Beat High Blood Pressure with Dal or Lentils

A new study has found that adding lentils to your daily diet can help reduce high blood pressure. The study, led by Dr Peter Zahradka from the University of Manitoba, also suggested that consuming pulses like beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas can reverse the changes that happen in blood vessels due to high BP, report.

Zahradka said that the results of the study are amazing, since they provide a non-pharmacological way of treating diseases associated with blood vessel dysfunction. Zahradka added that the most notable finding of the study was the fact that lentils could alter the physical properties of blood vessels so that they resembled the vessels found in healthy animals.

Health benefits of various dals or lentils

Toor dal: A very popular and preferred dal in India, toor dal is light and yummy. Apart from protein and fibre, it contains folic acid which helps prevent anaemia and is also important for pregnant women as it is essential for foetal development and can help prevent neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida. It is low in calories so is good for people who are on weight loss diets. It also helps control blood sugar levels.

Moong dal: When you think of dal rice, the first thing that comes to your mind is moong dal which is commonly known as yellow dal. It is used for making the legendary dal tadka and dal fry. It is eaten on a regular basis in every indian household in combination with rice and vegetables. Moong dal is a dieter-friendly dal rich in iron and potassium. Iron helps maintain haemoglobin levels and potassium helps reduce blood pressure, a boon for hypertensive people. It is extremely light and can be easily eaten when you fall ill and even by pregnant women. Moong dal is used for making soups, stews and purees. Boiled moong dal is also used for making delicious spicy parathas.

Chana dal: A variety of dal which is deliciously thick. Chana dal is rich in B-vitamins which help energise you. It is full of fibre which helps diabetics to control their blood sugar levels. It also has potassium and folic acid. The fibre in it helps lower cholesterol levels preventing heart problems.

Masoor dal: Just like the other dals, masoor dal helps reduce blood sugar levels especially controlling the blood sugar spikes after a meal, controls hypertension, prevents anaemia and lowers cholesterol. It can be cooked with vegetables, spinach, pulao or added in your chicken or vegetable soup.

Urad dal: It is most commonly used by south Indians to make dosa, idlis, etc along with rice making it a complete source of protein. Urad dal is rich in iron, folate, fibre, potassium. It is also a good source of calcium which is important for vegetarians and elderly people who require high amounts of calcium for maintaining bone health. It also boosts your energy and keeps you active.

In order to gain maximum benefits of these dals, have 2 servings of dals/pulses per day. You can also add dals to your soups, rotis, tikkis, salads, etc. Alternate between the various types to get essential nutrients from all of them.

Good Night’s Sleep Crucial for Brain Health

Lack of a good night’s sleep may damage your brain in a similar way to being hit on the head, a new study has warned.

The study from Uppsala University, Sweden, shows that one night of sleep deprivation increases morning blood concentrations of molecules NSE and S-100B in healthy young men.

These molecules are typically found in the brain. Thus, their rise in blood after sleep loss may indicate that a lack of sleep may result in loss of brain tissue, researchers said.

Fifteen normal-weight men participated in the study. In one condition they were sleep-deprived for one night, while in the other condition they slept for approximately 8 hours.

“We observed that a night of total sleep loss was followed by increased blood concentrations of NSE and S-100B. These brain molecules typically rise in blood under conditions of brain damage,” said sleep researcher Christian Benedict at the Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, who led the study.

“Thus, our results indicate that a lack of sleep may promote neuro degenerative processes,” said Benedict. “In conclusion, the findings of our trial indicate that a good night’s sleep may be critical for maintaining brain health,” said Benedict. The findings are published in the journal SLEEP.

The Advantages of Honey for Losing Weight

Studies have shown that, as a natural sweetener, honey should be included in your healthy weight-loss program. Honey contains fructose and glucose which is akin to sugar. However, in the case of sugar, the manufacturing process destroys the majority of vitamins, enzymes, nitrogen elements and organic acids.

Honey and Weight Loss

First thing in the morning, it is recommended that you drink a glass of lemon juice with a little honey as an anti-cellulite treatment and to increase your metabolism. It should also be included in a healthy weight-loss program.

You could also combine honey with cinnamon and water: one cup of boiling water mixed with a teaspoon of cinnamon powder. After the ingredients are properly mixed, you should cover it and leave it for about half an hour. Filter the mixture. Afterwards, add a teaspoon of honey and you are done. It is important to drink it 30 minutes before eating breakfast, on an empty stomach.

Because honey is good for your body’s digestive function, a teaspoon should be consumed after eating, especially when you eat too much.

Many people think that if they stop eating, they will lose weight faster. However, nutrition is important because your body needs fibre, vitamins, calories and minerals for proper functioning. By doing this, the only thing that you will succeed in is to weaken your immune system. A healthy weight-loss program should reduce the daily calorie intake and focus on how to burn additional calories through physical exercise.

Sleep Less and You’ll Eat More Junk Food

You’re probably wondering how sleeping less could affect what foods you want to eat, but recent science points in the direction that the less you sleep, the more you’re body will want unhealthy foods. After studying 25 normal-weight volunteers who underwent sleep deprivation for five nights scientists were surprised to find the link between lack of sleep and junk food cravings.

The pleasure-seeking areas of the brain reacted much more strongly when shown images of unhealthy food when sleep was limited, however when participants had a “normal” night of sleep their brains reacted the same to both healthy and unhealthy food images.

That’s most likely because when your body undergoes extreme sleep changes it craves foods that will give it the highest caloric intake, or extremely unhealthy foods, resulting in late night, unhealthy binges.

Bangladesh :Bomb Blasts near Khaleda Zia’s House

Dhaka: Crude bombs exploded near the Gulshan residence of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Thursday despite recent “security” measures around her house.

Four crude bombs exploded in succession about 30 yards away from her residence on road-70 in the evening around 6:45pm, witnesses said.

However, police said the location of the blasts was “far away” from the opposition chief’s house.

The blasts took place during a nationwide blockade of the BNP-led 18-party alliance. The agitation is expected to continue until January 5 polls.

The blasts took place near two sand-laden trucks, which were stationed on either side of the road leading away from Khaleda Zia’s house.

After the explosions, the trucks moved away immediately. Gulshan police Officer-in-Charge Rafiqul Islam said the bombs exploded near the American Club on road-70. “It is far away from Khaleda’s residence.”

The official denied comment on how the miscreants managed to flee the spot despite presence of a huge number of law enforcers.

Defence Minister Calls on Prime Minister to Discusses Musharraf Issue

 
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday and discussed situation created after Musharraf’s ailment.

Both leaders met at Prime Minister House and discussed treason case and Musharraf ‘s ailment.

Sources told Abbtakk that PM expressing regret over former President ailment directed provision of all treatment facilities to Musharraf.

While talking at the occasion, Khawaja Asif said that there was no decision made sending Musharraf abroad for treatment. He said that only the court could provide him relief.

Musharraf Likely to be Sent Abroad, Hearing to Resume on January 6th, 2014

ISLAMABAD: (Dunya News) – Former President Pervez Musharraf is reportedly out of danger and will spend next couple of days at AFIC hospital. Special court conducting his treason trial ruled not to issue arrest warrants for failing to appear before the court. 

Furthermore, reports of transferring Musharraf abroad for treatment purposes are also circulating however Defense Minister Khawaja Asif stated no such decision has been taken.  Pervez Musharraf was being escorted to court from his farm house in Chak Shahzad under strict security -- with over fifteen hundred security personnel deployed on the route and another hundreds outside court. Musharraf complained of cardiac pain just as his envoy reached Rawal dam at which point the envoy was diverted towards Rawalpindi where doctor ruled it as heart attack.   

The earlier reports suggested that Musharraf’s transfer abroad for further treatment was under consideration; however, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif ruled out the possibility saying no such decision is under consideration. He maintained that the only relief that can be given is through court.   

After meeting with the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Asif added that all medical facilities are available in the country however government will not object if court permits the transfer abroad.   Following his failure to appear before the court, judges of the special court deliberated in their chambers for several hours and ruled not to issue arrest warrants. 

Special prosecutor Akram Sheikh had sought arrest warrant of the former president and special court’s ruling in this regard was highly anticipated.   Musharraf failed to appear before court also on Wednesday and on December 24 after explosive material was found near his home on the way to court.   Musharraf is under treatment for heart attack in military hospital AFIC (Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology) and is expected to stay under observation for at least four more days, Dunya News reported.   

Special prosecutors insist the final say will be of the court which ruled hours ago, as per sources. Special registrar of the court briefed the media about the ruling.   Reportedly, Defense Counsels had complained about the alleged harassments and threats ever since the treason case started. Former president Pervez Musharraf is on trial for treason under article 6 of the constitution for his steps taken on November 3, 2007.   

The hearing had resumed in the special court headed by Justice Faisal Arab earlier today and former president was supposed to appear before the court. Special prosecutor Akram Sheikh, in his arguments alleged that Pervez Musharraf’s heart problem was played out to avoid his appearance in court and that a court notice was due in this regard. At which point, the prosecutors pleaded the court to issue non bailable arrest warrants against the former dictator.   

One of the defense counsels‚ Khalid Ranjha rebutted the prosecutor by assuring the court that his client was taken to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology following his severe cardiac pain. The court adjourned the hearing until Monday January 6, and following the deliberation in their chambers, resolved not to issue arrest warrants for Pervez Musharraf.   

Reportedly, court had made it clear at the beginning of proceedings that a needful order will be issued if Musharraf failed to appear before the court today. It merits mentioning here that Musharraf had failed to appear before the court a number of times before as well and on Wednesday’s hearing, court ordered to ensure his appearance on Thursday, failing which, the court was to issue arrest warrants.   

Defense counsels have constantly sought exemption for Musharraf from appearing before court on security grounds. However the court had refused to grant exemption and instead sanctioned appropriate security on his way to court.   

Former president was being escorted under court sanctioned foolproof security that consisted on box security protocol with over fifteen hundred security personnel deployed on the way to court and hundreds of them outside court. Security plan also included CCTV cameras on the said route and a bomb disposal squad with the convoy.   

During the course of court proceedings, defense counsel Anwar Mansoor submitted before the court that he was allegedly being harassed and threatened, rendering him unable to sleep at night. Mansoor added that someone has constantly been ‘banging’ his door and ringing his door bell from 1 AM till five in the morning.   

The court asked who was threatening the counsel, upon which Mansoor accused government to be behind the alleged scare tactics. The court assured to order investigation in the matter but the counsel appeared to be uneasy upon which he walked out of the court along with another member of defense counsels.   Former military dictator is being tried for imposing emergency rule in November 2007 which suspended constitution and government institutions.

Over a Thousand Candidates Shortlisted for Life on Mars

(Reuters) - A mission to put humans on Mars that drew 200,000 applicants has selected more than a thousand candidates who will now be tested to come up with a final list of 24 would-be Mars-dwellers.

Mars One was set up in 2011 by two Dutch men with the goal of establishing permanent human life on Mars in 2025. They hope the project will be funded by investors and the rights from the documentary-cum-reality TV broadcasting of the tests, training and final selection.

The 1,058 candidates who got through to the first round come from all over the world. By far the largest number - 297 - are American, followed by 75 Canadians and 62 Indians.

They must now undergo rigorous tests, including simulations of life on Mars and coping with isolation, co-founder Bas Lansdorp said.

"The challenge with 200,000 applicants is separating those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors on Mars from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously," Lansdorp said.

Factbox: Cricket Top 10 Fastest One Day International Centuries

Anderson breaks Afridi's record, cracks fastest century in ODI.

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand (AFP) - Factbox of the fastest centuries in one day international cricket after New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson set a new record Wednesday of 36 deliveries.

(Batsman, balls, 4s, 6s, innings, fixture)

C. Anderson 36, 6, 14, 131 not out. New Zealand v West Indies Jan 1, 2014

S. Afridi 37, 6, 11, 102. Pakistan v Sri Lanka April 10, 1996

M. Boucher 44, 8, 10, 147 not out. South Africa v Zimbabwe Sept 20, 2006

B. Lara 45, 18, 4, 117. West Indies v Bangladesh Oct 9, 1999

S. Afridi 45, 10, 9, 102. Pakistan v India April 15, 2005

J. Ryder 46, 12, 5, 104. New Zealand v West Indies Jan 1, 2014

S. Jayasuriya 48, 11,11, 134. Sri Lanka v Pakistan April 2, 1996

K. O'Brien 50, 13, 6, 113. Ireland v England March 2, 2011

V. Kohli 52, 8, 7, 100 not out. India v Australia October 16, 2013

S. Afridi 53, 17, 4, 124. Pakistan v Bangladesh June 21, 2010

Syrian group Hacks Skype's Social Media Accounts

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Syrian Electronic Army hacker group set its sights on Skype s social media accounts Wednesday to accuse Microsoft of spying on user data.

Microsoft-owned Skype s Twitter account displayed the message: "Don t use Microsoft emails(hotmail,outlook),They are monitoring your accounts and selling the data to the governments.

It was posted around 1030 GMT but was removed less than two hours later. Microsoft could not immediately be reached for comment.

The SEA account belongs to the Syrian Electronic Army, which backs the Damascus government.

In a posting on its own Twitter account, the SEA said "You can thank Microsoft for monitoring your accounts/emails using this details," and listed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer s contact information.

The group has previously hacked accounts of The New York Times, Agence France-Presse and other media organizations.

The SEA s latest attack appears to be linked to documents released by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, which revealed the PRISM surveillance program.

PRISM is said to give the NSA and FBI easy access to the systems of nine of the world s top Internet companies including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Skype.

The program apparently allowed the NSA to spy on audio and video calls using so-called secret backdoors. Skype has denied the existence of such access.

Tech blogs said that at one point, the Skype blog had the headline: "Hacked by Syrian Electronic Army.. Stop Spying!"

Skype s Twitter account was also said to have posted the message: "Stop spying on people! via Syrian Electronic Army."

But links provided by the SEA s Twitter account to Skype s blog and Facebook account did not work, and no SEA message appeared on those sites around 0030 GMT, having apparently been removed.