Senior Citizen's

Friday, December 13, 2013

Sr. citizens take D3 but taking in excess is very harmful

Cholecalciferol granules are used to make up for a lack of Vitamin D3 in the body. This deficiency can be down to a variety of factors, but a common one is the condition Osteoporosis. This is a bone condition that makes the bones more porous, of a lower mass, and generally weaker. The solution isVitamin D3, which triggers increased calcification to repair bones and improve their density and durability.

What is Cholecalciferol?

Cholecalciferol is also known as Calciol. It is a form of Vitamin D, specifically Vitamin D3. It helps with the absorption of Calcium, and is useful for treating Osteoporosis. It is naturally formed by the intake ofsunlight through the skin.

It is an orally administered medication; generally in liquid form because it becomes easier to administer. This is especially true with regards children, who require the Cholecalciferol to combat Rickets.

Are there any dangers?

Excessive doses are poisonous, so much so that Cholecalciferol is actually used in the poisoning of rodents, who are more susceptible than most others. The poison pellets can affect cats and dogs and other smaller animals too though, so you should be very careful when laying any rodenticide.

The condition in humans is known as Hypervitaminosis D. Symptoms include dehydration, loss of appetite, vomiting, irritability and others such as constipation, muscle weakness (including shaking), fatigue and a lack of libido. The damage by Vitamin D3 comes from increased calcification(hypocalcaemia) to the kidneys, heart and other soft tissue. It takes a while - months even - for these symptoms to show. Regulated dosage and altered diet can bring your body back to normal within a month.

If you have any health worries you should seek medical assistance as soon as possible, and if you start to take ill with unusual symptoms then immediate emergency help.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Just nomination is not enough

Just nomination is not enough

A nominee is not the owner of the asset, unless a will says so

Most of us are busy slogging for better pay. We spend a lot of time planning our finances, pondering over that expensive house we plan to buy and creating wealth through stocks and gold. For many, the sole motive of such measures is leaving a legacy for their children. Therefore, it's important that the wealth falls into the right hands.

Why is nomination important? It plays a crucial role while investing in financial products. It is vital to have a nominee, as well as a will in place, as there should be someone to take charge of your money in case you die. The nominee has to distribute the wealth received by him/her on the basis of succession laws.

Financial planners say typically, the nominee should be the one who inherits the wealth. However, for most financial products, the nominee will not receive the assets unless it is mentioned in the will.

Property: In 2009, Tarabai fought a property case in the Bombay High Court against her son, Rameshchandra. Tarabai's late husband, Ramdas Shivram Sattur, had bought a plot in Nav Rajasthan Co-operative Housing Society in Pune, with Tarabai named as the nominee. After his death, when Tarabai tried to sell the property, she was sued by her four children, who claimed equal shares in the property.

According to the court's ruling, in a co-operative housing society, the nominee does not inherit the property and the asset must be distributed according to the will. In the absence of a will, the legal heirs have a right to the property.

Anshuman Jagtap, advocate, Hariani Co, says a nominee to a property in a housing society doesn't automatically inherit that asset. "For instance, on the death of the original owner, the housing society has to transfer the shares of the deceased to the nominee, who must, in turn, transfer those to the legal heirs." In other words, if the deceased doesn't leave a will, the wife and children can claim their rights on the property equally.

Insurance: Experts say many have lost cases in anticipation the maturity amount for an insurance policy would go to the nominee, who they feel is the legal owner. However, Gaurav Mashruwala, a Mumbai-based financial planner, says a nominee to any financial product is merely a trustee who receives assets on the death of the owner. "For instance, if you want the nominee to receive the maturity amount, the person who made investments should ensure he says this in the will." Else, the maturity amount will go to the nominee, who will be liable to give that money to the legal heir of the deceased - the mother, the wife or the children. If the legal heir is the nominee, one needn't worry, as irrespective of the will, the wealth will go to him/her.

Public Provident Fund (PPF) Employees' Provident Fund (EPF): In case of PPF, an outsider can also become a nominee, though usually, the spouse and children are the nominees. "The exclusive right of the nominee in a PPF is to receive and not provide that the same shall become the absolute property of the nominee," said a ruling in the Manjula Verma vs Kumari Sarla Verma case on December 3, 2007.

Under EPF, the family may include dependent parents, while under the pension fund, it is restricted to the spouse and children. Therefore, it is advisable to have the spouse as nominee, in case a nominee hasn't been named before marriage.

In case of EPF, the nominee, not the person stated in the will, inherits the amount. In fact, here, one cannot nominate any person other than a family member for an EPF account, unless he/she doesn't have a family. In such a case, once the person has a family, the nomination has to be in favour of a family member. One may also nominate multiple family members and state the proportions in which they are to inherit EPF amount.

Other investments: This relates to bank accounts, mutual funds, etc. In the Arnab Kumar Sarkar vs Reba Mukherjee others case in 2006, the Calcutta High Court ruled nomination in a bank deposit could not be elevated to the status of a testamentary disposition due to the demise of the depositor before the proceeds from the deposits were received. One might open a bank account with a family member, which allows the survivor to operate it, and invest jointly in savings certificates mutual funds.

Suresh Sadagopan, who runs Ladder 7 Financial Advisory Services, says one should remember to keep his/her spouse or other family members updated on assets and liabilities. "Most youngsters should remember to change their nomination after marriage." If you don't want to disclose it right away, keep a record at a safe place and let your family know where to look for it if need be. Remember, just appointing nominees isn't enough, especially when it comes to financial products. Source-business standard -02-12-2013

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Diwali 2013 Get Together of members of our Sanstha.mp4

Friday, September 27, 2013

The Science of Trips and Falls

Yoga routines exercise the spine along all planes. Additionally, there are specific balance exercises such as ek padasan, tadasan, veerbhadrasan, etc. Stithaprartanasan not only improves balance but also builds concentration and will power.

On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 12:58 PM, P. Venkatraman <venkat.kanna@gmail.com> wrote:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303983904579093560173066446.html

From Athletes to the Elderly: The Science of Trips and Falls

New research into how we maintain our balance could help athletes and prevent falls among the elderly

New research into how we maintain our balance could help athletes and prevent falls among the elderly.

Scientists are finding that maintaining stability and balance with each step we take requires complex coordination of foot placement, arm movement, trunk angle and neck and head motion. That's because every step is different from the one before it. There are slight variations in stride length and width and the angle at which the foot hits the ground, as well as small shifts of weight in the torso. People's bodies when walking must constantly make minuscule adjustments to accommodate these variations.

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Kelly Lynn James
Researcher Kelly Frank demonstrates a study at the University of Texas at Austin of how people stay balanced. Reflective markers on her body help analyze movements.

Other research is exploring how the brain controls our balance, which isn't well understood. A recent study identified a pocket of motion-detector neurons deep in the brain that sends out an alert when the body moves in unexpected ways, such as after stumbling on a crack in the sidewalk. The alert triggers compensating reactions throughout the body aimed at helping us to not fall down.

"The cerebellum is computing unexpected motion within milliseconds to send information to the spinal cord to maintain balance," says Kathleen Cullen, a physiology professor who performed the study with colleagues at McGill University in Montreal.

The research on balance and stability could someday be used to help improve training techniques for athletes, such as skiers and gymnasts, for whom balance is critical, experts say. It also might be able to help doctors better predict people's risk of falling and lead to improvements in prevention and rehabilitation strategies. Falls are the number one reason for death and injury among people age 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than two million older people went to an emergency room in 2010 because of a fall, the CDC says.

The body has three main systems that help us stay balanced. The visual system takes in information from the outside world and transmits it to the brain. The proprioceptive system, which incorporates sensory systems throughout the body, tells us how the body's parts are oriented relative to each other. And the vestibular system, located in the inner ear, focuses primarily on how the head is moving. Generally, if at least two of these systems are impaired, people tend to have trouble with balance.

As people age, the vestibular system becomes less sensitive. Instead, individuals tend to rely more on their vision, which is relatively slow compared with the vestibular system. As a result, older people don't process information as quickly to correct for missteps, Dr. Cullen says.

Sjoerd Bruijn, a post-doctoral researcher on the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences at VU University Amsterdam, has been mapping in a series of studies the tiny natural variations people make from one step to another to see if these can be used to indicate whether a person is unstable. Greater than normal variability, typical in older people, could indicate a higher risk of falling, he says.

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Other research, at the University of Texas at Austin, tracked healthy people as they walked and ran and found that older individuals are more at risk from small variations in steps than younger people. Jonathan Dingwell, a professor in the department of kinesiology and health education, said younger people can more quickly adjust to the changes than the elderly.

The study was conducted by attaching reflective markers onto various parts of participants' bodies. The positions of the markers, which reflected infra-red light caught on cameras, were reconstructed in a computer to generate a digital image that allowed researchers to analyze the gait of the participant.

Dr. Dingwell plans another study to track the relationship between variability in steps and risk of falling, by deliberately tripping older people walking on a split-belt treadmill. To avoid injury, participants wear a full-body harness, similar to what mountain climbers wear, that is attached by ropes to the ceiling.

Whether walking more slowly helps to maintain balance isn't clear, and study results have been mixed. In one study of 10 healthy people who were faced with a moving platform that swayed from side to side, researchers found that more important than speed were shortening steps and increasing step width, according to research published in the Journal of Biomechanics in March.

Foot placement is the primary mechanism for maintaining side-to-side balance. But sometimes foot placement is constrained, such as when people are attempting to walk a straight line. Instead, people use other parts of the body, particularly the upper body, including flinging arms, angling the trunk differently and making adjustments in the head and neck that allow the body to stabilize, says Art Kuo, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Less clear is how the brain controls balance. After implanting electrodes in the brains of monkeys, McGill's Dr. Cullen and her team have identified, for what is thought to be the first time, neurons in a small region of the cerebellum that respond to unexpected motion and alert the body to react. For instance, if a person starts to trip, the neck may flex to keep the head stable, the torso becomes more rigid so that the body remains upright and the legs and feet take a stutter step, she says. The study was published in May in the journal Current Biology. Dr. Cullen says additional research is planned to try to identify how the brain calculates when unexpected motion is happening.

After a fall, older people often say they tripped or slipped. Researchers at Simon Fraser University, in Burnaby, British Columbia, wanted to observe what really happens. The team outfitted a long-term-care facility with video cameras and recorded residents going about their daily lives. They recorded 227 falls from 130 individuals over about three years. Tripping caused just 1 out of 5 of the incidents. The biggest reason for falling—accounting for 41% of the total—was due to incorrect weight shifting, like leaning over too far, says Stephen Robinovitch, a professor in the biomedical physiology and kinesiology and engineering science departments. Other, less frequent reasons for falling included loss of support with an external object, like a walker, or bumping into something.

Dr. Robinovitch says a typical test in a doctor's office of older people's balance and risk of falling might involve watching them walk around. Assessments should be more involved, because a greater risk of losing their balance is when they are shifting their weight, such as standing up and sitting down, he says. The study was published in the journal The Lancet in January.

"The environment certainly is important but by and large intrinsic causes of imbalance dominate over extrinsic," Dr. Robinovitch says.

--
P. Venkatraman ( Kanna )
++91 98210 27556

Monday, September 23, 2013

Life After 60

Life After 60

An interesting article from The Hindu.

Life can begin at 60, it is all in your hands! Many people feel unhappy, health-wise and security-wise, after 60 years of age, owing to the diminishing importance given to them and their opinions.

But, it need not be so, if only we understand the basic principles of life and follow them scrupulously. Here are ten mantras to age gracefully and make life after retirement pleasant.

1. Never say I am aged' : There are three ages, chronological, biological, and psychological. The first is calculated based on our date of birth; the second is determined by the health conditions; the third is how old we feel we are. While we don't have control over the first, we can take care of our health with good diet, exercise and a cheerful attitude. A positive attitude and optimistic thinking can reverse the third age.

2. Health is wealth: If you really love your kit and kin, taking care of your health should be your priority. Thus, you will not be a burden to them. Have an annual health check-up and take the prescribed medicines regularly. Do take health insurance coverage.

3. Money is important: Money is essential for meeting the basic necessities of life, keeping good health and earning family respect and security. Don't spend beyond your means even for your children. You have lived for them all through and it is time you enjoyed a harmonious life with your spouse. If your children are grateful and they take care of you, you are blessed. But, never take it for granted.

4. Relaxation and recreation: The most relaxing and recreating forces are a healthy religious attitude, good sleep, music and laughter. Have faith in God, learn to sleep well, love good music and see the funny side of life.

5. Time is precious: It is almost like holding a horses' reins. When they are in your hands, you can control them. Imagine that every day you are born again. Yesterday is a cancelled cheque. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is ready cash - use it profitably. Live this moment; live it fully, now, in the present time.

6. Change is the only permanent thing: We should accept change - it is inevitable. The only way to make sense out of change is to join in the dance. Change has brought about many pleasant things. We should be happy that our children are blessed.

7. Enlightened selfishness: All of us are basically selfish. Whatever we do, we expect something in return. We should definitely be grateful to those who stood by us.

But, our focus should be on the internal satisfaction and the happiness we derive by doing good for others, without expecting anything in return.

Perform a random act of kindness daily.

8. Forget and forgive: Don't be bothered too much about others' mistakes. We are not spiritual enough to show our other cheek when we are slapped in one.

But for the sake of our own health and happiness, let us forgive and forget them. Otherwise, we will be only increasing our blood pressure.

9. Everything has a purpose: Take life as it comes. Accept yourself as you are and also accept others for what they are. Everybody is unique and is right in his own way.

10. Overcome the fear of death: We all know that one day we have to leave this world. Still we are afraid of death. We think that our spouse and children will be unable to withstand our loss.

But the truth is no one is going to die for you; they may be depressed for some time. Time heals everything and they will go on.

Viewpoint expressed in "The Hindu."

Secrets of Old Age...

If you have time for one very special email today this is it.

Take the time and accept the secrets of old age.

Do Not miss to click o this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?feature=player_embedded&v=FgBF3sIPm4c