either. His birthday was two weeks ago, and he received a beautiful 30,000 square foot mansion, a brand new jet and a top of the line Mercedes from his three boyfriends!!!"

Google Patients

Google Patients

Google patients – I refer to those patients who come to my clinic or to the Accident & Emergency with a print out of their presumed diagnosis on the basis of Googling their symptoms. They usually have made up their mind about their “self – diagnosis” and have a firm conviction that all their symptoms fit into that “diagnosis”. They are usually immune to logic and explanation by a doctor. You may have all the experience and expertise in your specialty, but it is hard to convince these “Google patients” otherwise.

Another thing I have noticed is the amount of health advise given by fellow sufferers on Yahoo Answers. If you haven’t been to Yahoo Answers, I suggest you go and pay a visit. You can see the blind leading the blind. As a doctor, I am sure you would have experienced the rare patient, whose diagnosis you are uncertain of. Mind you that is after taking a complete history and performing a physical examination and having done some basic ( or complex) investigations.

And yet you will see, complete strangers giving advice on Yahoo Answers, to complete strangers after reading one paragraph about their current ailment on the net. I have been guilty of the same, just to try & see whether I can do it without actually seeing a patient and yet found it so hard. Advising on the net, without actually having the normal doctor – patient interaction, is like shooting in the dark. Whether the advise is correct or not, no-one knows.

This is quite dangerous as the Google patient ( or for that matter, Yahoo patient) is already presuming a diagnosis before actually been seen by a Doctor.

So, the typical Google patient walks into your office armed with a print out, to either get a confirmation of “His diagnosis” or to argue with you as to why the Google Diagnosis is incorrect. And we as clinician’s spend increasing amount of time to dissuade them otherwise.

This is obviously a very dangerous practice and needs to be discouraged, yet you will see the on line world full of this.

Unless it is your own doctor or someone who knows your medical history, it is dangerous to go for online advice. I do not recommend this practice and would advice extreme caution before asking for online advice.

Funny and True Definitions!

Penning down some Funny and (True) Definitions:- Enjoy !

School: A place where Papa pays and Son plays.

Life Insurance: A contract that keeps you poor all your life so that you can die Rich.

Nurse: A person who wakes u up to give you sleeping pills.

Marriage: It's an agreement in which a man loses his bachelor degree and a woman gains her masters.

Tears: The hydraulic force by which masculine willpower is defeated by feminine waterpower.

Lecture: An art of transferring information from the notes of the Lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through "the minds of either"

Conference: The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.

Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.

Dictionary: A place where success comes before work.

Conference Room: A place where everybody talks, nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on.

Father: A banker provided by nature.

Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.

Politician: One who shakes your hand before elections and your Confidence after.

Doctor: A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you by bills.

Classic: Books, which people praise, but do not read.

Smile: A curve that can set a lot of things straight.

Office: A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.

Yawn: The only time some married men ever get to open their mouth.

Etc.: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.

Committee: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.

Experience: The name men give to their mistakes.

Atom Bomb: An invention to end all inventions.

Philosopher: A fool who torments himself during life, to be wise after death.

Seocontest2008

Winners make things happen - losers let things happen!

Just now received an email with this topic - so decided to blog about it!
Therefore thought that i will get pro-active and try and make this a success!

To look on the positive side of this contest I am learning a lot ! At the moment i am concentrating only on link building for seocontest2008 site.

Hopefully something will come out of the insane amount of time i am putting in towards learning SEO & SEM.

Hopefully, i will look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say, 'I am too Blessed to be Stressed and too Anointed, to be Disappointed!

How to publish a custom URL on Blogger!

This seems to be a frequent question on Google groups - therefore i thought i will write it down.

Log into your blogger account and click > settings > publishing > click on advanced settings and write your domain name - it should be http://www.yourdomainname.com and click save settings.

Then log into your DNS (Domain Name System) control panel and point your server to ghs.google.

"DNS server determines what site a given address takes you to. So far, you have a domain name but none of the servers on the internet know what to do with it yet. To take care of this, you need to create a CNAME record for your domain with the DNS, associating your domain with ghs.google.com."

For example - your registrar is yahoo small business - log into your account - click Domain Control panel > advanced DNS settings > click add record add www. and enter ghs.google.com - then click submit so that it looks like www.yourdomainname.com

1. In the Source field, enter only the sub domain you want to use. For example, if you designated www.mydomain.com as the address of your blog, enter www in the Source field.
2. Enter ghs.google.com in the Destination field.
3. Click Submit

The above 3 points are taken from blogger help - BUT this does not work properly - if you follow the above steps your domain will get a 404 error notice.

to circumvent that you need to modify your "A record" and point it to blog spot/blogger server

the blogger server is 72.14.207.191 - so if you modify your a record as above - it should point your domain to your blogger account.

Hope this helps!

Money Saving Idea's - Telephone!

Telephone - say no to 0870 numbers

Ever tried making calls to 0845 or 0870 numbers ( also called Revenue sharing numbers) - invariably you get billed upto 8 to 10p/ minute - even if you are complaining to say Sky or Aol - these so called National rate numbers are actually money making gimmicks by companies. So if you are put on hold for say 15 minutes - which is often the case - therefore, you end up paying £1.20 to £1.50 for being on hold.

These companies get a cut ( typically 2 -3 p/ min or more) out of the money they charge you say 8- 10 p/ minute - which pays for their employees, expensive elephone equipment and gives them a nice profit. And all this money comes out of your pocket. In my opinion, this is a rip off. After all you are complaining about their services and they are charging you !!! This is a double whammy !

So what can you do to avoid massive bills - you can be Net Savvy and search for alternate numbers - geographic numbers so that the calls are cheaper.


1. One way of doing that is to go to a web site - saynoto0870.com and doing a search for alternative numbers. This way you get geographic numbers which you can call and save you a bundle.

2. Be savvy and look for alternate numbers which companies like HSBC, Asda etc give on their credit card bills or any other official mail or their web sites - for calling from overseas - these numbers are usually geographic numbers and you can call them from Uk and save yourself a bundle. For eg. AOL gives this number +44 117 919 1100 when calling from overseas and 0844 499 5555 when calling from UK. Read here

3. If you do not get a geographic number by the above 2 methods - then you have to search the forums of saynoto0870.com to get the numbers and request them on the forum. This is a lengthy way to get the geographic numbers - and i recommend this to people who can wait.

4. Some companies give geographic numbers for sales - which can be used to connect to another department - thus avoiding Premium rate charges!


FACTS

1. British gas fined £5,000/- for keeping customers hanging on to Premium rate numbers. Read more here .

2. The Department for Work and Pensions, made £268,000 last year from 0845 hotlines to advise those on low incomes about benefit and winter fuel payments. Interesting !

3. Many compnaies boost their profit by letting customers wait on the premium rate numbers before answering - all at your expense !