Is your child feeling bogged down by academic pressure or social anxiety? Yoga at school will help

Yoga and mindfulness activities at school can help improve emotional health of children with anxiety, according to a study. Researchers at Tulane University worked with a public school in New Orleans to add mindfulness and yoga to the school’s existing empathy-based programming for students needing supplementary support. Third graders, who were screened for symptoms of anxiety at the beginning of the school year, were randomly assigned to two groups. A control group of 32 students received care as usual, which included counseling and other activities led by a school social…

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What does weight loss really depend on: Diet, genes or insulin levels?

A precision nutrition approach to weight loss didn’t hold up in a study testing low fat versus low carb depending on dieters’ DNA profiles. Previous research has suggested that a person’s insulin levels or certain genes could interact with different types of diets to influence weight loss. Stanford University researchers examined this idea with 600 overweight adults who underwent genetic and insulin testing before being randomly assigned to reduce fat or carbohydrate intake. Gene analyses identified variations linked with how the body processes fats or carbohydrates, which the researchers thought…

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One Or More Sweet Beverage Daily By Either Partner May Reduce Chances of Pregnancy

Those trying their chances at pregnancy take note. According to a latest study, one or more sugar sweetened beverage everyday by either partner may significantly bring down the couple’s chances of pregnancy. “We found positive associations between intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and lower fertility, which were consistent after controlling for many other factors, including obesity, caffeine intake, alcohol, smoking, and overall diet quality,” said Elizabeth Hatch, from Boston University in the US. “Couples planning a pregnancy might consider limiting their consumption of these beverages, especially because they are also related…

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Airborne: No need for coughing or sneezing, flu may spread just by breathing

We may pass the flu to others just by breathing, according to a study which contradicts the popular belief that people can catch the influenza virus by exposure to droplets from an infected person’s coughs or sneezes. The study provides new evidence for the potential importance of airborne transmission because of the large quantities of infectious virus researchers found in the exhaled breath from people suffering from flu. “We found that flu cases contaminated the air around them with infectious virus just by breathing, without coughing or sneezing,” said Donald…

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For love or for god: Why Indians travel

Indians’ favourite travel destinations vary according to what they are seeking: religion or romance. Up to 97% of Indian respondents in a recent survey said they’d travel within the country for their spiritual needs. Yet four in 10 were most likely to choose foreign destinations for their honeymoons. The survey was conducted by online travel agent MakeMyTrip between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15 and covered 3,000 respondents, all of whom had travelled within the previous six months. Overseas destinations closer to home are especially a hit among Indian newly-weds. Four…

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Hara Hachi Bu: The reason why the Japanese live a 100 years or more

The residents of Okinawa Island in Japan have the longest life expectancy in the world. They live up to 100 years. Various studies have been done over the years to decode the secret to their long, healthy lives. Researchers have finally figured out their secret. For centuries, the Okinawans have been following the principle of ‘Hara Hachi Bu’. In English; it means filling up your belly up to 80% only. By practicing ‘Hara Hachi Bu’, the Okinawans are able to achieve longevity. Nutritionists Kavita Devgan and Tripti Tandon tell us…

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