- Monday, 16 May 2022
In Manila, A Marcos Again
Thirty-six years after his father Ferdinand Marcos was compelled to step down and live in exile in Hawaii, his son triumphed in the presidential election last week. Popularly nicknamed Bongbong, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, 64, will become the 17th president at Manila’s Malacanang Palace next month, reviving to millions the memories of the Marcos decades at the sprawling mansion, when power was exercised and exhibited with ostentatious abundance.
The Far-right Vs. Women’s Rights
On 2 May 2022, Americans learned that the US Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that has safeguarded an American woman’s right to an abortion for more than forty years. The magazine Politico published a leaked draft of a majority opinion written by conservative Justice Sam Alito, which would unequivocally strike down Roe v. Wade.
What Bothers Mothers Most ?
My mother is eighty-two now and is living a ‘new’ life in Kathmandu. Just about six months’ back, she had fallen seriously ill. Nobody believed she would survive. So, all the family members were called in Pokhara. She had a desire to go to her village. If she died, it was very important for her to do so in the home where she had spent most of her life. Further, she would like her final rites to be carried out at the place where her ancestors, neighbours and relatives were cremated. She was completely bedridden and she couldn’t walk even to go to bathroom. Some relatives who could manage their time came to the hospital with their eyes welled up with tears to say ‘final goodbyes’. There were exchanges of tears as we left the hospital.
Benefits Of Low Carbohydrate Diet
Dr. Shyam P LohaniCarbohydrates are one of three main food types that our body needs to function properly. The other food types include protein and fat. Carbohydrates give the body energy. Our body breaks carbohydrates to use immediately or store them for use later. As soon as we eat carbohydrates, our body converts them into energy and if they are not used immediately, it stores them in the muscles and liver to use later. However, our body converts stored carbs to fat if the body does not use it.The role of dietary carbohydrates in diabetes has been a subject of much debate for decades. The discussions are mainly focused on the ideal amounts and types of carbohydrates. Low carbohydrate diets, including low carbohydrate, high fat (LCHF) and ketogenic (keto) diets, have been gaining popularity among the general population. It is particularly beneficial for weight loss, but also in people with diabetes for managing blood glucose levels. However, there is confusion amongst both people with diabetes and health professionals about the suitability of these diets.Diet planMost people with Type 2 diabetes have a reduced ability to remove carbohydrates from their blood efficiently due to insulin resistance. In addition, they may have an impaired ability to transfer glucose into the blood. Type 1 diabetes was historically managed with low carbohydrate, low energy diets prior to the discovery of insulin. Insulin was very effective in controlling blood sugar and people with diabetes sifted themselves from diet and exercise. A dietary modification particularly amounts of carbohydrates in combination with regular exercise used to be the traditional recommendation for treating diabetes. Moreover, a low carbohydrate balanced diet has been shown to the reduction of carbohydrates with fairly equal proportions of daily energy intake coming from carbohydrates, protein, and fat.However, compliance with these lifestyle modifications is less than satisfactory. A high carbohydrate diet raises postprandial plasma glucose and insulin secretion, thereby increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and diabetes. Owing to the easy availability of fast foods, average sugar intake has increased and average fibre consumption has decreased. The shifts in food choices have paralleled the rise in Type 2 diabetes during the 20th century.A classic dietary pattern, popularly known as The Mediterranean-style diet has been associated with lower body weight, improved glycemic outcomes, and improved cardiovascular risk in people with Type 2 diabetes. The diet consists of high consumption of vegetables, monounsaturated fatty acids, especially olive oil, fruits, cereals, and legumes, low consumption of red or processed meat, and a low to moderate consumption of red wine during meals. Low-carb foods include lean meats, such as chicken breast, or pork, fish, eggs, leafy green vegetables, cauliflower and broccoli, nuts and seeds, including nut butter, oils, such as coconut oil, olive oil, and rapeseed oil, some fruits such as apples, blueberries, and strawberries and unsweetened dairy products, including plain whole milk and plain yogurt. Exercise is an important part of overall health and also for blood sugar control. People should escape from a sedentary lifestyle; however excessive exercise has harmful effects too. Adults are recommended for doing moderate exercise for 150 minutes a week (a minimum of 10 minutes at a time) for moderate health benefits. For optimal health benefits, 300 minutes of exercise per week is recommended (CDC, 2020). Short-term health risks caused by a low-carb diet may include cramping, constipation, palpitations, high cholesterol, headaches, brain fog, lack of energy, nausea, bad breath, rash, and reduced athletic performance. Similarly, long-term health risks caused by a low-carb diet may include nutritional deficiencies, loss of bone density, and gastrointestinal problems. There has been concern that high-fat, low carbohydrates diets raise cholesterol and cause heart disease due to their high-fat content. However, low-carbohydrate diets have been found to be healthy and beneficial to most of the people. Also, it has been shown that low-carb diet leads to the reduction in appetite and therefore, helps maintaining healthy weight. BenefitsStudies consistently show that when people decrease their carbohydrates and increase the intake of protein and fat and greatly reduce caloric intake. Thus, a low intake of carbohydrates is one of the simplest and most effective ways to lose bodyweight. Low-carb diets are very effective at reducing harmful abdominal fat as well. There have been pieces of evidence that reduction in carbohydrate intake dramatically reduces blood triglycerides. Therefore, it is a dramatic increase in good cholesterol levels on healthy, low-carb diets, while they tend to increase only moderately or even decline on low-fat diets. People with diabetes and insulin resistance may, therefore, get benefits from low-carb and ketogenic diets. Low-carb diets are an effective way to lower blood pressure; therefore, the risk of cardiovascular diseases decreases substantially and may help us live longer. People looking to lose weight or considering going on a low-carb diet should consult their healthcare providers, particularly dieticians before making any significant changes in their diet plan. People with diabetes who begin a low-CHO diet should seek support from a dietitian who can help create a culturally appropriate, enjoyable, and sustainable plan for a particular person. Available evidences suggest that the low or very low-CHO diet is a healthy eating pattern for individuals living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes for weight loss, improved glycemic control, and/or reducing the need for anti-diabetic medications.(Dr. Lohani is a clinical director at the Nepal Drug and Poison Information Centre. lohanis@gmail.com)
Evolving Digital Constitutionalism
Constitutionalism, as we understand today, refers to a concept that stipulates that politics should be governed by laws and regulations formulated as per the wishes of the sovereign. It stands for the supremacy of the law over politics and makes individuals adhere to the rules of the game irrespective of their position in society. These are normative principles, yet the fact is that norms do remain the same, but the situation changes for more than one reason. The most important reason, among others, is the changes that can be noticed in the political and legal economy. When the context changes, its content also alters for adaption and successful enforcement of the constitutional order.
Live Up To Voters’ Expectations
A scene in which some people of Yamunamai Rural Municipality in Rautahat were running away with ballot boxes reminded me of election fraud of the past. The incidents of vote rigging were common during the Panchayat system to which the people had little or no faith. Similarly, the scuffle between the cadres in Rukum and elsewhere in the local elections that concluded Friday suggest that it is necessary to improve our political behaviour and culture.
Social Capital Fosters Solidarity
Modern society has three key players-- the state, the market and citizens-- with all their informal and formal institutions, networks and movements known as the civil society. The diffusion of power away from the state has innovated paired norms, values and interests of these players to breed social capital, resolve distributional conflicts and alleviate the rising scarcity of public goods in society. The state assumes legitimate power monopoly to subdue chaos, create security and order and govern society. The market hinges on competition aiming to spur production, exchange and allocation of various goods. Civil society grows on the spirits of mediation, voluntarism, charity and giving.
Advance Community-Led HIV Response
For decades, community engagement has been critical to HIV prevention in terms of understanding the context of the epidemic, addressing community needs, reducing health disparities, and achieving health equity. Therefore, governments and development partners are increasingly focusing on meaningful community engagement to protect and promote the rights of key populations and people living with HIV who are poor and socially marginalised with limited access to health care services. There are increasing evidences that community-led responses to HIV result in positive health outcomes and enhance community resilience. Considering the emerging trends of key populations-led HIV response, meaningful and inclusive participation of civil society is critical to connect the marginalised communities with services and ensure that no one is left behind.
Exercising Voting Rights
On Friday, Nepalis cast their ballots in the second local election held after the promulgation of the new constitution in 2015. Eligible citizens all over the country got a chance to exercise their democratic right to vote for the candidate they preferred. It truly was a celebration of the federal democratic republican system of governance we as a nation adopted more than a decade ago. But additionally, it was also a sign of the immense progress Nepal has made with regard to democracy in less than a generation. In less than 35 years, Nepalis went from nominally voicing their support or opposition to a few candidates handpicked by the monarchical authorities to selecting from over 100,000 candidates, both party-backed and independents. So today, let us take a look at the beauty of our electoral system and how it contributes to the strengthening of this democracy we have fought so hard to obtain.
Deepening Nepal-US Relations
Nepal and the US are happily celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties this year, with a flurry of visits from Washington in the last few months. This signals that both countries attach higher significance to their bilateral relationship. As Nepal and the US decided to set up diplomatic relations in April 1947, the former had such ties only with the United Kingdom (UK).
Political Reporting During Elections
Nepali people are going to cast their votes in another local poll today after the country adopted the federal system. The much-awaited voting followed massive campaigns of the political parties and candidates and 48-hour silence period. The mass media, despite their regular role of surveillance of the political activities, are expected to abide by the directives meant for electoral silence. Hence, in principle, the electorates are supposed to decide peacefully based on the information they acquired earlier from the different media outlets and their own observations.
On Weekend Off
The government has recently taken a new decision on closing down all the public offices and all schools on Saturdays and Sundays. This decision comes amidst a fall in the country’s purchasing power and the rising cost of fossil fuels. This provision will come into effect from May 15. According to the notice published in the Nepal Gazette, the government will introduce the weekends as holidays. Summer, winter and festival holidays will also be slashed, to some extent. Half-holiday on Fridays and other public holidays will be cut off. Such changes in working days have been made to help complete bulky school curricula on time.
Local Polls: Parties Put Heavy Stakes
Nepal is going to vote to elect the representatives for the local governments -- rural municipalities and municipalities -- tomorrow. The nation is now observing the Maun Awadhi (silence period) to allow the voters to be free from the cacophony of poll campaigning and reflect deeply internally about who to vote and help in gaining him or her victory in the elections. Though the campaigning duration has been shortened this time, candidates have descended down to the real battlefield to make best use of the short duration to assure that they get through the test in the hustling.
