5 ways to lower your cholesterol

Lowering cholesterol is one of the most imperative things to do to promote overall heart health. And now Metamucil and Dr. Michael Roizen, Chairman of the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic and host of the upcoming PBS series, “Younger You,” have suggested five things you need to do to lower your cholesterol.

Take Psyllium

The first, and one of the simplest tips, is to get more fiber in your diet – but not just any kind, because not all fibers work the same way. Viscous soluble fiber like psyllium fiber, the natural dietary fiber found in Metamucil, is proven to help lower total and “lousy” LDL cholesterol because it forms a thick gel that traps and helps remove some cholesterol, bile acids and waste in the gut. This is why I recommend my patients supplement low fat, low cholesterol diets with 7 grams of soluble fiber from psyllium daily, as in Metamucil.

Wear a Pedometer and Increase Daily Activity

You’d be amazed to see how many extra steps you can take in one day — grab a pedometer and watch the numbers roll as you make simple changes for your health and take the stairs, walk to work, or stroll around the neighborhood to increase your physical activity for better heart health. Tracking your progress throughout the day can be great inspiration to keep going, and walking is a simple and easy type of exercise to help lower cholesterol!

Get an Exercise Buddy

A healthy lifestyle requires motivation, encouragement and a friend to lean on. Grab an exercise buddy and support each other in the challenge to lower your cholesterol. Take long walks together and encourage each other to try new types of physical activity to get the heart pumping and to keep cholesterol levels down! Enjoy each other’s company and laugh – reduced levels of stress will help your heart too!

Beware of Hidden Fats and Sugars

Be an informed eater; get to know your ingredients and read the nutrition labels thoroughly. Hidden sugars and unhealthy ingredients can increase your weight, which can lead to high cholesterol. Stay away from foods that contain high levels of saturated fat, cholesterol and hidden sources of sugar such as high fructose corn syrup, some dextrins, or evaporated cane juice.

Add DHA

DHA is short for docosahexaenoic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid. Regular intake of DHA can aid in proper heart function and help lower levels of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), or the “lousy” cholesterol3, and raise levels of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), or the “healthy” cholesterol. Popular sources of DHA are salmon, sardines, tuna – but if you aren’t a seafood fan, try fish oil supplements, or if you don’t like fishy taste, et them from vegetarian supplements made from algal DHA.

News Source: ANI

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Beware of wrong e-Mail ID!

A man checked into a hotel. There was a computer in his room. So he decided to send an e-mail to his wife. However, he accidentally typed a wrong e-mail address, and without realizing his error, he sent the e-mail.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston ,a widow had just returned from her husband’s funeral. The widow decided to check her e-mail, expecting condolence messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she fainted.

The widow’s son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife

Subject: I’ve Reached

Date: 16th November 2009

I know you’re surprised to hear from me.

They gave computers here, and we are allowed to send e-mails to loved ones.

I’ve just reached and have been checked in.. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing you TOMORROW !

Melt that fat with yoga

Yoga offers a safe alternative to busting those not-so-cute dimples. Yoga experts suggest Asanas to melt those fat pockets…

Ushtra Asana
Kneel down with your heels facing the ceiling, toes turned outward and arms hanging loosely by the sides. Breathe in. Raise arms gently to shoulder level, then higher, and finally backwards such that your palms touch the heel of the corresponding foot. Stretch your neck letting your head fall backwards. You will feel the stretch in your spine. Gently push the pelvic region forward, improving upon the curve of the spine. Breathe normally. Breathe in and return to the starting position. Repeat two to three times. Each time try to hold the stretch as long as you comfortably can.
Why it works
This asana stretches your entire upper body — the neck, chest and stomach. These places house the lymph glands such as the thymus, tonsils and the spleen. They are primarily responsible for filtering out bacteria and other waste from the blood. Inefficient lymph glands lead to inefficient drainage and collection of fat. Ushtra Asana mobilises the lymph glands, hence preventing cellulite. The increased blood circulation and faster cell rejuvenation within these regions helps bust existing cellulite, slowly but surely.

Virya-stambhan Asana
Stand with feet spread wide apart, toes pointing straight ahead. Turn the right leg at a 90 degree angle. Then bend the right knee. Hold your right wrist with your left hand behind your back, bend to your right and gently attempt to touch your big toe with the tip of your nose. However ensure that as you bend, your right knee or right thigh doesn’t come in way of your right shoulder. Hold this position for up to 30 seconds. Inhale and slowly return to the start. Repeat the exercise with your left leg. Repeat the asana two to three times.
Why it works
This asana really stretches the inside of your thighs. Rising back from the bend strengthens the thighs, exercising them is similar to working with weights in a gym. This helps burn fats in the thighs. It also exercises the lymph nodes present in the groin area and improves the blood circulation in lower region, thereby busting cellulite pockets.

Purna Shalbh Asana
Lie on your stomach. Make a fist. Position it under your thigh, elbows straight. Breathe in. With the support of your folded fists, lift up both legs without bending them at the knees. Tighten the back of thighs and buttocks, holding on to the final pose for as long as possible. Relax the tightened thighs and buttocks. Breathe in. Now, holding your breath, gradually lower the legs to the ground. As your legs touch the ground, release your breath and breathe normal. Repeat two to three times, each time trying to hold on to the final pose for as long as possible.
Why it works
Lifting the legs and trying to hold them for a long time requires strength. As you try harder, the fuel required to get that energy is generated by burning up the fat in thighs and buttocks.

Paschimottan Asana
Sit down with your legs outstretched in the front, touching each other, your arms to your sides. Keep your spine erect and raise both your hands above your head, while the inside of your arms touch your ears. Exhale and pull the stomach in and bend forward, stretching your hands towards your toes. Now try to hold your toes with your fingers and subsequently with practice, try to touch your forehead to your knees. Hold this final pose for as long as possible, after which you inhale and gradually come back to the starting position.
Why it works
As your body bends forward, your entire back area (considered your west side in yoga) is stretched. The bending movement affects every part from the heel’s tip to the neck (inclusive of the hamstring muscles, buttocks, waist, back and the medulla oblongata).
This extreme stretch works the major muscles of the back, along with the skin. The stretch causes better blood circulation within the region and prevents build up of fat. The skin too is stretched leading to better elasticity and over time can aid in reducing the dimpled look that cellulite is characterised by.

Courtesy: Kiran Mehta. The Times of India. 22 Oct 2010.

Top 10 reasons why employees hate their boss

Bosses! Can’t work with them, can’t work without them. Everything seems to be fine when you join the job but if you are one of those fortunate ones, sooner or later your boss starts smirking in your nightmares. A chat with employees working under tough projects and small teams who usually face tremendous work pressure will give us interesting insights about the bad bosses they have. Even in a company sans work pressure employees regularly bump into bad bosses. And their experiences are real bad [pardon me of your boss is really good] which they only share once they are in a new job. Good bosses are hard to find and employees hate their bad bosses for very many reasons.

Listing the Top 10 reasons below:

Incompetent and unacknowledging - Employees hate bosses who doesn’t have the essential competitive skills but still scorns the work they do. Whether or not the boss is competitive, the employee really longs for his good work to be acknowledged and not to be treated as a ‘piece of crap’.
Privacy Invasion - ‘He always keep guard about what I do, constantly checks out on the office phone about what I am busy at (an indirect way to know whether I am on a call with any acquaintance) and one day even peeped through the door to see what I am doing. Now I even doubt whether he is watching me once I reach home’ says Anamika (name changed to protect identity). Now that’s a real bad boss.
The narcissist boss - Employees hate bosses who acts as the ‘know it all’, who thinks they are second to none, hears nothing until it directly benefits him and so self obsessed to be called in the informal way ‘a narcissist glory monger’.
Personal Insults - Bosses who torture employees with personal insults rather than choosing to reproach on the basis of their work quickly gets in the hate list. Many employees have long stories to say about bosses who frequently torture them with comments about their attitude and discriminate them deliberately.
The angry ‘yelling’ boss - You are the boss, thumbs up. But how on earth could you yell at me like that. Employees at some point or other meet the unfortunate fate of being victim to their boss’ wrath. Justifiable the reason may be, but you are in my hate list boss.
The ‘opportunist’ boss - Employees obviously develops a dislike to their boss who refuses to mind them. But one day the same boss who never acknowledged your presence comes to you, smiles at you and the next thing you know, you are on an extra shift with heavy workload. Dislikes turn to hate for such opportunist bosses.
The ‘tensed’ boss - Employees tend to hate bosses who are always tensed and want them to finish of the work in a hurry. "He is so tensed and rushes things as if his head is on fire. His tension is so contagious that even we get tensed in his presence" Rahul, a software employee.
Stealing credits - Employees feel cheated and hate their boss when he or she steals the credit of their work but never forgets to blame them if something goes wrong.
Lack of clarity and feedback - Employees hate bosses who don’t brief them properly and keep the employees ignorant with any real feedback on their work. And worse, employees are blamed for something which in turn would be the result of void feedback.
Lack of rapport - Employees hate bosses who lacks mutual respect and always play bossy without any real interest in befriending the employees.

Top 20 critically polluted places in India

 

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in conjunction with IIT-Delhi recently surveyed 88 industrial clusters around the country, and found 43 "critically polluted" (score above 70 on a 100 point scale) while 32 were "severely polluted" (score 60-70). Here is the list of TOP 20 places from this infamous record.

ANKLESHWAR

Pollution score: 88.5/ 100

Ankleshwar in the Bharuch district of Gujarat takes the top spot in the ‘critically polluted places’ with a score of 88.5. Ankleshwar is known for its industrial township called GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation), which is one of the biggest in Asia. Ankleshwar also has an office of the ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited). Today, Ankleshwar has over 5000 big and small chemical plants. These chemical plants produce products such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, and paint.

VAPI

Pollution score: 88.09/ 100

Located in the in Valsad district of Gujarat, for Vapi, the cost of growth has been severe: levels of mercury in the city’s groundwater are reportedly 96 times higher than WHO safety levels, and heavy metals are present in the air and the local produce. The industrial township of Vapi holds its place of importance on the "industrial" map and it is the largest industrial area in Asia in terms of small-scale industries, dominated by chemical industry plants, along with their unfortunate hazards. Vapi has also been listed in the Top 10 most polluted places in the world by the US-based Blacksmith Institute.

GHAZIABAD

Pollution score: 87.37/ 100

The industrial city of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, has industries that manufacture railway coaches, diesel engines, bicycles, tapestries, glassware, pottery, paint and varnish, heavy chains, etc. Also It has ordinance factory (Muradnagar) & Bharat electronics ltd. for manufacturing defense products.

 

CHANDRAPUR

Pollution score: 83.88/ 100

Chandrapur in Maharashtra is very rich in mineral wealth such as iron ore, limestone and coal and this boon has been its bane. Many cement factories are located in this region. Due to large number of coal mines present around the city, the city is also known as City of Black Gold. The mammoth coal mines in an around the city also contribute to the heavy industrialization of the city.

KORBA

Pollution score: 83/ 100

This city in Chattisgarh, is the Power Capital of Central India with the NTPC’s Super Thermal Power Plant in Korba is working at 90% Plant Load Factor. There are huge coal reserves in the vicinity, offering cheap pithead power generation opportunities and there is enough water from the State’s largest reservoir of Hasdeo Bango. 84% of India’s coal is in Chhattisgarh and two other States. Korba is also the site of an aluminium facility operated by Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO).

BHIWADI

Pollution score: 82.91/ 100

Located in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, Bhiwadi has around 1,000 tiny, small, medium, large, industries and including MNC industrial units manufacturing various types of products. They include all types of industries like steel, furnace, electronics, engineering, textiles, pharmaceuticals, printing, cables, rolling mills, food processing, herbal care etc.

 

ANGUL TALCHER

Pollution score: 82.09/ 100

Angul district is located in the center of the state of Orissa. Even though Angul district is blessed with rich natural resources, it is the hottest district in India where maximum temperature goes up to 50 C during summer. Many blame the Orissa government for destroying the natural greens of the district. And yet the industrialization of the district has not stopped in spite of the public anger for destroying jungles. The state government in its way to setup more and more mines, plants in the district.

VELLORE

Pollution score: 81.79/ 100

This city in Tamil Nadu is considered to be one of the oldest surviving cities in South India. The city, along with its nearby industrial towns has witnessed a consistent industrial growth, followed by the implementation of South Asia’s second railway track between Chennai, Royapuram and Walajah. The Golden Quadrilateral road; has significantly improved the region’s industrial activities. This city is a hub for leather industries, chemical industries as well as automobile and mechanical industries.

SINGRAULI

Pollution score: 81.73/ 100

Singrauli in Uttar Pradesh is fast emerging as an energy hub of India, especially for electric power and coal. The total installed capacity of all power plants at Singaruli is around ten percent of total installed capacity of India (as of 10 November 2006).

 

LUDHIANA

Pollution score: 81.66/ 100

This city in Punjab is also known as the ‘Manchester of India’ because it is the industrial hub of Punjab, Ludhiana has been reputed to be the most polluted city on Punjab. It is home to 8 large integrated knitwear factories, roughly 6,000 small to medium sized knitwear factories, 10 big hosiery yarn mills and 150 small- to medium-sized worsted and woollen yarns mills, factories of bicycles like Hero Cycles, Avon Cycles, and a number of machine tools, sewing machines, generators, diesel engines, tyres & tubes factories. Industry is the main cause of water and air pollution in the city. Now a sewage treatment plant is being set up at Ludhiana to control pollution of surface water under the Satluj Action Plan.

NAJAFGARH DRAIN BASIN

Pollution score: 79.54/ 100

Najafgarh drain basin in East Delhi (including Anand Parvat, Naraina, Okhala and Wazirpur which are industrial hubs) is in the eleventh place in the over all list. Najafgarh drain basin is also the biggest polluter to Yamuna.

 

NOIDA

Pollution score: 78.90/ 100

This suburb of Delhi is a major hub for automobile ancillary units, with companies like Escorts, Honda-SIEL and New Holland Tractors operating from the city’s SEZ.

 

DHANBAD

Pollution score: 78.63/ 100

Located in Jharkhand, Dhanbad is also known as the ‘Coal Capital of India’ and is 79th amoung the fastest growing cities of the world. Dhanbad is famous for its coal mines and industrial establishments; it has 112 coal mines with a total produce of 27.5 million tonnes. Many sponge iron factories and ceramic factories are located in the Dhanbad district.

 

DOMBIVLI

Pollution score: 78.41/ 100

Dombivli as the 14th most polluted city in the country and second in the state of Maharashtra. Dombivli is an industrial township in Thane district of Maharashtra. Any taxi driver can point it out to you from a distance. This small town with a big industrial estate, comprising some 50 chemicals units manufacturing dye intermediaries, is perpetually engulfed in smog. For the 100,000 residents, life is worse than hell. "The factories emit gases at night. They discharge effluents openly into the drain passing through our colony. Any complaint against them will only mean that we lose our jobs," laments Saroj Panicker, a resident of Dombivli, whose father works in a chemicals factory.

KANPUR

Pollution score: 78.09/ 100

The nineth most populous city in India, Kanpur is located on the banks of the river Ganga and is an important industrial centre. The city is famous for its leather products and cotton wears. Unfortunately, because of the heavy industrialization, Kanpur is also famous for its pollution. Kanpur went into decline after the 1960s; many industries shut down or left the city, and those that remained — like the tanneries — acquired a bad reputation because they were so polluting.

CUDDALORE

Pollution score: 77.45/ 100

Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu has a large number of industries incluing one industrial pocket -SIPCOT – which has secured it a place in the dubious club of global toxic hotspots owing to the area’s high levels of pollution. A report for the Tamil Nadu Pollution Board by the Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute found that residents of the SIPCOT area of Cuddalore were at least 2000 times more likely to contract cancer in their lifetimes due to their exposure to high levels of toxic gases from chemical industries in the region.

AURANGABAD

Pollution score: 77.44/ 100

This city in Maharashtra is surrounded with many historical monuments, including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Many renowned Indian and MNCs have established themselves in the Industrial Estates of Aurangabad including Videocon, Skoda Auto, Wockhardt, Siemens, Bajaj Auto, Goodyear etc. Many firms have their manufacturing bases in Aurangabad, in the sectors of automotive and auto components, pharmaceuticals and breweries, consumer durables, plastic processing, aluminium processing, agriculture and biotech.

FARIDABAD

Pollution score: 77.07/ 100

Faridabad’s residential and industrial areas are in the grip of severe air pollution. The air in the Delhi suburb is full of deadly elements like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide along with dust particles. It is a major industrial city home to many units manufacturing tractors, motorcycles, switch gears, refrigerators, shoes and tyres. Numerous brick kilns located around Faridabad have emerged as one of the greatest air pollutants and use rubber tyres and other high polluting materials to bake mud bricks. The result of the large scale environmental pollution is that public health has taken a severe beating. In many parts of Faridabad people suffer from diseases like asthma, cancer, skin problems etc.

AGRA

Pollution score: 76.48/ 100

The city of the Taj, has expanded rapidly without much planning, leading to residential and business areas that lack civic amenities. Diesel generators, diesel vehicles and numerous tanneries add to high levels of air pollution. As it flows into Agra, the river Yamuna is hugely contaminated — because 80 percent of the city’s sewage flows into it. Choked drains and piled up garbage are common sights.

 

 

Source: India Syndicate, IANS

Sequel to Ayodhya verdict… Too Good!!!

Good to know that RAM at least has got some land now. Because, SITA has been running a travel agency, with MARUTI making cars, LAXMAN might be planning retirement after the series against Australia, SHATRUGHAN busy shaping his daughter’s career; while BHARAT has started a petroleum shop, RAAVAN is a commercial flop and there is peace in Lanka!…