CNN: The United Nations health agency said that in its 11th International Classification of Diseases (ICD) catalog that "gender incongruence" -- the organizations term for people whose gender identity is different from the gender they were assigned at birth -- has been moved out of the mental disorders chapter and into the organizations sexual health chapter. The change will be presented at the World Health Assembly, the WHOs legislative body, in 2019 and will go into effect on January 1, 2022.

Historically, the WHOs classification of transgender identity as pathological had "contributed to the enormous stigma, discrimination, harassment, criminalization, and abuse on the basis of gender identity and expression.

This is not the first time the ICD has changed a classification related to sexuality. In 1990, the WHO declared that "sexual orientation alone is not to be regarded as a disorder."

In its new description of gender incongruence, the WHO says that "gender variant behavior and preferences alone are not a basis" for diagnosing someones mental health.

Honey is added sugar

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reconsidering its plan to require that pure maple syrup and honey be labeled as containing added sugars.

No sugar is added to pure maple syrup or honey. However, the FDA’s update would have defined maple syrup as an added sugar, both when used as a sweetener in the processing of other foods and as a stand-alone product.

The agency’s goal was to update the Nutrition Facts label on products to educate consumers about the amount of added sugars in foods based on government dietary guidelines that recommend no more than 10 percent of daily calories come from added sugars.

Participate in survey on Inflammatory bowel disease

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedaDx2iXiwU1vBpYdU6ebfCap-7PYAPSqXRJTeg8ULvNOcLg/viewform

DELHI GOVT. HAS DIRECTED ALL THE SCHOOLS TO ENSURE FORMATION OF THE INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE (ICC) TO DEAL WITH THE COMPLAINTS OF THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT.

Directorate of Education stated that, “As per the provisions under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 all schools are directed to ensure constitution of ICC”.

According, to the norms prescribed by DoE, there shall not be less than four members, including the presiding officer in ICC. Presiding officer of Committee shall be a woman employed at the Senior level in School and at least half of the members should be women. One member must be from the NGOs or Associations committed to the cause of women or person familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment.

Department has asked schools to ensure that Presiding Officer and all the ICC members shall not hold office for a period exceeding three years from their date of nomination. ( Ira Gupta: Source: Latestlaws.com)

Some definitions:

Sex: Biological characteristics that define humans as female or male - based on their genitals or the biological character that distinguishes male and female from one another as expressed by their gonadal or morphological, chromosomal characteristics

Gender: The category to which an individual is assigned by self or other or state of being male or female or third (other) gender (transgender - eunuchs) (considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones)

Sexual: Relating to sex

Sexuality: The sum of a person’s sexual behaviors and tendencies; sexuality is experienced and expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, practices, roles and relationships. Sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, ethical, legal, historical, religious and spiritual factors

Sexual preference: The biological sex preferred in one’s sexual partners or preference one shows by having a sexual interest in members of the same, opposite, or either sex.

Sexual orientation: Sexual attraction to person of opposite sex (heterosexuality), same sex (homosexuality - gay, lesbian) or both sexes (bisexuality). Replaces sexual preference in most contemporary uses

Gender identity: Who you are - male, female, third gender etc.

Gender expression: The way we show our gender to the world around us (through such things as clothing, hairstyles, and mannerisms etc.). 

(Sexual orientation is about who you want to be with. Gender identity is about who you are).

Sexual behavior: Manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. There is solitary behavior involving only one individual, and there is sociosexual behavior involving more than one person. Masturbation is solitary behavior.

People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) to acts with another person (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penetrative sex, oral sex, etc.) 

Privacy: Right of a person (or patient) to keep his health information, including any other personal information, private and undisclosed

Confidentiality: What we do with the information that has been entrusted to us (as doctors or other concerned persons).Confidentiality implies the duty of everyone entrusted with any information to keep that information private.

Fundamental: Forming the base, from which everything else develops or serving as a foundation, essential

My: of or belonging to me 

Right: Principle of freedom or entitlement, which can be legally or morally claimed

Vedic Medicine (Dr Mukta)

शीते शीतानिलस्पर्शसंरुद्धो बलिनां बली|

पक्ता भवति हेमन्ते मात्राद्रव्यगुरुक्षमः||९||

Charak sutra 6/9

In the winters when the cold air touches the body, the heat inside the body is refrained from coming out and that heat nurtures or increases the Agni. Even the heavy food articles are easily digested in winters.

No blocking of medical seats please

To prevent blocking of seats in medical colleges, the Medical Council of India has proposed a refundable security deposit of Rs 2 lakh for medical seats in deemed-to-be-universities. Students taking admissions in government medical colleges need to pay Rs 10,000 as security deposit in the All India Quota, according to the Medical Council of India.

Doctor-population ratio

National Health Profile, 2018: There is just one allopathic government doctor available for around 11,082 people across the country, a figure more than 10 times the recommended ratio of 1:1000.

According to the NHP, 2018, in Bihar, one doctor serves a total population of 28,391 whereas in Delhi, the figure stands at 1:2,203. Bihar is followed by neighbouring Uttar Pradesh where the ratio is 1:19,962. The other states with the poorest ratio of doctor-population are Jharkhand (18,518), Madhya Pradesh (16,996) Chhattisgarh (15,916) and Karnataka (13,556).

Delhi tops the list, followed by northeastern states Arunachal Pradesh (2,417), Manipur (2,358) and Sikkim (2,437).

The NHP data also highlighted the falling number of doctors registering themselves with the Medical Council of India or state medical councils. It states that in 2016, a total of 25,282 doctors had registered with the MCI or state councils whereas in 2017, the figure dropped to 17,982. It noted that the number of dentists registered till 2017 was 2,51,207.

titanium dioxide and diabetes

Source: University of Texas at Austin

In a pilot study, crystalline particles of titanium dioxide -- the most common white pigment in everyday products ranging from paint to candies -- were found in pancreas specimens with Type 2 diabetes, suggesting that exposure to the white pigment is associated with the disease.

Red meat and heart disease

NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Summary: A team of researchers says it has linked sensitivity to an allergen in red meat to the buildup of plaque in the arteries of the heart. While high saturated fat levels in red meat have long been known to contribute to heart disease for people in general, the new finding suggests that a subgroup of the population may be at heightened risk for a different reason -- a food allergen.

Lentils and blood sugar

University of Guelph: Replacing potatoes or rice with pulses can lower your blood glucose levels by more than 20 per cent, according to a new study. Researchers found that swapping out half of a portion of these starchy side dishes for lentils can significantly improve your bodys response to the carbohydrates. Replacing half a serving of rice with lentils caused blood glucose to drop by up to 20 per cent. Replacing potatoes with lentils led to a 35-per-cent drop.

Happy Friday