Gut Bugs in relation to disease Written by Dr harold Gunatillake FRCS,FIACS, FICS, AM (Sing), MBBS-Health editor Every one of us has over tens of trillion single celled bacteria and countless other microbes in our 17 inches long small gut and five inch long large gut, irrespective of the myriads that colonise our skin, nose, mouth cavity and other passages. Most of these microbes are permanent residents living as boarders and allies, beneficial and important to our health and defensive immune system. But there are other bugs that cause problems though much under the strict surveillance of the good microbes. We have over 600 identified types of microbes including bacteria, fungi and yeast in our gut symbiotically living with us right through our life. Till lately we thought that all germs in us were pathogenic-meaning cause disease. So we killed them by using antiseptic soaps, spraying with antiseptic and antibiotic ...

Luxury yachts to attract tourists to Sri Lanka Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, Mahinda Amaraweera, M.P., lights the traditional oil lamp at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new luxury yacht manufacturing facility at Beruwala. Sri Lanka recently embarked on a novel project to manufacture and market luxury yachts as a new initiative under the country’s tourism drive. The foundation stone for the yacht factory was laid at a ceremony presided over by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, Mahinda Amaraweera, M.P. Several distinguished guests including Chathura Senaratne, M.P. were present on the occasion.The proposed luxury yacht manufacturing facility located at the Beruwala Fisheries Harbour is a joint-venture between the Building a Future Foundation (BAFF) and Solar Impulse (Pvt) Ltd. BAFF was founded by one of Colombo’s leading business families, the Jinasenas, and Pierre Pringiers, the Honorary Consul for Belgium in Sri Lanka, as a ...

Swinburne pledges commitment to migrant community An iconic Australian tree will soon become the symbol of ongoing commitment and support to all migrants from established and emerging communities at Swinburne University of Technology. For many years, Swinburne has welcomed migrants into its community. Professor Glen Bates, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Student Advancement says students and staff from diverse migrant backgrounds form an important part of university life. “To reinforce our long-standing support to migrants, we are planting a gum tree to signify that we welcome all migrants, including migrants from emerging communities. We want members of these communities to benefit from the power of education and grow with us,” says Professor Bates. “We are very proud of our many high achieving graduates from migrant backgrounds, who have gone on to make significant contributions to our society,” says Professor Bates. Special guest Sam Bashiry, a Swinburne graduate and former Iranian refugee will be ...

Gradient Alliance News Bulletin February 2016 The only source for a roundup of key Sri Lankan News. Economic News World Bank highlights SL’s progress and key challenges. French oil giant Total to explore oil in the East. ETCA under pressure due to its’ lack of transparency. ADB “reorients” with SL to receive about USD 2bn. Stock market closes at 6,192.81 in Feb. (-2.3% YoY). Business News Tourist arrivals in Jan. 2016 up 24.4% YoY to 194,280. Vehicle reg. falls 34.5% YoY in Jan. 2016. Dialog and Airtel to merge?. Business sentiment index falls to 151 in Jan. (-6 pts MoM). Consumer News Consumer confidence index falls to 70 (-5 pts MoM). Deflation returns in Jan 2016, -0.7% YoY. Imported rice prices up. MA’S Curry Paste and Seasoning range in new packaging. Gradient Alliance News Bulletin – February 2016 ...

Health and Views 2016 February 3rd Issue     Click here to read more Health & Views February 3rd issue ...

Why You Should Eat Beans By Dr. Harold Gunatillake Health Writer There is a belief that beans of all varieties, including Mung and lentils (parippu) are good for the heart, but they do much more than that. They provide a major source of soluble fibre.(Most beans have 15 grams of fibre per cup) This fibre when passing through the gut grabs and traps bile that contains cholesterol, removing it from the body before it’s absorbed. The cholesterol in bile is the excess excreted by the liver, and if there isn’t sufficient soluble fibre in the digestive tract, the cholesterol may get re-absorbed in the small intestines. According to Patti Bazel Weil R.D., diabetes nutrition educator at the University of Kentucky  in Lexington and author of ‘Magic Beans’, eating a cup of cooked beans a day can lower your total cholesterol by up to 10% in 6 weeks. Hence, indirectly it can lower incidence of heart disease by 20%. ...

Do You Get Your Vitamin B12 Checked By Dr. Harold Gunatillake Health Writer Recently, a doctor friend of mine was relating an experience he had one morning, and from time to time. He was finding it difficult to walk and quite unsteady on his legs on waking up in the morning. My wife had a similar experience about a year ago, when she got up in the morning she was very unsteady on her legs, and complained that she was cramping, did not know what was happening, and felt as if she was dying. I was writing an article on the side effects of statins that morning, and her complaint fitted well into the picture what I was writing about the side effects of statins. I was quite confident that it was due to the side effects of statins, as her cardiologist had put her on 40 mg of Crestor, ...

STUDIO TIMES BULLETIN FEBRUARY 2016   ...

Stamps for Lions Club Last year we raised $9200 for Children’s Mobility Fund. All the club need to do is ask it’s members to save Stamps on or off paper. Collections. Any unwanted  stamps. We will exceed last year Fund Raised, Double 2 years ago. We would like to double that figure again. How? Just by you collect Stamps. We sort and sell them in Auction. We appreciate any stamps we can get already clipped also by .5 of a cm around the stamps. Please save stamps. When your club saves  A4 envelope full and or a wine carton full as possible arrange to get them delivered to Cabinet meeting and give to zone Chairman David Erskine. Or POST TO Lions Club of Hornsby Inc. P.O. BOX 3053 ASQUITH 2077 Or Leave them at Colin and Thompson 8 Coronation Street Hornsby 2077. Please ring Ted 0414806840 with any queries. Thank ...