Maya Karin Officially Divorced
Actress Maya Karin and her husband Muhammad Ali Abdullah are officially divorced.
“We have today (yesterday) obtained a divorce by mutual consent from the Syariah Court.
“Our decision to separate is mutual and was done after much consideration and with deep regret,” said Maya in an SMS reply to The Star’s online news portal The Daily Chilli last night.
Maya added that this decision marked the closure on this matter.
“We would very much appreciate it if our privacy in this matter could be respected without any further speculation in the media,” said Maya in the statement.
Separately, an online news portal reported that the divorce was granted by Syariah Court judge Mohd Amran Mat Zain yesterday. Read more
Tips To Take Care Of Your Heels
Opt for footwear with broader heel base, instead of wearing stilettos that cause foot problems, knee trouble and back pain.
There’s no doubt about what a sexy pair of stilettos can do to up your sex quotient. On a well-toned pair of legs, they can be the ultimate seductive weapon. Not surprisingly, women spend hours, not to forget money on acquiring the perfect pair. For the fashionably forward, high heels are more than just footwear — they are a fashion statement. However, winning those appreciative glances from men and envious looks from women, doesn’t come without a price. Unfortunately women are willing to pay it even if it costs them their health.
Health experts across the globe would vouch for the ill-effects of the killer stiletto heels. And unless you are a Kareena Kapoor or a Deepika Padukone — who often sport them only for brief public appearances — chances are that in the long run you may actually end up not only with severe foot problems, but also knee and back problems. High heels also squeeze and squash your toes, leading to in-grown toenails, blisters and and cause foot infections. And it’s wise to avoid navigating crowds in supermarkets or dropping kids off to school in those killer heels, unless you are in the league of a Victoria Beckham. Incidentally, even the noted celebrity was not immune to the footsie problems and it was reported that she underwent a painful surgery to treat her bunions. Read more
As A New International Study Draws A Surprising Conclusion, We Ask… What Makes British Women Have The Worst Menopause?
Whatever most of us might have thought, menopause symptoms are far from universal. In the U.S., women complain of headaches, aching joints and fatigue. In Japan, the main symptoms are constipation and backache.
But it is women in the UK who do particularly badly, suffering everything from upset stomachs and shortness of breath to irritability and depression. a major new study published last week put British women at the top of the league for unpleasant menopausal symptoms.
Researchers quizzed 1,000 British women aged 45 to 55 and compared the results to similar groups in Japan, China, Canada and the U.S. the British women fared worse in all but one of the 15 symptoms – Chinese women beating Brits with a higher score for irritability.
Two out of three British women suffer from tiredness, while more than 50 per cent complain of hot flushes. This compares with just one in 20 Japanese women suffering from tiredness and one in eight from hot flushes.
So, what could account for these variations in experience? The controversial study, published in Climacteric, the journal of the International Menopause Society, says it is down to being an older woman in different cultures. The researchers say that only two of the 16 symptoms reported by women in the study had anything to do with the menopause – hot flushes and night sweats.
‘Only these can be classed as common menopausal symptoms internationally and clearly attributable to the menopause,’ says the study’s lead researcher, Dr volker Scheid of the Department of Integrated Health at Westminster University.
That view is backed by experts in the field. ‘This study will trigger a great deal of professional debate at a time when HRT is no longer the panacea for menopausal symptoms that it was until ten years ago,’ says David Sturdee, president of the International Menopause Society and a gynaecologist at Solihull Hospital.
‘It adds to evidence that many symptoms widely regarded as being menopausal are totally unrelated. This study tells us as much about the quality of life of older women as it does about the clinical signs of menopause.’ Read more
Weight-Loss Surgery Ups Sex Life
Does weight-loss surgery boost a patient’s sex life or libido? Yes, it does, especially when he is suffering from obesity-related erectile dysfunction or ED.
Obese men with ED have low levels of testosterone, and lower still if their girth is greater. Excess abdominal fat, cardiovascular disease, high blood lipids and type-2 diabetes have been associated with ED.
“This is a landmark study that shows sexual health is clearly linked to overall health,” said Irwin Goldstein, who directs the sexual medicine programme at San Diego’s Alvarado Hospital .
However, similar benefits are not as clear for women. Obese women do report more sexual impairment than obese men. Published studies indicate this may be more related to low self-esteem, unsatisfactory relationships, social stigma, and other psychological issues.
“A woman’s libido can be affected by many factors, such as the stress of caring for a sick relative,” Goldstein said. “There is no evidence yet to indicate that weight-loss surgery automatically makes sex better.”
He said when it comes to sexual activity, body size doesn’t always matter. Thin, healthy people may be perceived as having the best body image and sexual function, but that is not always the case.
“There are plenty of sexually active heavy people and sexually inactive thin people,” Goldstein said. “I see them everyday in my practice.”
Then there’s the new reflection in the mirror. A weight loss of 100 pounds or more may leave folds of excess skin. Plastic surgery is effective, but it is costly and not always covered by health insurance.
Psychologist Lisa Steres, who provides counselling for bariatric (removal of fat) surgery patients at Alvarado Hospital, says it can take years for a patient’s brain to catch up with the new body, said an Alvarado Hospital release.
“Body image greatly impacts libido, particularly in women,” Steres said. “Young women typically have better body image, and some women are sexually confident at any size.” The Times of India
Just How Healthy Is Alcohol?
I have at least one glass of wine each evening and a few more at the weekends. I’ve heard that moderate drinking may help to prevent diseases such as Alzheimer’s, but also causes cancer. I’m confused.
The bottom line is that light to moderate drinking, which on average means between one to eight units of alcohol a week, is the optimum to get the potential health benefits, while not endangering your short or long-term health — with the exception of breast cancer.
Of course, any observed benefits that come with drinking are wrecked by overdoing it. And so, while research now indicates that 1 to 3 drinks a day helps to lower the risk of heart disease, go above this and the benefits turns to increased risk. The same goes for type 2 diabetes.
With Alzheimer’s the evidence that drinking may help to protect the brain from this disease is in its infancy but again, if more proof confirms a link, it is almost bound to be from a regular small indulgence and not heavy drinking.
Bones may also benefit from moderate drinking. Katherine Tucker, of Tufts University, Boston, US, discovered from a study of more than 2,200 people that the apparent protective effect of alcohol on bone density was larger than for any single nutrient — even calcium. This effect was particularly strong for postmenopausal women. Those having two drinks a day had a 5 to 8.3 per cent increased bone density in their hips and spines compared with their teetotal peers.
Another quirky positive for alcohol is that female moderate drinkers have a potential lower body weight compared with non-drinkers. Having scrutinised the food and drink intake of more than 19,000 women of normal weight aged 39 plus, researchers found that after 13 years, although there was a progressive average weight gain, moderate drinkers gained around 3.5lb (1.6kg) compared with 7lb gains in abstainers.
Women who had taken one to two alcoholic drinks a day proved to have an almost 30 per cent lower risk of becoming overweight or obese. It is possible that this is because teetotallers substituted other drinks, such as fizzy pop, squashes, etc, for their couple of glasses of wine. Men, on the other hand, tended to add alcohol to their daily intake of other drinks, making them more at risk of weight gain from moderate drinking.
So, a drink a day could be just what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, analysis of some 53 population studies has revealed an increase in risk of breast cancer for every 10g of alcohol drunk. 10g is about a unit which is a 125ml glass of 8-9 per cent strength wine, half-a-pint of lager or a shot of spirits.
Scientists believe the reason for this could hinge on alcohol’s ability to increase levels of the oestrogen circulating in our blood. Ultimately, sticking within the safe drinking guidelines of 3-4 units per day for men and 2-3 for women is about as good as the advice currently gets. By Amanda Ursell, The Times