According to a new research, parents trying to run a combination of job and raising child feel up to 11 years older than their stay-at-home counterparts.

An average juggling parent of 46 years will have the energy and fitness levels of a 53-year old, as per a study by insurer PruHealth.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

The study by insurer PruHealth found that the average 46-year-old juggling parent will have the fitness and energy levels of a 53-year-old.

But the average 46-year-old parent who chose to remain at home full time will feel four years younger than their actual age due to a healthier lifestyle, reports the Telegraph.

Experts also found that working parents drink and smoke more, but exercise and sleep less than average adult.

They also get less than six hours sleep a night compared to 25 per cent those who care for their kids full time.

PruHealth chief executive Shaun Matisonn recommended that small steps to health such as walking the children to school or snacking on fruits rather than on crisps can help parents to stay in good shape.

Most of us tend to forget that we need to work for making a life and not to merely live. The fact that most of us ignore a healthy lifestyle and are more than just preoccupied with work and sedentary habits is more than just a big concern.

What we forget is that we, human beings, are not just in the world to make a living, but to make a life. And the true essence of life will elude us till the time we understand the importance of being humans and the precious life, which needs to be enjoyed every day.

From Blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

If we work primarily to eke out a living, or because being idle is not a practical option, or because we want to get married, buy that car, get that EMI under control, or to live out an ego trip via our visiting cards, well, there is really no connect. We may as well stick to ‘managing’ our careers, gloat at the high points, tremble at the setbacks. Be ‘practical’, as they say. If we think that what we are as persons – our emotions, our reflexes, our strengths and weaknesses – is divorced from what we are as ‘workers’, then in any case it doesn’t matter how we live out the ‘work’ part of life.

However, since we do not acquire a new personality when we swipe the card when entering office, nor leave it behind on the way out, the basics and the traits that define us are not likely to be hugely different. The things that make for an individual of some credibility, and for a colleague of some standing, are not likely to be very different – and vice versa. Ergo, I am very honest ‘as a person’ but ‘work compulsions’ make me behave very differently where office issues are concerned, isn’t really an easy-to-sell proposition – even to oneself.

In short, we as humans should be infinitely more sensible to accept that we are not split personalities and we have a right to enjoy life, and this right cannot be compromised due to any one, including ourselves.

A recent study has suggested that high soy intake during adolescence reduces the risk of breast cancer in the pre-menopausal years by as much as 25 to 50 percent.

It was revealed by Larissa Korde, principal researcher at the Clinical Genetics Branch Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, US, in her report that soy intake from childhood is found to be associated with minimized breast cancer risk.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Soy protein is a high quality protein equivalent to the protein quality of egg, milk or meat. Soybean is a functional food of this millennium with complete protein package, containing essential amino acids that are required by the body.

With almost 40 percent protein, soybeans are higher in protein content than other legumes and numerous animal products.

According to the study, the isoflavone protein in soy inhibits the growth of cancer in men (prostate cancer) and women (breast cancer).

“Isoflavone in soybean acts like tamoxifen, a medicine which is used to cure breast cancer. Women with a high lifetime exposure to estrogen have greater risk of breast cancer. So, isoflavone exerts an anti-estrogen effect at some body tissues which may explain the reduced risk of breast cancer,” said Anupama Hooda, chief of medical oncology at Max Health Care Superspeciality Hospital.

Hooda says that soy should be consumed from its natural sources – plant products like tofu and miso. Soya products like soy milk, soybean chunks, sou-flour, soy papad, soy cookies and soy namkeens can also be consumed instead of taking pills having high soy proteins.

It was also concluded by the study that there is no significant association between soy food consumption and post-menopausal breast cancer.

Korde is an assistant professor in the University of Washington (UW) division of Medical Oncology. This finding by Korde was supported by medical experts in India.

Health IT providers Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions and Eclipsys are planning to merge in an all-stock deal worth US$1.3 billion.

It was announced by the two companies that both of them will be focusing on creation of a universally accepted electronic health record.

From News.yahoo.com:

The merger also will help the combined company’s customers better access the approximately $30 billion [b] in federal funding for hospital and doctor adoption of electronic health records, or EHRs. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in February 2009, includes incentives for EHR adoption, with the amount of money doctors and hospitals can receive declining over time.

The combined company plans to create a single health record for patents that can be used across the spectrum of health-care facilities, the companies said.

The companies said that will provide hospitals and health-care providers with a comprehensive, single platform of clinical, financial and connectivity products. The combined company will be able to connect doctors, other health-care providers and patients wherever care is provided, including hospitals, doctors’ offices, extended care facilities, and patients’ homes, the companies said.

The merger has been approved by the board of directors of both companies but approval is pending from the sides of stockholders from both companies and the U.S. regulatory agencies.