Health News & Views

Bronchial Asthma Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Natural Remedies

2012-01-15T23:56:00.000-08:00

If you have been experiencingbreathlessness, coughing, and wheezing (whistling sound coming fromchest) recently, you might have caught bronchial asthma. You need topay early attention to treat bronchial asthma because the prolongedstate of asthma can harm your lungs in a big way. So, read on to knowwhat is bronchial asthma, how do you get bronchial asthma or thebronchial asthma causes, how to recognize bronchial asthma- thesymptoms for asthma and effective treatment for asthma includingnatural asthma remedies.

What is Bronchial Asthma?

Bronchial asthma is the common asthmawhich is an inflammatory disease of airways that causes periodicattacks of coughing, wheezing (whistling sound from chest),breathlessness, and even chest congestion. Due to the inflammation ofairways, a person feels difficulty in breathing and chest tightness or chest congestion.Some people feel these conditions at night which is called nocturnalasthma or in the early morning hours. Some other people feel thesesymptoms of asthma when they exercise. This is calledexercise-induced asthma. The inflammation, caused by many factors,make the airway hyper-responsive.

Bronchial Asthma Symptoms

The following signs and symptoms of bronchial asthma can help oneidentify the disease

Shortness of breath or breathlessness even when talking, laughing or walking a little.
Tightness of chest
Wheezing (whistling sound from chest, mostly when you lie down)
Coughing and sometimes excessive cough which keeps one awake at night

How Do You Get Asthma? - BronchialAsthma Causes

Asthma is primarily associated withallergy but allergy is not the only way you get asthma. Allergies arealso associated with genetic inheritance and so does asthma. Mastcells, eosinophils, and T lymphocytes in human body are responsiblefor causing bronchial asthma. Mast cells (the allergy causing cells)release chemicals called histamine which in turn is responsible fornasal stuffiness and constriction of airways. Eosinophils and Tlymphocytes are a type of white blood cells that are associated withallergic diseases and inflammation. Thus, the causes of bronchialasthma can be listed as under.

Allergies
Genetic factors
Increased numbers of Eosinophils

There are certain asthma triggers tooapart from bronchial asthma causes. These triggers lead to attacks ofcoughing, breathlessness and wheezing! Such asthma triggers mayinclude:

Tobacco smoke
Infections like colds, flu, pneumonia
Allergens like food, pollen, mold, dust mites, and pet dander (skin flakes)
Exercise
Air pollution, toxins
Extreme changes in temperature
Certain drugs like aspirin, NSAID, and beta-blockers
Food additives like MSG flavor enhancers
Emotional stress and anxiety
Hyper activities like singing, laughing, or crying
Perfumes or sprays
Acid reflux

Bronchial Asthma Treatment

Bronchial asthma can be placed under the category of chronicdiseases. As such, a person suffering from bronchial asthma shouldalways be under constant medical supervision. Depending upon thecausing factors, bronchial asthma may or may not be curable in acomplete manner. However, avoiding the asthma triggers, externalcauses like allergies and proper treatment can let its patient lead afairly normal life. Basically, two types ofdrugs are given for bronchialasthma treatment.

Fast Relief Medicines or the relievers to ease the acute respiratory complexities.
Control Medicines or the preventers to resist recurrence of asthma in its intensified form.

Apart from the above two drugs, two hormones are also used totreat bronchial asthma. These are adrenalin andhydrocortisone hormones. Adrenaline is usedfor acute bronchial asthma where emergency arises. The adrenalinehormone is injected into the patient’s bloodstream in cases ofemergency to activate the reflex of body. As adrenaline quickenspulse rate, provides a drive for rapid heart action and arouses ourhealth system to fight with emergencies, it helps a lot in containingthe heightened attacks of asthma. The other hormone is used in formof hydrocortisone medicines ( steroid form) that are given for longerperiods as the long-term consumption of these drugs assist inreducing the intensity of pain and suffering for an asthma patient.Therapeutic exercises as well as breathingexercises are also used to treat asthmatic conditions.

One of the very different asthma treatment technique involvesgradually and carefully exposing the bronchial asthma patient tothe allergens to build up resistance against them (somewhat likevaccination concept). However, this has to be done under strictsupervision of physician as this involves great risks too.

Bronchodilator- Asthma Inhaler Medication

The description of asthma treatment can't get completed withouttalking about bronchodilator which is an asthma medicationused to relax the muscles and enlarge the size of the airways oflungs. These asthma medications are inhaled through mouth with thehelp of asthma inhalers. They are also available in oral formsbut inhaled forms are preferred over the oral ones. Bronchodilatorsare available as Short-Acting Beta Agonists (SABA) and Long-ActingBeta Agonists (LABA). SABAs are prescribed as a quick reliefmedication, while LABAs are the controller medication. Bronchodilatorremedy is used at the preliminary stage of asthma treatment. Whenthere is critical asthma attack, steroid form of medicines are usedby the doctors.

Natural Asthma Remedies

Lifestyle management is very crucial for asthma patients. Thereare two aspects for this- avoiding the asthma triggers and adoptingsuch ways that increase resistance to allergy-causing factors. Hereare certain diet remedies for asthma as well as other natural homeremedies for bronchial asthma.

Take diet rich in B6, B12 and B5 vitamins as well as Vitamin C and folic acid. This helps in building immune system.
Have foods rich in antioxidants to boost immune system.
Seam some ginger tea. Add four minced garlic cloves in the tea while it is steaming. Drink this after it cools down a little.
When experiencing asthma attack, get someone to rub mustard oil mixed with camphor on your back. This makes breathing easier.
Take one cup of water and add half teaspoon of licorice and ginger juice to it. Drink to get relief from asthma symptoms.
Avoid stress.
Drink plenty of water. If you can't decide on water intake amount, read this- how much water should you drink in a day
Clean home regularly to keep dust at minimal levels.
Avoid pets with fur or feather.
When its cold, cover your face with mask or cloth.
Do regular exercises. If you have exercise-induced asthma, consult your doctor to know about what exercises can you do.
Control heartburn and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) to keep bronchial asthma under control.

How to Get Rid of Lower Back Pain – Management & Treatment Options

2012-01-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

Lower back pain is a common health problem today. The causes for lower back pain include injuries, diseases, infections, and even inheritance but majority of people suffer from lower back pain due to the weight of the upper body which puts loads on the lower back. Thus, the first rule of back pain management is to learn habits that reduce the load of upper body on lower back! There are many ways for doing this which you will learn in this write up. You will also come to know that you can not only get rid of lower back pain through various pain management methods but also through various lower back treatment options that might include back pain drugs as well as alternative treatments for back pain like chiropractic treatment, acupuncture as well as various exercises for lower back pain.

Get Rid of Lower Back Pain through Pain Management Techniques

Lower back pain management techniques are simple and easy to follow but tough to remember! So, if you really want to get rid of your lower back pain, you should teach yourself hard to follow all these pain management methods.

Sit and stand properly to get rid of lower back pain. Properly doesn't always mean sitting too straight. Slouching while sitting is one of the main causes of lower back pain. However, sitting too straight for longer can also put pressure on your lower back. If you have to keep sitting for most of the day, you should do this for a couple of times- lean back on chair with the help of your feet and a little curve in your back. You must also stand up quite often – every one hour if not more frequently than that! See this video to know how to sit and stand properly to cure lower back pain as well as to avoid it.

Lower Back Pain Management- Sitting & Standing Postures

You might also like to know how to Prevent Back Pain While Working at Compute?

Practice caution whenever lifting heavy objects to prevent pressure on lower back. Whenever lifting heavy objects, squat close to the object keeping the back straight and the head up. Stand while putting pressure on the legs to lift the load. In short, lift with the knees and not with the back. Never twist or bend your body when lifting.

Do exercises to get relief from lower back pain. And do them regularly. These exercises are one of the most effective ways of lower back pain management as well as treatment. However, consult your doctor before doing any exercise for lower back because there might be some spine or disc related issues that may need caution while exercising. Your physician will be able to tell you the gentler exercises to begin with. Once you are able to subside your acute pain, you might start doing other advanced exercises to get rid of lower back pain. Here is a video showing some effective lower back pain exercises.

Lower Back Pain Exercises Video

Get Rid of Lower Back Pain through Various Treatment Options

You can always get rid of lower back pain through the ways suggested in the above section but when it comes to chronic lower back pain, you have to seek professional help and adopt one from many back pain treatment options available these days. What should be the treatment for your back pain can be decided only by your doctor after careful diagnosis. Some of the options available for lower back pain treatment include the following:

Spinal Manipulation
Massage Therapy
Lower back pain physiotherapy
Acupuncture
Chiropractic treatment
Yoga exercises for lower back pain
Aquatic therapy
Progressive relaxation
Lower back pain CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy)
Osteopathic treatment
Biofeedback
Rhizotomy - surgical severing of a nerve

5 Best Home Remedies for Cracked Heels!

2011-12-26T22:30:00.000-08:00

Get 5 sure shot home remedies for cracked heels! These home remedies for cracked heels have to be applied based on levels of cracks. For example, first home remedy is for very minor cracks, second for some more serious cracks and so on. Fifth or the last of the home remedies for cracked heels is for curing the most toughest cracks with wide painful fissures in dry feet!

We all know how the cracked heels pain and create difficulties in even walking smartly! So, without going into the details as to why we get cracked heels (we all know that the dry winds in winters, lack of moisturizing elements and improper care of feet, especially dry feet, cause the cracked heels), I will just write down the 5 best home remedies for cracked heels! The tips for curing cracked heels listed here goes from simpler to tougher depending upon the level of cracked heel problem. This simply means that you have to apply the first home remedy for cracked heels if you want to prevent cracked heels or you have just begun to get the cracks in your feet and the last home remedy if you have very painful cracked heels (with wide fissures in skin)!

Home Remedy for Cracked Heels #1 - Lemon, Salt, Glycerin, Rose Water Foot Mask!

This is one of the best home remedies for preventing cracked heels as well as to cure cracked heels at the very first stage. Add raw salt, lemon juice, glycerin and rose water in warm water. Soak your cracked feet in this warm water for about 10-15 minutes. Scrub off your dry skin from heel (which gets loose after soaking) with the help of pumice stone or foot file or scrubber. Now take 1 tsp raw glycerin (thick one), one tsp rose water and 1 tsp lemon juice and mix them well. Apply this thick paste to your cracked heels. This might feel a little sticky but you must tolerate it if you want to get rid of cracked heels. If needed, wear a pair of socks and go to bed. Wash off in the morning. You might require to follow this regime for 2-3 days or even 7-10 days to cure cracked heels!

Home Remedy for Cracked Heels #2 - Feet Oil Massage!

This is again a very good and easy home remedy for cracked heels and even for dry feet that get cracked very easily. Massage cracked heels with one of these oils- sesame oil, coconut oil or any other hydrogenated vegetable oil before going to bed. Wear a pair of socks (better if old because you might not be able to use them afterwards) and go to bed. Follow this schedule for 3-5 days or as per your requirement- till you heal your cracked heels.

Home Remedy for Cracked Heels #3 - Mashed Fruits Massage!

Take a ripe banana and mash it. Apply this to the cracks of your heel. Leave it for about 10-15 minutes and then wash it off. This instantly smooths the dry feet. In fact, it is the simplest dry cracked heel remedy which can even be done on a daily basis. If you have a little more serious cracks in feet, you can take half an avocado or half a coconut (its flesh) and add this to banana. Blend the things together to form a paste and apply this to cracked heels. Avocado and coconut contain essential oils, minerals and vitamins that will nourish your dry feet skin as well as prevent cracked heels. Instead of banana, ripe papaya can also be used after mashing it properly.

Home Remedy for Cracked Heels #4 - Natural Exfoliate & Oil Treatment!

If you have the tendency of getting cracked heels due to the dry skin on your heels, regularly exfoliate your feet but do not use harsh cosmetics. Instead make natural exfoliating scrub with honey, apple cider vinegar, and rice flour. To make this, grind 2-3 tablespoon of rice to get a coarse flour (don't make it fine). Add a few spoons of honey and apple cider vinegar to coarse rice flour to get a thick paste. If your heel cracks are very deep, add a spoon of olive oil or sweet almond oil. Soak your feet for about twenty minutes in warm water and then gently massage with this paste. This is one of the best natural cracked heel treatment and will also prevent further cracking.

Home Remedy for Cracked Heels #5 - Wax & Mustard Oil Treatment!

If you have tried everything else and yet not able to cure cracked heels, you need to give the wax treatment for cracked heels. You need paraffin wax for this. To make this more simpler, you can even use the wax melted from a regular candle lying in your home! For this, make pieces of a candle after removing its wick (thread). Now take some mustard oil. Heat the wax and the mustard oil to make a paste like formation. After soaking your feet in warm water and scrubbing the dry skin off, apply this wax-mustard oil paste on your heel cracks. If you have deep cracks, fill this wax paste into those fissures. Then wear a pair of sock. It will be more effective if you do this cracked heels treatment before going to bed. Do it for about a week and you will be astonished at your smooth feet without cracked heels! Save the wax-mustard oil paste in a bottle. Next time when you need it, you just have to heat it a little or keep it out in sun for sometime and its ready to heel cracked heels!

How to be Stress Free on Christmas!

2011-12-23T00:38:00.000-08:00

As far as stress related to Christmas preparation is concerned, it depends on you. If you want to be stress free during holidays, you have to plan and prioritize while preparing for Christmas celebrations. Then only, you can remain stress free over the holidays. The tips on how to plan and organize for stress free holidays include the following:

Always Plan, Prioritize and Prepare
For planning, use ' to-do-lists' and make these list days before Christmas arrives.
Stick a master 'to-d0-list' or your Christmas planner somewhere you can see every time like on the fridge or Kitchen wall. Keep one in your handbag and/or pocket so that you can keep track when you go out shopping.
Set your priorities about what is most important and what is least important for your Christmas celebrations. Work accordingly!
Prepare in advance. For example, set the Christmas dinner menu beforehand, write the Christmas cards when you get some free time even if it is a couple of months before Christmas.
Delegate your works. Involve children, senior members, spouse everyone in your preparations for Christmas.
Remember to have a good time during holidays. Take out some time for yourself too- go to spa, parlor or just relax. Believe it, if you plan and work accordingly you sure will get time to relax too.
No matter what, remind yourself to laugh and smile all through the holidays and Christmas day. A little mess here and there is all right. Christmas is meant to be happy and not being perfect! And happiness is what you get from within and from your loved ones. If they are happy just spending time with you on these special days, it won't matter whether your home is perfectly decorated or not. It is also not important that you make lots of dishes for Christmas dinner, what is important is that you enjoy the few dishes that are on your table with your family and friends, making merry, laughing and smiling.

If, however, you have not planned and organized for your Christmas this year, you can still remain stress free! To know how, read How to Remain Stress Free on Christmas Day – Even if You Have not Organized Anything!

How to Lower High Triglycerides Level Naturally with Diet?

2011-12-15T03:42:00.000-08:00

If you have recently gone through a blood test and you have seen a 'High Triglycerides Level' in the blood test report, you might be amazing as to what is triglycerides and how to lower triglycerides naturally without the help of medicines? Here we help you out by answering some of such questions regarding high triglycerides levels!

What is Triglycerides?

Triglycerides can be defined as a type of fat which is present in our blood and is used for generating energy.

What is Normal Level of Triglycerides?

While we need triglycerides for sound health, high triglyceride level can pose a risk of heart diseases, high blood pressure and cholesterol problems. Therefore, we need to maintain optimum or normal triglycerides level. This can be understood from the following chart.

Status of Triglyceride	Triglyceride Levels
Normal Triglyceride Level	Less than 150
Borderline-high Triglyceride Level	150 - 199
High Triglyceride Level	200 – 499
Very High Triglyceride Level	500 and above

How is High Triglycerides Level Risky?

As stated earlier too, high triglycerides levels pose the risk of heart diseases diabetes and stroke. High triglycerides level is a symptom of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome can be explained as a combination of such diseases as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high fat deposit around the waist, low HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) and high triglycerides.

What are Causes of High Triglycerides Level?

The causes for high triglyceride levels can be listed as follows:

Obesity
Poor control over diabetes
Sedentary lifestyle (lack of physical activity)
High consumption of carbohydrates and sweets.
High consumption of alcohol
Hypothyroidism
Kidney diseases
Genetic lipid disorders
High estrogen levels ( like when undergoing estrogen replacement therapy during menopause)
Some medicines like steroids, beta-blockers, diuretics, and birth control pills.

How to Lower High Triglycerides Levels?

If you have borderline- high triglyceride level, you can lower it naturally by bringing changes in your diet and certain lifestyle habits.

If obese, lose weight and stay at a healthy weight. You must reduce calories to lose weight when trying to lower high triglyceride levels.
Have a diet that is helpful in reducing triglycerides in your blood. Eat less carbohydrate foods and unhealthy fat.
Follow an active lifestyle. Get in habit of regular exercises even if its brisk walking for about 40 minutes a day.
If in habit of having alcohol, limit the drinks. Avoid binge drinking of alcohol as it causes spikes in triglyceride levels that in turn can trigger inflammation of the pancreas.
Quit smoking.
If diabetic, control your blood sugar and keep it as normal as possible.

What is Triglycerides Diet?

Here is a list of foods that can help lower triglyceride levels in your blood. Try to include more and more of them in your diet either in breakfast, lunch, dinner or while having snacks.

Fish, especially the oily fish having more of omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, tuna, mackerel). Have fish at least twice a week. If you don't eat fish, have fish oil supplements.
Wholewheat bread
Oatmeal
Fat less milk
Lean Turkey
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Carrots
Apple
Low fat yogurt
Raisins
Peanuts
Brown rice
Broccoli
Cucumber
Olive oil

Vitamin D- Why Do We Need Vitamin D?

2011-12-12T23:11:00.000-08:00

Get facts about vitamin D- what is and why do we need Vitamin D? How to know about Vitamin D deficiency, its risks? Is excessive Vitamin D harmful? What are the sources of Vit-D? Also get list of Vitamin D foods!

We all know that many vitamins are needed by our bodies to function properly. Of late, however, the role of Vitamin D has come under focus and everyone seems to be talking about this Vitamin D! After all, why do we need vitamin D? What is vitamin D deficiency? How can we know if we have vitamin D deficiency in our bodies? How much vitamin D do we need and whether too much of vitamin D is harmful? What are the sources of vitamin D? Are there something called vitamin D foods? Let's get answers to these questions and other facts about vitamin D?

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat soluble hormone. It has two types or forms - Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is present in fungi and plants as well as fortified foods and in supplements. The source of vitamin D3 is sunlight- it is synthesized in human skin when exposed to UVB light generated from the sun. Vitamin D can also be found in fish oil.

Why do We Need Vitamin D?

Here is the answer for this crucial question- why do we need Vitamin D? We need Vitamin D for strong bones and teeth. It is required for normal absorption of calcium and phosphorus by bones which, in turn, reduces the risk of bone fractures and degeneration of bones. Weak bones lead to such diseases as osteoarthritis etc. Thus, we need Vitamin D to prevent bone diseases like arthritis. Vitamin D is also needed to keep the immune system functioning in proper way so that our body can resist various types of diseases.

What is Vitamin D Deficiency and How to Know it?

Everyone needs to have enough of Vitamin D in body. If we do not have such enough amount of vitamin D in our bodies, it is termed as vitamin D deficiency. The table below tells about the optimum level of vitamin D in body of a child and an adult. These are the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) to know how much vitamin D do we need?

Person	*Vitamin D (IU/Day)**
Children up to Teen Age	600
Adults up to 70 years of Age	600
Adults of 71+ years of Age	800
Pregnant Women	600
Breastfeeding Mother	600
*IU= International Units

Whether you have Vitamin D deficiency or not can be known through the 25-hydroxy vitamin D test. This has to be done through a blood test.

How does Vitamin D Deficiency Affect Us?

Vitamin D deficiency affects bones and various other parts of our body. Lack of vitamin D in growing children may lead to weaker bones that are not able to support their weight- a state called rickets. Vitamin D deficiency in adults can lead to soft bones also known as osteomalacia. Its deficiency can also result into loss of bone mass in adults leading to fragile bones or osteoporosis.

Who are at High Risk of Vitamin D deficiency?

Following segments of population run the highest risk of vitamin D deficiency:

Aged people.
People having dark skin.
Obese people.
People having or prone to kidney and liver diseases.
People who do not get direct sunlight.

Is Too Much of Vitamin D Harmful?

Too much of vitamin D in body can lead to vitamin D toxicity. This might cause such states as nausea, mood changes and even organ damage. Therefore, one should not consume more than 4000 IU of vitamin D in a day. Children younger than 9 years of age should get even lesser vitamin D.

What are the Sources of Vitamin D?

There are three sources of getting Vitamin D- sunlight, Vit. D supplements and certain foods.

Sunlight for Vitamin D

Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D as skin synthesizes this vitamin when exposed to UVB sunlight. However, one must be careful not to get harmful UV rays. For this, you should expose yourself to sun rays either in the morning or in the evening when the sun is about to set. Afternoon sunrays should be avoided.

Vitamin D Supplements

People who find it impossible to get sun rays and proper vitamin D diet should take vitamin D supplements available in the market. Aged people and those with darker skin should positively have vitamin D supplements as well as fortified foods (foods fortified with vitamin D like fortified milk and fortified yogurt.)

List of Vitamin D Foods

Following foods are good sources of vitamin D and thus one should include them into daily diet.

Eggs, especially egg yolk
Salmon.
Sardines.
Shrimp.
Fortified cereals like oatmeal.
Fortified orange juice.
Fortified milk and yogurt.

Know More about Diet for Strong Bones

World Aids Day- Condom Usage Tips

2011-12-01T04:06:00.000-08:00

On December 1- the World Aids Day- it is always the right thing to be aware of how to prevent from getting infected to HIV AIDS virus. The biggest cause of HIV infection is unsafe sex with an infected partner. So, here are some useful tips on using condoms for safer sex and for avoiding AIDS.

Always check the quality of condom you are buying. For this, you may check the quality certificate (like the CE mark for European countries and FDA approved mark for United States) on the package. So, find out what mark will ensure the quality of condoms in your country.
Always check the expiry date because expired condoms might not provide you with the essential protection.
Always wear the condom before you initiate physical contact between the penis and the vagina or even the anus. In fact, if you wear condom after getting a full erection, it gives you better protection. This will prevent sexually transmitted diseases and other viruses as well including the HIV.
Never forget to use condom for even a single occasion. If you have more than one partner and you enjoy sex even on holidays with 'not so known' partner, you must carry condoms with you all the time.
For longer sessions, it is always advisable to change condom with a new one every thirty minutes. They might break during these longer sessions with your partner and expose you to sexually transmitted diseases. Remember to change condom after ejaculation if you are in a mood to continue.
Always use a single condom and don't think that double condoms would give you better protection. There is always a risk of two condoms rubbing with each other and causing friction resulting into breakage- this fact is applicable to both male condoms or a combination of male and female condom.
If you are using latex condom, don't apply oil based products including moisturizers, creams and body oils for lubricating vagina or anus. They weaken condoms resulting into easy damage, leakage or breakage. You can always apply water based lubricants, like KY Jelly or Liquid Silk, easily available with chemists. Always put the extra lubrication on the outside of the condom.
After buying condoms, keep them away from heat and light- store condoms in cool dark places. If yours is a hot and humid atmosphere, store them in the refrigerator, more so in summers.
For disposing off condoms, wrap used condom in its foil packaging and then throw it in the trash. Never flush a used condom for disposing it off.

For more information on AIDS, you might like to read AIDS Awareness Day- FAQs

Home Remedies for Dark Circles Under Eyes

2011-11-25T04:42:00.000-08:00

Home remedies of the natural dark circles under eyes treatment has two aspects- preventive measures and corrective measures. The preventive measures for treating under eye dark circles require you to take certain steps that might not directly related to eyes but then they have a very important role to play as far as under eye dark circles are concerned. On the other hand, the corrective measures for dark circles would need you to apply or use certain natural things that may help you in getting rid of dark circles under the eyes. First lets know what are the preventive home remedies for treatment of dark circles under eyes.

Preventive Home Remedies for Dark Circles

Drink plenty of water during the day.
Sleep for optimum time everyday. It may be six hours, eight hours or even 9-10 hours depending upon your body's requirement.
Have balanced diet by including plenty of fruits and vegetables. Have vitamin K rich sources.
Avoid smoking and drinking.
When going out in sun, protect yourself from direct sun rays. Use a sunscreen to prevent getting your dark eye circles more darker.

In short, live your life the healthy way. A healthy lifestyle would not only treat your under eye dark circles but will make sure that you do not have any ailment in general.

Corrective Home Remedies for Dark Circles

Mix equal quantities of potato and cucumber juice and apply this under eye with cotton. Let it be there for about fifteen minutes and wash off with cold water. You can even use round cut pieces of potatoes or cucumber. Place them on your closed eyes for about 15 minutes everyday till you remove your dark circles.
Massage under your eyes with almond oil regularly for 10-15 minutes daily.
Combine 1 teaspoon tomato juice, ¼ teaspoon lemon juice, a pinch of turmeric powder and a little white flour to convert into a paste form. Dab this thick paste under eyes and wash of after 15 minutes. Instead of white flour, you can even use red lentil paste (masoor dal paste). This will not only remove dark circles but will also treat puffy eyes.
Place a used tea bag and put it on your dark circle area after lying down. Remember to let the tea bag cool down before using. You can even make it a little more colder by keeping it in refrigerator. If possible, use Chamomile tea bags as they reduce dark circles as well as puffiness around the eyes.

You might be knowing most of these home remedies for removing dark circles from under your eyes but the key is in applying these tips and get rid of those ugly dark circles!

AIDS Awareness Day- FAQs

2011-11-21T04:29:00.000-08:00

AIDS Awareness Day is observed on December 1 every year. Here is a set of “Frequently Asked Questions” about AIDs and HIV that make rounds in everyone's mind. This is an attempt to be of some help to people living in the dark shadow of the doubt about whether they have AIDS and what are the symptoms of AIDS?

Question: What is AIDS?

Answer: AIDS – the acronym for 'Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome'. A person diagnosed with AIDS has a weakened immune system - weak to such extent that it cannot fight off infections.

Question: Does a positive HIV test mean AIDS Infection?

Answer: A positive HIV test does not always mean that the person has AIDS. The physician makes diagnosis of AIDS as per the CDC AIDS Case Definition.

Question: What Causes AIDS?

Answer: HIV can only be passed on and never initiates on its own. There are four major ways through which AIDS get transmitted. These are as follows-

Unprotected sex with someone who is infected with AIDS.
Injection or transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products, artificial insemination where donation of semen takes place, skin grafts as well as organ transplants where the sources are infected.
A baby can get infected from mother during pregnancy or while giving birth and also through breastfeeding.
Unsterilized injection equipment shared with someone infected with AIDS virus.

Get some Condom Usage Tips for safe sex as well as to prevent HIV infection

Question: Is oral sex safe when it comes to HIV infection from partner?

Answer: Oral sex can be a cause for HIV infection though it has lower risks than penetrative sexual intercourse with infected partner. When giving oral sex to a man, his partner can be infected with HIV if infected semen comes in contact with damaged and receding gums, or if there are cuts or sores in their mouth. While giving oral sex to a woman , infection can be transmitted if infected sexual fluids from a woman get into the mouth of her partner. The risk increases if there is menstrual blood involved or if the woman is infected with other sexually transmitted diseases.

Question: Can kissing transmit HIV?

Answer: There is a very low risk of HIV transmission while deep or open-mouthed kissing- only when there is some kind of bleeding in mouth. Saliva cannot transmit HIV as it has negligible amount of HIV which is insufficient for causing AIDS infection. If the infected person has some kind of bleeding in mouth, he/she should avoid kissing until bleeding stops.

Question: Can shaking hands, hugging, sneezing etc. transmit HIV?

Answer: No, casual contacts like shaking hands, hugging, casual kissing, drinking from same glass or even sneezing, coughing or using shared toilet cannot transmit HIV. It is not an airborne or food borne virus and is present in the blood, semen or vaginal secretions of an infected person. HIV can be transmitted through unprotected vaginal, oral or anal sex or by shared injection drug needles.

Question: What are the symptoms of HIV infections?

Answer: HIV infections have very mild symptoms that often go unnoticed. The symptoms of HIV resemble the symptoms of flu and last only for a few days. These might include fevers, chills, night sweats and rashes. However, these can be the symptoms of other infections too like flu infection.

Question: What should I do if tested HIV positive?

Answer: It is better to take early medical treatment as soon as you are tested positive for HIV. Prompt medical care is able to delay the onset of AIDS and prevent certain life-threatening conditions. You should also adopt a healthy lifestyle and positive attitude towards life as you can live longer with AIDS too but you will have to take precautions and proper treatments.

You must visit a doctor even if you don't feel sick but have tested positive. Doctor will conduct important tests, immunizations and drug treatments for your good health. Now there are many new medicines to treat HIV infection.
Stop taking recreational drugs, alcoholic beverages and smoking as they further weaken immune system.
If diagnosed HIV positive, get a hepatitis-B vaccine and bacterial pneumonia vaccines as these diseases can prove dangerous for immune suppressed people.
Join a support group for people with HIV infection.

Question: What are the precautions I can take to stay healthy?

Answer: You can take the following steps to stay healthy.

Consult your doctor for lab tests that can evaluate your immune system.
Take treatments for any of the diseases that can create problems in future. These include syphilis, TB, hepatitis-B, and toxoplasmosis.
Go for regular check ups every three to six months.

Health Tips on Wine Drinking

2011-11-16T04:48:00.001-08:00

Studies have shown- drinking moderate amounts of alcohol protects against heart disease.
Excess alcohol consumption is not good for health.
The active compound in wine is known as Resveratrol.
One to two drinks a day are enough but for some people even a drink is too much. You must find the “best level” for yourself.
People who take red wine in moderation have a lower incidence of dementia.
Those who cannot drink red wine can have concord grape juice which is equally beneficial.
Do not have wine or grape juice on empty stomach. Have some food with them. It prevents a sudden rise in blood sugar eliminating the risk of fat cell deposits.
Diabetics should not have grape juice due to high sugar content.

Difference Between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

2011-11-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

Everyone is familiar with perhaps the most common disease of today- Diabetes. However, Most of the people can not make out the difference between the two types of diabetes- Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. To understand the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, one must first know the basic principle underlying the disease called diabetes.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus or the common diabetes is a disorder of body metabolism. Metabolism, in turn means the way our body digests and uses food we eat for providing energy and growth to our body. Whatever we eat is broken down to produce glucose- a form of sugar- that gives us energy and keeps our body growing. This glucose enters the cells with the help of a hormone called insulin. When we eat food, pancreas automatically produce the hormone insulin which helps glucose in entering body cells. In this way, the glucose in our blood is utilized and the blood sugar level remains optimum.

Now, if anyone suffers from diabetes, there is an anamoly of the whole process of insulin production and usage. This leads to high blood sugar levels because glucose is not able to enter into the cells. This condition is known as hyperglycemia. There are two types of such anamolies referred to as Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

What is Type 1 Diabetes?

When a human body does not produce the hormone insulin, it is called Type 1 diabetes. Here the patient has to take insulin regularly to stay alive.

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

When our body cells fail to respond to the insulin in the right manner, it is called Type 2 diabetes.

Either enough insulin is not produced by the body or the insulin produced doesn't work properly. When insulin does not work in the right manner, the condition is known as insulin resistance

What is the Difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes?

Here are some striking differences between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes	Type 2 Diabetes
Autoimmune disease- body does not create insulin hormone	Lifestyle related disease- causes due to insulin resistance where cells fail to use insulin properly
Appears before 40 years of age	Appears late in life
Cannot be prevented.	Can be prevented with proper lifestyle
Risk factors include genetic factor and other conditions that affect the immune system	Risk factors include aging, obesity, family history, physical inactivity, ethnicity, and impaired glucose metabolism.
Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)- Has to take insulin regularly	non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM)- Can be regulated through oral diabetes medications

The above points have been described in details below.

Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. In such types of diseases a body itself destroys certain good things in it. Here, in the case of diabetes, the body destroys insulin-producing beta cells present in the pancreas. Type 2 Diabetes, on the other hand, is a lifestyle related disease. Overweight and unfit people develop Type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes, in most of the cases appear before the person attains 40 years of age. Therefore, it is also called Juvenile Diabetes or Childhood Diabetes. The onset of Type 1 diabetes after the age of 40 is very rare. Approximately 15% of all diabetes patients have Type 1 diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes, on the other hand appear late in life. However, as children these days do not play much or do physical activities, the instances of people developing Type 2 diabetes in their 20s is on increase. Around 85% of all diabetes patients have Type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes can not be prevented. Type 2 Diabetes can be prevented if a proper lifestyle is followed.
In Type 1 Diabetes, genetic factors have an important role but till now the scientists have not been able to identify the particular genes responsible for this. Some other conditions that affects the immune systemmay also trigger the onset of Type 1 diabetes. These include such diseases as Hashimoto's disease , Grave's disease , Addison's disease , Pernicious anemia , Celiac disease , Vitiligo , Lupus , Rheumatoid arthritis , Crohn's disease . Certain viruses like those causing mumps, hepatitis, cytomegalovirus etc. also increase the risk for this type of diabetes. The risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes include aging, obesity, family history, physical inactivity, ethnicity, and impaired glucose metabolism.
The patients of Type 1 diabetes have to regularly take insulin while those with Type 2 diabetes may be treated with oral medications. However, sometimes, the Type 2 patients may be placed on insulin to control blood sugars in a better way.

Health Quote of the Day!

2011-10-24T05:48:00.000-07:00

What Pain Means?

Pain (any pain--emotional, physical, mental) has a message. The information it has about our life can be remarkably specific, but it usually falls into one of two categories: "We would be more alive if we did more of this," and, "Life would be more lovely if we did less of that." Once we get the pain's message, and follow its advice, the pain goes away.

- Peter McWilliams

Viral Fever Symptoms and Remedies

2011-10-18T04:54:00.000-07:00

Viral fever symptoms are so common that we neglect them at their onset. Know how to identify these viral fever symptoms to cure them fast!

What is Viral Fever?

Viral Fever Symptoms

Simply stated, viral fever is any fever caused by one of the many viral infections or the infections caused by virus. Most of these infections can be identified by the accompanying symptoms and signs. The viral fever symptoms can be generalized but they may target a specific organ of the body.

Viral Fever Symptoms
Viral fever symptoms are many but most of them are so common medical conditions like fatigue, cough, sore throat etc. that we tend to neglect them at the initial stages. Whenever a virus enters human body, it takes its incubation period to multiply itself to such number that causes infection. When the body is infected by the virus, the following symptoms may be felt that can establish it to be a viral fever. If you experience one or multiple medical conditions below, do not avoid them as they can be symptoms of viral fever.

Fatigue
Body as well as muscle aches
Low or high fever
Inflammation of the pharynx
Running nose
Nasal congestion
Sore throat
Headache
Redness and burning sensation in eyes
Cough
Muscle and joint pains
Skin rashes
Diarrhea

It is not essential that everyonesuffering from viral fever will feel all the symptoms. Many viralfevers that are caused by insects like arbovirus can also showbleeding tendency as one of its symptoms. Bleeding from skin and/orother internal organs and can prove fatal if timely treatment is notprovided to the patient.

Viral Fever Remedies

If we are able to recognize the viral fever symptoms early, we can always treat it with simple home remedies without taking help of medicines. When talking about medicines, antibiotics are the most commontreatment for viral fevers. However, if diagnosed earlier within safe time, one can always opt for viral fever remedies that had beenthere for years now as this fever- most of the times- require onlysymptomatic treatment. Some of the viral fever remedies are mentionedhere.

Consume good amount of fluids but notmilk. However, if having diarrhea avoid taking fruit juices, salad orraw food.
Have raw garlic sand onions. You canalso use them in cooking, best would be to make soup having lots ofgarlic and onion.
Soak Large Sultanas or Currants(munakkas) overnight and have it in the morning.
Mix honey, fresh lemon juice and gingerjuice and have it at least twice or thrice a day.
Make a concoction by mixing juice ofbasil leaves (tulsi) ginger juice and honey and have it for treatingthe symptoms of fever, cough and cold.
Gargle with lukewarm water after addinga little salt in it to get relief from sore throat caused by viralfever.
Raw tulsi (basil) leaves can be chewedfor getting relief from viral fever symptoms.
For diarrhea due to viral fever inchildren, take a pinch full of black pepper powder and mix it in teaand let the kid have few teaspoonful of this.
Warm the orange juice a little and haveit. It helps in getting rid of body toxins and gives energy to thepatient.
Have home cooked food- without spices.Always avoid outside food when suffering from viral fever.

If you do not get relief from theseviral fever home remedies, see your doctor to get advanced treatmentfor your fever.

How to Reduce Tummy - Know Your Tummy Type & Lose Belly Fat!

2011-07-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Just to exercise and following a diet plan is not enough to reduce tummy fat! You have to identify your tummy type and plan accordingly to reduce your belly fat. This helps in understanding the right exercises, diet and habits to reduce the belly fat of your type of tummy. So, what are the different tummy types? And how to reduce belly fat of each of these types of tummy? This article will help you identify your tummy type and also the exercises, diet and the right habits that will help you to reduce your tummy fat!

Reduce Belly Fat of Spare Tyre Tummy


Spare Tyre Tummy

If you lead quite a motionless sedentary life and have an office job that requires you to be on your chair for the whole day, you probably have the most common spare tyre tummy. The causes for belly fat in this tummy type is the lack of exercise and wrong food habits but this is the most easiest type of tummy when it comes to reducing belly fat.

Plan to Reduce Spare Tyre Tummy Fat!

Eat Right and Move More- is the key mantra to reduce belly fat of spare tyre tummy type!

Avoid having too much of sugar and refined carbohydrates like those found in biscuits, cakes and white bread, pasta and rice.
Reduce alcohol intake. Drinking occasionally is all right but everyday or even 3-4 times a week will hamper your belly fat reduction project!
Also avoid so called diet snacks as they are made with chemicals, refined sugars and lots of artificial flavors and preservatives to make them taste good.
Have more of fresh food like fish, eggs, organic meat and vegetables -some options might include eggs and smoked salmon, grilled chicken and vegetables, snack like sliced lean meats, avocados, nuts and even oily fish (as they have good fat).
Exercise a lot- even if they are simple exercises like walking, doing lunges, squats or dips at home or even doing yoga.

Reduce Belly Fat of Stress Tummy


Stress Tummy

If you suffer occasionally from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bloating and the likes; if your belly fat shows up in such areas as the front of the midriff and umbilical area; if your belly fat feels hard when touched, you might have a stress tummy.

Plan to Reduce Stress Tummy Fat!

Changing the bad habits of skipping meals, having more coffee, tea or other caffeine products, sleeping more-. is the key to reduce belly fat of stress tummy types.

Go to bed early. If you don't sleep as is required by the body, the production of the hormone leptin is disrupted whose function is to regulate appetite and metabolism.
To avoid stress, take to relaxation therapies like deep-breathing, meditation and refreshing baths before going to bed.
Reduce intake of tea and coffee- two cups a day is enough. Instead have herbal tea like chamomile tea to soothe your nerves.
Don't do rigorous exercises like cardio. Instead do yoga, brisk walking etc.
Have lots of foods that are rich in magnesium like dark green leafy vegetables, Brazil nuts and seeds.

Reduce Belly Fat of Little Pooch Tummy

Little Pooch Tummy

You might be very busy in your career or even exercising hard in gym then also you might have little deposit of fat in your lower part of stomach.

Plan to Reduce Little Pooch Tummy Fat!

Avoiding the routine types of exercises everyday and introducing a change in foods instead of having the same foods all the time is the key to reduce belly fat of this type of tummy.

Have nutritious food with plenty of fiber. Green leafy vegetables, oatbran, wholemeal grains may help you a lot to reduce tummy.
Avoid doing excessive crunches and using such gym items as ab-rollers as they put strain on the hip flexors and the lower back, resulting into tummy muscles to protrude and your belly sticks out.
Doing exercise in the right manner is a must. Incorrect sit-ups increase the lower back curve and give a pouch like appearance to your tummy. Swap sit-ups for planks. You may also use weights bulks- these are not bad for even women. Repetitions of exercises like squats or lunges will also do.
Drink lots of water and eat easy to digest foods like green vegetables, lighter proteins such as fish and chicken.

Reduce Belly Fat of Mummy Tummy


Mummy Tummy

If you have given birth in the past couple of years, you might have the typical mummy tummy. However, don't be in a rush to reduce your belly fat. You must start exercising at least after 3-4 months after you have delivered your baby.

Plan to Reduce Mummy Tummy Fat!

To reduce the mummy tummy fat, you need to work upon your pelvic floor and lower abs to strengthen the loose muscles.

Do gentle pelvic floor exercises that are popularly known as Kegels. Squeeze and clench your pelvic floor muscles for about twenty times- five sessions a day. Breathe deep into your tummy and slowly exhale while doing a pelvic floor exercise.
Have fish oil supplements. Consult your doctor about how much you must take a day.
Have god fat foods like nuts, oils and olives every day.
Having naps in the afternoons and doing light stretching before going to bed at night can help in boosting fat burning.

Reduce Belly Fat of Bloated Tummy


Bloated Tummy

If your tummy is flat in the morning and swell later in the day, it might happen due to gas or indigestion resulting into a bloated tummy.

Plan to Reduce Bloated Tummy Fat!

Identifying the food that your body can't tolerate and avoiding them is the key to reduce belly fat of such type of tummy.

To identify the food that you can't stand, try avoiding such of some common foods for a fortnight or so. These may be wheat or gluten in particular which can be present in bread, pasta, pastries, pizza, cakes and cereals; alcohol; yeast present in in muffins, beer, pastries etc; processed dairy food like cheese, milk, butter. Try them once at a time to separate them out. For example, if you feel that your tummy doesn't seem to be so big when you haven't had bread, pasta, cakes etc. for a week or so- the culprit might be gluten!
Have lots of fresh vegetables, white meat and fish when you avoid the above food.
Eat in the right manner. Don't skip breakfast and also make it your biggest meal spo that you digest food well through the day. Avoid eating late at night. Chew your food properly.
Drink lots of water to keep your digestive system in synch.
Have prebiotic and probiotic supplements or foods having them like yogurt (of course if you are not intolerant of it.) Other sources of good bacteria that help in digestion include sour cream, certain fruit and vegetables like kale, garlic and onions.
Breathe right and breathe deep. Every morning, lay on your back while relaxing fully and breathe deep into your tummy for at least ten times.
Take a walk after having your meals. This helps in digesting food well and avoids bloating.

Source: Clean and Lean Diet- James Duigan

Panacea for Reducing All Types of Tummy Fat

When you identify your tummy type and work accordingly to reduce your belly fat, you sure will lose weight some day. However, if you are unable to identify your tummy type, there still is a remedy that can reduce your belly fat. This is the Kapalbhati- Yoga breathing exercise for reducing fat from around your stomach area. you have to do this kapalbhati breathing yoga for a very short period daily but with the right technique. Then only you can lose fat of your belly. See this video, understand the technique of kapalbhati yoga for weight loss properly and then proceed to reduce your tummy fat!

Kapalbhati Yoga Breathing Exercise for Reducing Tummy Fat

How to Control Cholesterol- Simple Ways to Reduce Cholesterol!

2011-06-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

High cholesterol levels can lead to heart diseases- you know that very well and perhaps that's why you are reading this piece of information about how to control cholesterol. Your doctor has, at last, declared what you had feared since a long time- high cholesterol levels in your blood! Now is the turn to make a game plan to lower cholesterol levels. So, what have you researched so far- that you must go for cholesterol lowering foods, exercises, change of lifestyle and so on. You know it very well then that a little change in your diet and lifestyle is what is needed to lower cholesterol and the heart diseases. What you don't know is – where to start from and how to form a strategy to lower cholesterol? This write up may then actually help you. Read on these simple steps to control cholesterol!

Step 1- Don't Panic- Its only Cholesterol that can be Controlled!

Its just cholesterol and nothing that can't be controlled. So, don't panic but make your will power a little more stronger because you will be now doing what you haven't done till now- you are going to alter your habits, your diet, your lifestyle. You have to lower LDL cholesterol or the bad cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol or good cholesterol. Start from your diet then.

Step 2- Have Cholesterol Lowering Foods!

And what are they? Foods rich in anti oxidants, plant sterols, Omega-3 fatty acids, soluble fibers like pectin etc. In short, they are:

Fruits
Vegetables
Fish
Nuts
Whole Grains
Beans

Start your day with a bowl of oatmeal or whole-grain cereal. You can also have such whole grains as wild rice, popcorn, brown rice, barley, and whole-wheat flour (of course, not right in the morning!)

Go for fatty fish like salmon, tuna, trout, and sardines but just don't fry them. Avoid red meat and have controlled portions of white meat.

Have at least five servings of fruits and vegetables during the day. If you think how could you do this- here's the answer. Include some fruits in your breakfast. Have vegetables during meals and you can also have them as snacks. How you can convert vegetables in to snacks have to be found out through some interesting recipes that are of course low on fat and oils! You can have fruits during your snack time in the office too.

Have nuts like walnut and almonds every day. Nuts are, however, high in fat and calories so make it sure that you eat only a handful of them. Nuts mean those nuts that are in natural form and not covered with sugar or chocolate!

Start cooking food with such oils as canola, olive, and safflower oils- they help lower bad cholesterol levels . Avoid butter and palm oil or any other oil having trans fats. And remember, even good fats have calories- so eat in moderation.

Avoid bad carbohydrates like those found in white bread, white potatoes, white rice, pastries etc.

Step 3- Control your Food Portion to Loose Weight and to Control Cholesterol!

Having healthy food doesn't mean that you are free to eat them in whatsoever amount you wish to! Excess is always troublesome. So, control portions. It will help in weight loss (which is one of the necessity too to lower cholesterol) as well as in controlling cholesterol. But how to control portion? Use your hand to measure your food portion.

One serving of meat or fish Is EQUAL TO that much which fits in the palm of your hand.
One serving of fruits Is EQUAL TO the size of your fist.
One serving of cooked vegetables, rice, or pasta Is EQUAL TO that which fits in your cupped hand.

When eating out, choose broiled, baked, steamed, and grilled foods and avoid the fried food. Get sauces on the side. Order beforehand to pack half of your meal. These all small steps will really help you in reducing cholesterol levels.

Step 4- Get Physically Active to Control Cholesterol!

And believe it, you don't have to hit the gym to do that. As simple an exercise as walking can do that for you. But remember, you have to be regular on that- at least 30 minutes of such physical activity five days a week is a must. If you don't find that much time everyday, do vigorous exercise such as jogging for 20 minutes thrice a week. If you hate that too, develop interest in such activities as gardening, dancing, or take the stairs instead of the elevator. Remember, you have to move your body if you want to lower your high cholesterol levels- even if it is by doing housework!

Step 5- Don't be Stressed – It Leads to High Cholesterol Level!

Many researches have found that stress might directly increase cholesterol levels. So don't be stressed. People prone to stress might find it a little difficult task but where there's a will there's a way! If stressed, reduce stress levels through relaxation exercises and meditation. Take to deep breathing. It is the most simple stress-buster you can do anywhere!

Vegetal Placenta- New Anti Aging Treatment!

2011-06-03T01:23:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't want to look and feel younger? Anti aging products and treatments have thus found a very welcoming approach world over. With continued researches, now anti aging treatment has gone many steps forward- in the form of Vegetal Placenta Supplements that work on the very popular and accepted cell therapy theory. Before knowing about how cell therapy applies to vegetal placenta for anti aging, it will be convenient if we know what is vegetal placenta at the first place!

What is Vegetal Placenta?

Vegetal placenta or the plant placenta is the natural substance found under the pistil of flowers. Plant placenta has an extraordinary regenerating power of nourishing fruits when they are formed. Plant placenta, in fact, feeds the fruit during its growth through a veritable little umbilical cord. The anti aging skin care products as well as anti aging nutritional supplements are made with the vegetal plant placenta of certain plants most of which are non genetically modified plants including legumes, soyabeans, beech buds etc. These are high in amino acids, protein, peptides, mineral salts, soluble sugars etc. Vegetal placenta is therefore, a non-animal substitute to animal placenta which is used extensively in Cell Therapy for anti aging and other health benefits.

How Vegetal Placenta Work as Anti Aging Element?

Today there are many skin care products companies as well as nutritional supplements manufacturers who use vegetal placenta as one of their main ingredients for making anti aging products. So, how does vegetal placenta helps in anti aging treatments?

Many biochemical researches have established a bio-analogous composition among the plant placenta and the human placenta. In simple terms, they are similar in terms of their amino acid content and distribution. When the vegetal placenta is used in anti aging skin care products, the amino acids and peptides act as veritable bio-stimulator with complete respect for the skin's natural process of evolution. Skin cells are therefore stimulated in a natural way. The high content of amino acids (proline/hydroxyproline) in the plant tissue, play a major role in the process of synthesizing collagen. These amino acids are associated with peptides, trace elements, nitrogen and phosphorous compounds as well as other components involved in cell metabolism. As a result, the plant placenta provides cell regeneration that can be called even better than those provided by human placenta.

The peptides and trace elements in plant placenta are also involved in the basic activity of living cells- of consuming oxygen. in the presence of plant placenta, the cells become more active and consume more oxygen. The oxygen consumed by cells are used to synthesize more protein, which is indispensable to many functions and structures of the skin.

Like the skin care products with vegetal placenta for anti aging treatment, there are oral nutritional supplements too. These oral supplements work to awaken dormant cells within the body for stimulating the growth and function of existing tissues and also for repairing or regenerating old and damaged cells.

What are Benefits of Vegetal Plant Placenta Anti Aging Products?

Following is the list of benefits that are considered to be provided by the anti aging skin care products made with vegetal plant placenta.

Skin regeneration
Reduction of wrinkles, scars, and stretch marks that already exist on skin.
Prevention of blemishes, scars, stretch marks, etc.
Long-lasting moisturization of skin.
Lightening of facial pigmentation.
Glowing skin
Finer skin texture with more evenly toned color.
Improvement of skin elasticity and thickness.

The oral nutritional supplements made with vegetal placenta claim to provide the following benefits other than those mentioned in the above list.

Relaxing sleep.
Better digestion, blood circulation.
Elimination of constipation.
More flexible joints and discs.
Improvement of immune system, alertness, sex drive and potency.
Decrease in premenstrual stress and related feminine problems.
Reduction of pre-menopause syndrome as well as delay in menopause, which is a significant sign of aging.
Firming of sagging bust.

Are There Side Effects of Vegetal Placenta?

Injections of placenta extracts (commonly used in live cell therapy) may result into a temporary rise in body temperature, red spots on the skin, and itch in the ears. However, oral intake of placenta extract is claimed to be safe and free from side effects. Placenta is not considered suitable for teenagers though who are going through puberty because it may speed up their maturity too soon. Anyway, teenagers naturally do not need placenta. It is mainly used as an anti aging treatment after all!

Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis) – Causes, Home Remedies

2011-05-27T02:16:00.000-07:00

Excessive Sweating

Those who suffer from excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis know very well that how embarrassing is it. If not embarrassing, excess sweating causes discomfort to them. This article will give you some natural home and herbal remedies for excessive sweating. However, before knowing these excess sweating natural remedies, it is good to understand it and know the causes for excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) so that you can choose the best remedy for your type of hyperhidrosis.

Understanding Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis)

Just sweating more than other people when it's hot or when physical exertion is undertaken, it is not hyperhidrosis. It is just variations in levels of sweating. However, if there is excessive sweating without a good reason- like sweating even in mild temperatures or without being stressed physically or mentally- it can be a sign of hyperhidrosis.

There are two types of excessive sweating "hyperhidrosis"- primary hyperhidrosis (localized hyperhidrosis) and secondary hyperhidrosis (generalized hyperhidrosis). The primary hyperhidrosis is the medical condition itself while in secondary hyperhidrosis, excessive sweating is caused by some other medical condition or medication.

In primary hyperhidrosis, excess sweating is localized such as in the armpits, on the palms, face or on the feet, etc. There are different medical names for this. Axillary hyperhidrosis refers to excess sweating of the armpits and Palmoplantar hyperhidrosis means sweating of the soles of the feet or the palms. In most of the cases of secondary hyperhidrosis, generally the whole body sweats excessively.

Causes of Excessive Sweating

Primary hyperhidrosis though is a medical condition; it is not a sign of disease. It is also called focal or localized as it only affects particular parts of the body like underarms, groin, head, face, hands, or feet. This type of hyperhidrosis possibly is a result of a minor malfunction in the nervous system. Sometimes this is genetic too.

Secondary or generalized hyperhidrosis causes whole body to sweat. It is caused by many factors including health condition, medications etc. Some of the common causes of generalized excessive sweating of the body include:

• Menopause
• Pregnancy
• Thyroid
• Diabetes
• Alcoholism
• Infectious diseases such as tuberculosis
• Parkinson's disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Diabetes
• Gout
• Obesity
• Stroke
• Heart failure
• Cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma
• Certain psychiatric medicines
• Blood pressure medications
• Medicines for dry mouth
• Certain antibiotics
• Some supplements

Excessive Sweating Treatment

What is called the treatment of excessive sweating is, in fact, controlling its symptoms. Some of the popular hyperhidrosis treatment options include the following:

Antiperspirants - Some prescription antiperspirant sprays, lotions, and roll-ons help control excessive sweating. However, sometimes these antiperspirants may not work, especially if it is too much of excessive sweating.
Oral Drugs- Certain drugs too stop excessive sweating. They are specifically meant for people who experience excess sweat in feet and hands. They are called anticholinergics. However, sometimes they can lead to such side effects as blurred vision and dry mouth.

Iontophoresis- Iontophoresis uses a light electric current over the patient’s skin to plug the sweat glands. However, it is a temporary solution for excess sweating.

Botox- Botox injections are used to temporarily stop the nerves from triggering excessive sweating underarm. However, this can be a painful treatment for hyperhidrosis.
Surgery- Thoracis sympathectomy is the surgery conducted to cut sympathetic nerves that cause excessive sweating. Apart from being expensive this hyperhidrosis surgery carries the risk of certain side effects like nerve damage and breathing complications.

Secondary hyperhidrosis is treated primarily by treating the underlying medical condition which is believed to cause excessive sweating.

Home Remedies for Excessive Sweating

Here are some natural home remedies for hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating

Natural Vinegar – Add two teaspoons of vinegar with two teaspoons of raw and have it thrice a day on an empty stomach - half an hour before meal or after meal. You can also soak some cotton balls in apple cider vinegar or white vinegar and rub underarms to get rid of underarm odor.

Tomato Juice- Have a glass of fresh, homemade tomato juice a day for at least a whole week. If you see some progress, you can continue it for some more days- everyday or alternate days.

Sage Herb for Excessive Sweating

Herbal Tea– Herbal tea has been proved to be one of the very good home remedies for excessive sweating. Sage herbal tea is particularly effective cure for hyperhidrosis. Brew sage in hot water and let it cool down. Have it everyday to get rid of excessive sweating. Sage contains vitamin B and magnesium which helps reduce the sweat gland activity and therefore reduce underarm sweating.

Potato- Cut slices of potato and rub them underarms to get rid of excessive sweating

Witch hazel- This plant has natural astringent properties and acts as a natural antiperspirant for face. It gently dries skin and helps prevent infection. You can even make tea from its brewed leaves.

Remedies for Foot Sweating - For foot sweating, pat your feet dry, especially between the toes after bath. Massage it with apple cider vinegar. Tea Tree Oil is also helpful for foot sweating. It can be applied directly to the sweaty areas.

Remedies for Palm Sweating - Reduce intake of foods rich in iodine. Avoid vegetables like broccoli, asparagus and white onion; avoid beef, liver and turkey meats. Boil a quart of water and soak five teabags in it. When it cools down, soak the palms for at least thirty minutes. Tannic acid in tea has astringent properties that act as a natural antiperspirant.

Remedies for Underarm Sweating- After thoroughly cleaning (shaving and washing) underarms, apply cornstarch and baking soda under arms. Wait for about half an hour and then wash it off with water. You can also add essential oils into the mixture to act as a deodorizer.

Anti Sweat Diet- Have a diet rich in silicon. The mineral silicon regulates the production of sweat. It is present in such foods as strawberries, onions, almonds and grapes. Drink plenty of water to remove toxins causing the odor of sweat. Foods rich in vitamin B are also helpful in reducing sweating. Eat more of natural foods like cereal, fish and milk to have generous intake of vitamins b in your body.

Wheatgrass Juice- Wheatgrass juice or the water extract from young wheat grass is very effective home remedy for excessive sweating. It helps in neutralizing acids and toxins in the blood and is also a very good source of protein, vitamin C, vitamin B-12, folic acid, and vitamin B-6. A glass of wheatgrass a day can help reduce excessive sweating.

If looking for herbal remedies for excessive sweating then you can use such herbs as Osha, Astragalus, Rehmannia, and Schizonepeta to get rid of this embarrassing medical condition of hyperhidrosis. Replace your daily coffee with hot tea mixed with a few pinches of passion flower – found in health stores in powdered form.

Gain Weight the Healthy Way!

2011-04-05T05:48:00.000-07:00


Gain Weight Diet

Everywhere there is only one discussion- how to lose weight? And what about those who are skinny and want to gain weight? This write up will tell you – how to gain weight? And not only this but how to gain weight the healthy way! But before we move on to know these ways to gain weight, we must free ourselves from certain myths about weight gain and also some don'ts for gaining weight!

What NOT TO DO to Gain Weight!

Do not blindly follow the very obvious logic- if you want to gain weight eat, eat and eat! That might bring disastrous results- you might gain weight fast but will also receive many diseases in gifts- to count some- high cholesterol, heart disease, body aches, diabetes and many other such lifestyle related diseases!

Don't just eat food higher in fat or sugar
Don't avoid exercises because you must also gain muscles and not only fat to be healthy while in the process of gaining weight.
Don't depend upon artificial supplements to gain weight like the gain weight bars, gain weight pills etc.! Most of these gain weight drugs aim at imbalanced regulation of metabolism which leads to many side effects, some very dangerous to heart and nervous system.

How to Gain Weight Naturally!

So, how to gain weight the healthy way then? There are at least four major factors that work towards gaining weight and all of them should be combined properly. These factors include – Diet; Exercise; Relaxation; and Sleep

Gain Weight Diet

Take these tips on food to gain weight-

Strike the right balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and the proper types of fat in your meals. Right fats include unsaturated and monounsaturated fats, olive oil, canola oil, pistachios, nuts like almonds and walnuts. However amount of fat should remain small- don't go with the myth that more fats will help gain weight fast!
Have foods that are higher in calories, vitamins, and minerals, and not in fat or sugar.
Have more of nutritious calories in each serving. Ad cooked eggs to mashed potatoes or shredded chicken to soups and gravies, take cheese with eggs and soups, have shakes (like banana shake), milk, and mashed potatoes.
For high calories, have mixed fruit juices such as apple/berry, peach/orange/banana etc.
Snack in between meals but these should be healthy snacks like nuts, dried fruits, and yogurt etc. instead of junk food without nutritious value.
Take cod-liver oil- one of the ancient proven remedies for weight gain.
Drink full cream milk before going to bed.

Gain Weight Exercises

There are exercises that are especially beneficial to strengthen the abdominal muscles. Right exercises will tone up whole system and increase appetite, essential for weight gain. Exercise intensely to gain muscle mass. Its good to do free weight exercises that target large muscle groups like those done with dumbells. Weight gain for women may include thigh exercises.

If you really want to gain weight, you must also learn learn to relax. Take a good night's sleep everyday and if possible, take a nap after lunch! If you can't do that due to office work then suspend all activity for a while and sit back in your chair for a few moments. Do this frequently- with a gap of about two-

or three-hours. You must get at least eight hours of sleep a night and if possible a little more than that. A good diet, right exercise regime and proper relaxation can only make you gain weight for good!

Prevent Back Pain While Working at Computer

2011-03-16T05:29:00.000-07:00

If your work or interest keeps you in front of your computer for long hours, you might develop back pain which is really painful! So, it would be wise enough to take steps right at the beginning to prevent back pain while working at computer. The tips given here will help you in achieving this- a back pain less back! You might have a feeling while reading these tips about preventing back pain that they are the same old ones you have read before or that they are not practical enough to be followed in a routine manner- but you must pay heed to your back and bring small changes in your work style as well as life style so that you do not suffer from chronic back ache in future!

Sit in Proper Posture While Working at Computer!

And why only when working at computer, proper sitting posture as a general habit is the most important factor that prevents back pain! The height of your computer desk and chair should be right. Your eyes and the top of your computer should be at the same level. The desk should be at such height and distance that you need not bend to work. If essential, use adjustable chairs that can be lowered down or brought upwards to maintain the right height for sitting in front of the computer. If you can't get this, use a special cushion under your lower back to let your back to level its position. Your aim should be to maintain the right height, distance and sitting posture in whatever manner you can.

Relax While You Work at Computer!

Relaxing is important too because a stressed posture will give you a bad back! Repeating certain movements, especially if you have awkward body position, can put undue strain on your back muscles leading to muscle injury or fatigue. Relax your stressed muscles by taking some time, may be a couple of minutes off from your work after every 30-40 minutes. Do some stretching exercise for your neck- flex your head forward/backward, side to side and look right and left. This will have effect on spinal cord which in turn will keep off your back pain. If you can, you should also stand up and do lower back stretches.

Do Yoga for Back Pain!

Start your day with simple exercises if not Yoga. Give at least 10 minutes to your body so that you prevent back pain too! Pelvic twists while lying down on your back is good for preventing back pain. If you want to do yoga for back pain, do “Bhujang Asana” which not only prevents back pain but is also beneficial for many other health problems.

Get Back Pain Treatment Before Taking Preventing Measures

If you already suffer from back pain, it is highly recommended that you get proper back pain treatment before doing any exercise otherwise your back ache problem might get aggravated. Go for physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractics, massage, or acupuncture – whatever provides relief to you. After your back pain disappears, start taking the preventive measures explained above so that you do not develop back pain in future!

Surya Namaskar- Yoga for Weight Loss! Surya Namaskar Steps

2011-03-10T04:57:00.000-08:00


Sun Salutation Steps

And not only for weight loss, Surya Namaskar yoga postures are for over all health benefits! Now also known as "Sun Salutation"- it is one of the most important yoga asanas. This is because Surya Namaskar Steps include a number of other yoga postures beneficial for many health centers of our body.

Sun Salutation Benefits

Sun salutation benefits are many!

To and fro movement of surya namaskar steps give flexibility to our spine and also to the large muscle groups of our body.
Not to forget, it also reduces body fat, especially the abdominal fat.
Other body systems like heart functioning, blood circulation, lungs, digestive system, nervous system and endocrine organs too are benefited by surya namaskar.

Know how to do Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutation by learning Surya Namaskar Steps through the below images and by seeing the sun salutaion video

Surya Namaskar Steps

Morning is the best time for performing sun salutation. Do it on empty stomach and remember while performing Surya Namaskar, you should breathe properly. Pranayam- the proper inhaling and exhaling- gives more oxygen to your lungs and to the other parts of your body. Surya namaskar charges the vital points (The Chakras) in your body. See the following chart to understand the surya namaskar steps along with the breathing rythm that should be followed while sun salutaion!

Start with doing one round of these 12 steps of surya namaskar on day one. Keep on increasing your rounds everyday- 2 rounds on second day, 3 to 4 rounds on 3rd day, 5-7 rounds on 4th day and so on till the time when you become capable of doing around 20 rounds of all the 12 surya namaskar steps. You will not need to do any other exercise to reduce weight if you can do 18-20 rounds of surya namaskar yoga steps each day!

Sun Salutation Video - Surya Namaskar Steps Video!

Even after seeing the images for surya namaskar steps, if you are not able to understand how to do it properly, here is a sun salutation video to help you out.

Sun Salutation Video

Anti Aging Treatment- Home Remedies

2011-02-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

Who doesn’t want to look younger? However, spending your hard earned money mindlessly on anti aging creams and lotions loaded with chemicals make no or little sense. I am not saying that some of the best researched anti aging creams or other treatments are all futile. They do help you in staying younger by reducing signs of aging like wrinkles and pigmentation but they are expensive and you can’t just go around experimenting with one anti aging lotion today and the another one tomorrow because you don’t know which herbal cream suits your aging problems. So, here I give you some easy natural home remedies for anti aging treatment. You can easily find the ingredients given in these anti aging home remedies to fight off increasing age at home or local food or grocery stores. All you need is a little time, some efforts and a little more patience to let these natural home remedies for anti aging work for you!

Anti Aging Treatment- Wrinkle Removal

Use egg whites to remove wrinkles from under your eyes. This helps maintaining the skin elasticity and you just need the leftover portion in the egg shell!
Take two apricots (without seeds), lime juice, 2 tbsp honey, and cold milk. Mix and apply on areas with wrinkles. Leave for half an hour and rinse with warm water.
Take three capsules of Vitamin E and empty their content into a bowl. Mix 2 tsp yogurt, 1/2 tsp honey, and 1/2 tsp lemon juice with it. Apply with a cotton ball and leave it for at least 10 minutes before washing it off.
Mix turmeric powder with sugar cane juice and apply this to remove wrinkles.
Cut off the core of a pineapple and rub it on your face. Leave for 10-15 minutes before washing it off. It is an effective home remedy for removing the first signs of wrinkles.
Take few drops of oils- sandalwood, geranium, rosewood, rose jasmine, neroli, and frankincense. Mix these oils with primrose oil or other base oil of your choice. It is one of the best homemade anti wrinkle lotion that can save you from aging signs.
Massage your face with ghee, almond oil or coconut oil before going to bed everyday.

Anti Aging Treatment- Pigmentation

There are many forms of skin pigmentation. Age spots are like large, dark freckles, Melasma is an area of patchy darker skin that can be often seen on the forehead, temples and cheeks. Both these types of pigmentation - age spots and Melasma can be treated by the same home remedies for pigmentation.

Take slices of raw potato and rub on the areas having dark spots or pigments
Apply a few drops of lemon juice on your face to help remove blemishes and age spots.
Take some orange peel powder and mix with raw milk to make a thick paste. Apply this on your face and keep it for twenty minutes before washing it off. It is a very good remedy for skin lightening. For making orange peel powder, let the peel dry in shade for few days and then grind it to powder.
Mash some strawberry and apply it on your face. Rinse it off after 15 minutes to get lighter complexion.
Mix some lemon juice and cucumber juice in equal proportion and apply on your face, Rinse off after 20 minutes. It is a very good home remedy for skin whitening
Soak some almonds overnight. Grind it and mix with raw milk or cream. Apply it on face and wash it off after 20 minutes.

Remember that you need to take proper diet and rest too for keeping your age in control.

Foods to Increase Libido or Sexual Desire

2011-02-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

Low libido or a reduced sexual drive is fast becoming common in today's world- both in men as well as women. There are many causes for low libido in women and men some of which include fast life, demanding careers, stress due to pressure to maintain balance in personal and work life, lifestyle habits such as smoking, drinking, and unhealthy eating habits among other specific reasons varying from person to person. Apart from various treatments for low libido, food too can help increase sexual drive and help one regain the desire for sex.

List of foods to Increase Libido

The foods listed here can help increase sexual desire and increase libido. They all are natural aphrodisiacs.

Olive oil, Almonds, Avocados, Hazelnuts- This diet is capable of increasing sexual drive, potency and fertility. Talking about olives- green olives are good for men’s virility where as black olives can increase sex desire in women.

Banana- This delicious fruit contains bromelain enzyme which can increase libido in men. Banana is also a good food option for increasing testosterone production as it is rich in potassium and B vitamins or riboflavin.

Pumpkin, Flax seeds, Sunflower seeds, Cashew, Pine Nuts- All these foods contain zinc- the mineral which is a significant component in maintaining male potency. These foods also create sex hormones and are also good for general sexual wellness.

Celery- Very few people would know that male perspiration releases an odorless hormone called androsterone which arouses women sexually. Celery contains androsterone and thus a good food to increase libido in women!

Onion- A preparation made with onion increases libido and thus it is one of the many home remedies to increase sex desire. Peel off the white layer of onion, crush and fry it in pure clarified butter. Take it regularly with a spoon of honey on empty stomach. This is a very good aphrodisiac tonic to increase libido.

Berries, Orange, Lemons, Kiwi- These fruits have vitamin C and antioxidants which help in protecting sex organs so that they keep on operating smoothly. These foods help enhance arousal, sensitivity and orgasm.

Dates- Soak dates in honey and take them regularly. They are an excellent libido booster. Dates are also an excellent source of iron which helps in strengthening the ovulation process.

Latest in Types of Stents to Treat Heart Blockage

2011-01-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

A stent is a meshed tube which is implanted in heart patients to open a blockage in the artery. Stents, when implanted in an artery, act as scaffold to keep the blocked blood vessel open. There are more than one type of stent that are used to clear heart blockage in patients.

Plain Old Balloon Angioplasty (POBA)- Balloon angioplasty is the first milestone for treatment of blockage in heart. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, popular by the name of balloon angioplasty, was introduced way back in 1977 and uses a balloon to open the blocked artery. However, blockage recurrence rate in it was 35-50 percent. The latest development regarding balloon angioplasty includes ongoing clinical trials for drug eluting balloons.

Bare Metal Stents (BMS)- These conventional stents are made of stainless steel. In about 20 percent of cases of angioplasty, bare metal stents are implanted and stay in artery for lifetime. The latest developments regarding BMS have seen the launch of a mesh based coronary stent which has an embolic protection device claiming to reduce injury during the stent implantation procedure. It is also claimed to lower the risk of restenosis or the recurrence of stenosis which restricts blood flow.

Drug- Eluting Stents (DES)- These are considered the second generation stents and are coated with medicines that prevent formation of blood clots (thrombosis) immediately after the procedure. They are used in 80 percent of the patients having heart blockage. Latest developments are the metal DES with bio-absorbable- polymer or resorbable polymer. These stents make the patients capable of avoiding double anti-platelet drugs (double blood thinners).

Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS)- The bioresorbable stents are made of polylactide- a bio- compatible material that is generally used in dissolving sutures. Unlike BMS and DES, bioresorbable stents are gradually absorbed by the body and dissolve within two years. Therefore, patients need not be kept on blood thinners for very long. Also, as the implant is not left in the body permanently, the vessel may have the ability to move, flex and pulsate just like an untreated normal vessel. BVS are still in clinical trial phase.

Breast Cancer Treatment- Available Options

2011-01-14T00:16:00.000-08:00

Breast cancer is the cancer which forms in tissues of the breast, generally in the ducts (tubes that carry milk to the nipples) and lobules (glands which secret milk). This cancer can occur in both men and women though male breast cancer is rare. Increasing incidence of breast cancer through out the world has led to extensive research related to breast cancer treatments. Some of these treatments have been there since years and some others are new breast cancer treatments with advanced technologies and higher chances of treating cancer effectively. This article informs about five types of standard breast cancer treatments available in the present time.

Breast Cancer Treatment Options

Breast cancer treatment is always planned on the basis of risk factor and stage of the tumor. Following five types of breast cancer treatments are used as life saving measures for people with breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Surgery

There are two types of surgery for treating breast cancer- Mastectomy and Lumpectomy.

Mastectomy- In this type of surgery, entire breast is removed to treat breast cancer.
Lumpectomy- It is also known as breast conserving surgery. Here only the tumor or the lump is removed along with some normal tissue around it in the breast.

Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer

Radiotherapy cancer treatment uses high energy x-rays or other types of radiations to kill cancer cells or to prevent them from growing. It is one of the highly effective targeted breast cancer treatments which destroy such cancer cells that might remain after breast cancer surgery. Radiation therapy is again of two types.

External Radiation Therapy- A machine outside the body sends radiation towards the cancerous growth.
Internal Radiation Therapy- Radioactive substances sealed in needles or catheters are placed directly into or near the cancerous growth.

Decision about which type of radiotherapy will be used depends on the type and stage of the breast cancer being treated.

Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer

In this breast cancer treatment, anti cancer drugs are used to kill cancer cells at the original cancer site as well as any cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy is generally given after surgery but in some cases, it is given before surgery also to shrink the cancerous growth.

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer

In this breast cancer treatment, a drug is given which reduces the amount of oestrogen in the body or blocks the effect of oestrogen. This is because oestrogen facilitates the growth of hormone receptor- positive breast cancers. Hormonal therapy drugs treat hormone receptor- positive breast cancers in two ways- either by lowering the amount of oestrogen in the body or by blocking the action of oestrogen on breast cancer cells.

In some cases of breast cancers, even ovaries and fallopian tubes may be surgically removed to treat hormone receptor- positive breast cancer or as a preventive measure for women at very high risk of breast cancer. Sometimes, ovaries can also be suppressed temporarily with the help of medicines.

Targeted Therapy for Breast Cancer

Specific characteristics of cancer cells are targeted in this breast cancer treatment. For example, a protein that facilitates rapid or abnormal growth of cancer cells may be targeted to treat breast cancer. Targeted therapies are also less likely to harm the normal healthy cells of the body when compared to chemotherapy. There are two types of targeted therapies for treating breast cancer:

Monoclonal Antibodies- They work like natural antibodies produced by human immune systems against bacteria and viruses. Monoclonal antibodies are made in laboratory by producing multiple copies of single cell. They are designed to recognize a specific protein on certain cells and to signal the body’s immune system to destroy the cell.
Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs)- These small molecule chemical compounds work inside the cells by interfering with the cell communication and growth.

Diet Tips for Christmas Parties

2010-12-18T09:34:00.000-08:00

Diet Tips for Christmas

Christmas and New Year Parties are what people are looking forward to now! However, many of us also worry about the diet irregularities during Christmas Parties. Among these people are special health needs people such as diabetics and people having high blood pressure as well as overweight people who stay on diet for most of the time. All of these people can have fun with food on Christmas and yet be safe in every way. They just need to keep in mind some food combinations and some avoidable eating behaviors. So, here are some diet tips for Christmas parties which are even advisable for other parties all the year round!

Christmas Diet Tips for Diabetics

People having diabetes should watch their food and alcohol portions as well as eat certain special foods along with regular party food on Christmas so that they are able to balance their sugar levels.

When having a Christmas party at night, diabetics should have sugar balancing foods during the day. So, have bitter gourd juice in the morning and include oats, fenugreek, soya etc. in your day meal.
Have small portion of food for dinner party and try to include more proteins like chicken, fish etc.
When having alcohol, keep a check on yourself. Two servings are good enough for diabetics.
To dilute the effect of alcohol, have a glass of water after a drink. Alternatively, have salad with a hung curd dip which also dilutes the effect of alcohol.

Christmas Diet Tips for People with High Blood Pressure

People with high blood pressure should try to drink a lot of water and have a lot of onion and garlic in the diet.

Have a lot of potassium loaded food as a regular habit, especially prior to Christmas parties. Potassium along with sodium regulates blood pressure. Good sources of potassium include fruits like cantaloupe, bananas, kiwi-fruit, oranges, watermelon and dried apricots as well as vegetables like potatoes, spinach, and zucchini.
When in a Christmas party, try to have more of foods having calcium like low-fat dairy products, soybeans, sardines, salmon, peanuts, walnuts, dried beans, salads having dark leafy green vegetables.
Try to have small portions of meat. Instead take portion sizes of vegetables, rice, pasta, and dry beans in meals. Try casseroles or stir-fry dishes having less meat, more vegetables and beans.

Christmas Diet Tips for People on Diet

People on diet know exactly what to eat in Christmas parties- they should make healthful choices to enjoy the pleasures of holiday seasons as well as not to destroy all their yearlong efforts to keep in shape. The first mantra for Christmas diet for overweight and people on diet is to drink lot of water to avoid overeating!

Fill your plate in a Christmas party with healthy alternatives and try to eat very slowly.
Have more of seafood. Raw oysters and fresh seafood are best. They are good in cooked form too.
Try to avoid carbohydrates and opt for lean protein. Remove the skin from the chicken or turkey or duck and eat breast meat which is lowest in fat.
Drink one glass of water after every glass of alcohol. Choose wine over high fat eggnog. You can even mix half glass of wine with half a glass of carbonated water for a low-cal wine.
Avoid deep-fried appetizers. Choose to have shrimp cocktail as a low-calorie appetizer. When choosing a dip, go for cocktail sauce which is much healthier than other fatty dips.
Eat dark chocolate instead of milk or white chocolate.

Its Christmas after all! So, let yourself have some high fat food too like fried cheese sticks, a double fudge brownie, etc. but look out for portions. Have small portions and eat slowly- that’s the most important of the diet tips for Christmas parties!

That was all about Christmas diet tips. If you are looking for tips to lose weight before Christmas, read How Do I Loose Pounds Before Christmas?

Seasonal Affective Disorder: How to Beat Winter Blues?

2010-12-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

Beat the Winter Blues

Although many of us find relief from scorching summer heat in winters, this is the season of mild to major depression and mood swings for many. This seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which causes low spirits to many people in winters is popularly known as winter blues syndrome. This article will tell you the causes of winter blues and some tips to keep this seasonal depression disorder at bay!

Causes of Winter Blues Syndrome

The main cause of winter blues is hormonal imbalance due to lesser sunlight and low temperatures. Two hormones- serotonin and melatonin- gets out of control resulting into seasonal affective depression. Serotonin is the activity hormone that gives us energy and melatonin is the sleep inducing hormone.

As serotonin is released in light and daylight diminishes early in winters, the level of this hormone lowers in the body. This also lowers immunity level and makes us prone to cold and flu.
As far as melatonin hormone is concerned, its level increases- also due to diminishing daylight- and causes feeling of exhaustion and depression which can be there for few days or for the entire winter season.
Apart from hormonal imbalance, rise in the level of pollution in the atmosphere too causes frequent allergies adding to the winter blues.

How to Beat Winter Blues?

Here are some tips to fight the Seasonal Affective Disorder and beat the winter blues.

Light therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder - Light therapy for seasonal affective disorder is the first and the foremost way to beat winter blues. Expose yourself to light by getting up early in the morning and basking in the sunlight for some time. Those who suffer from major depressive disorder may take light therapy indoors. However, sunlight is always effective than a light box. What it does in three hours, sunlight can do in an hour only.

Food Therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder - food high in sugar lifts mood but over indulging yourself in such food may make you overweight. So, eat more carbohydrates and fruits. You can have such foods as brown rice and multi grain bread. Starchy vegetables like potatoes and even corn are good. Have more of citrus fruits like oranges. They are excellent mood lifters. You should also take more of vitamin B in winters. Also increase intake of vitamin C to avoid cold and flu. Do not reduce water intake as people tend to drink water only when they feel thirsty in winters. Drink water before you start feeling thirsty because fluids play an important role in beating winter blues. You can take warm fluids too in the form of herbal tea and vegetable soups to help maintain body temperature.

Exercise for Seasonal Affective Disorder - Do regular exercise for about 45 minutes to an hour. This releases serotonin and help in decreasing depression level. However, take precautions during exercise through temperature management. If you take out your woolen clothes after exercising, this may cause severe joint pain. So always wear clothes in layers and before leaving gym, wear your woolens.

Color Therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder – Wear bright colors like red, orange, yellow etc- they help lift your mood. You can even change your home décor a slightly to beat the winter blues by using bright colored paints and bright home furnishings like curtains, cushions, mats etc. They will make you more energetic and help you decrease depression level.

Winter blues or winter depression is usually not severe and do subside when season ends. However, if you see that your seasonal affective depression lasts more than two weeks, you must see your doctor. This is because your doctor can only differentiate between seasonal affective disorder and other types of depression.

Also read Summer Depression: Causes and Remedies

Cervical Cancer and HPV Vaccine- Some FAQs

2010-11-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

From among all types of cancers, cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women all over the world. In spite of so common a cause of cancer deaths, not many women know about the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine or the cervical cancer vaccine which protects them from the deadly cervical cancer. However, many women are now gradually becoming aware of HPV vaccine as a protective measure for their daughters and other young female members of their family and immediate social circle. We here present answers to some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) by these women that will help them understand what and how of HPV vaccine as well as why cervical cancer vaccine is effective for younger women only in most of the cases!

What is HPV?

Human Papillomavirus or HPV is a family of very common viruses responsible for causing almost all cervical cancers.HPV not only causes cervical cancer but various other health problems both in women as well as men like common warts, genital warts and plantar warts. HPV is also the cause of many cancers including those of vulva, vagina, anus, and cancers of the head and neck. Women can infected with types of Human Papillomavirus that cause cervical cancer through sexual intercourse and sexual contact.

What is HPV Vaccine for Cervical Cancer?

As is clear from the name itself, the HPV vaccine or the cervical cancer vaccine protects against the virus which causes about 70% of cervical cancers. Apart from saving many lives, HPV vaccine gives relief from the pain, fear and the costs involved in cervical cancer treatments.

Is There Any Other Way to Protect Against Cervical Cancer?

Yes, there are other ways too for protection against cervical cancer apart from the HPV vaccine. These include:

Regular Pap tests that should begin at the age of 21 or within three years of becoming sexually active. Pap test can detect problems related to HPV infection before cancer develops.
Regular usage of condom also helps in preventing HPV infection.
Absolute and lifelong abstinence is the sure way of protection against HPV as you never get exposed to this virus. Although lifelong abstinence puts you at the minimum possible risk for cervical cancer, in most situations, it is not possible.

Therefore, HPV vaccine is thought to be the best way to protect against cervical cancer.

What is the Right Age for Getting Cervical Cancer Vaccine?

Routine HPV vaccination is recommended for girls at the age of 11 - 12 years. However, the series for HPV vaccination can be started for girls even at the age of 9 years. In fact, the ideal time for getting HPV vaccine is before first sexual contact. However, sexually active women up to age of 26 years can still get HPV vaccine. To conclude, HPV vaccine is recommended for girls and women between 11 to 26 years of age who have not been previously vaccinated. However, HPV vaccination for a woman aged 19 to 26 should be done after a thorough check up and discussion with her healthcare provider regarding her risk of previous HPV exposure and potential benefit from vaccination.

Why HPV Vaccine is Recommended for Young Women Only?

Young women who are not sexually active have not yet been exposed to the types of HPV covered by the cervical cancer vaccine. These young women who have not been exposed or infected with these HPV types get the full benefit of the vaccine.

Who Should Not Get HPV Vaccine?

Women who are acutely ill or those have a history of allergy to yeast should not get HPV vaccine. Women who are pregnant or those who are trying to conceive should also avoid getting HPV vaccine as there may be unknown risks to the unborn baby.

How do Sexually Active Women Benefit from HPV Vaccine?

Although HPV vaccine is recommended for young girls who are not sexually active, other sexually active women may also benefit from the vaccine but the benefits for them is limited. This is because they may already have been exposed or infected with one or more of the HPV types covered by the cervical cancer vaccine.

Is HPV Vaccine Safe?

Many studies have concluded that HPV cervical cancer vaccine is safe because it does not contain any live viruses. There may be side effects of HPV vaccine that include redness and soreness where the shot was given. Headaches and fever can also occur.

Is there HPV Vaccine for Men?

No, there is no HPV vaccine recommended for men though they too get infected with Human Papillomavirus or HPV which causes warts and other sexual transmitted diseases (STD). As of now HPV vaccine has only been approved and recommended for girls and women only.

Is HPV Vaccine Enough to Keep all Worries at Bay?

HPV vaccine for cervical cancer does not protect against other sexually transmitted infections. Therefore, women who have already got HPV vaccine should still be careful about their sexual activity. They should still take regular Pap tests if they have been sexually active.

How to Remove Ear Wax Safely? Safe Methods of Ear Wax Removal!

2010-09-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

Know how to remove ear wax safely! In fact, when to clean ear wax because it comes off naturally. You need ear wax removal only when it creates problems!

If you are habitual of cleaning your ear wax often and/or with the help of cotton swab, this is the time to change- all for the sake of your ears! Yes, wax formation in ears has a very important role to play in preventing dust and dirt particles from reaching eardrum. Ear wax traps these dust and dirt particles and therefore, you should not remove it very often. Generally, ear wax accumulates a little, dries out, and then comes out of the ear naturally carrying dirt and dust with it. However, sometimes it becomes essential to remove ear wax due to certain inconveniences.

When to Remove Ear Wax?

You should remove ear wax when you have the following conditions:

If you experience earache or a feeling of fullness in the ear as if your ear is plugged.
If you experience partial hearing loss which grows with time.
If you could feel noises in ear- a ringing type of tone called tinnitus.
If there is itching, odor in ear or there is some kind of discharge from ear.

What is Safe Method of Ear Wax Removal?

Do not ever use cotton swab or any other thing to remove wax from ear. This can lead to damage of ear drum or ear infection. These things can even further push the wax deep into ear canal making it much more difficult to remove it apart from being painful. There are many ways to remove ear wax safely that can even be called home remedies as you do not need medical assistance for the same. Some of such very simple methods of removing ear wax have been mentioned here.

Put some oil, baby oil, glycerin or olive oil in your ears to soften the wax. After about 30 minutes or so, tilt your head to a side and let the oil flow out naturally into a clean cloth. You may also use clean water which can be squirted into the ear to remove ear wax deposits that may remain.
Another method for removing wax from ear is that of irrigation or ear syringing with the help of commercially available irrigation kit. These kits usually contain solution like water and saline that has to be syringed into the ear. However, you should always warm these solutions to body temperature in order to prevent dizziness. People with diabetes, a perforated eardrum, tube in the eardrum, or a weakened immune system must exercise caution during irrigation. Its better to take assistance of a physician in such cases.
You can also use specific ear drops made to soften excessive wax in ear. Follow directions given along with such ear care products. Usually, you drop the solution into the ear canal to soften and let it drain out after a few minutes naturally.

If the above home remedies for removing wax from ear do not prove to be effective, you should immediately consult doctor- an otolaryngologist who is ear, nose, and throat specialist. They use suction, special miniature instruments, and a microscope to remove ear wax in special cases.

Glowing Skin - Diet Remedies!

2010-09-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Glowing skin is representative of your good health but how to get glowing skin? The answer lies in your diet- a diet for glowing skin! To keep your skin smooth and glowing, you must have food that is rich in antioxidants, proteins and yes- essential fats too! Here we give you some diet tips for glowing skin. You will also come to know some do’s and don’ts for glowing skin of your dreams. Let’s first start with diet tips for glowing skin.

Diet for Glowing Skin

Antioxidants, proteins, vitamins- A, C, D, E, essential oils- these are the mantra for having a glowing skin!

Have lots of protein rich food like meat, chicken, fish, eggs, pulses, milk, cheese/ cottage cheese, curd or yoghurt, seeds and nuts. Fish, among all, is an excellent diet option for glowing skin as it combines both- protein and skin enriching natural oils. If worried about gaining weight while having them, choose the right way to cook food- eats baked, steamed versions instead of fried ones.
Have some protein drink, first thing in the morning.
Nuts are a great snacking option to get glowing skin. They have natural concentrated vitamin E and are powerful antioxidants. Have 8-10 nuts whenever you snack during the day.
Eat green/yellow vegetables rich in vitamin A like broccoli, beans, capsicum, peas, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and also green leafy vegetables.If you really want a glowing skin, you must have five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Choose foods rich in antioxidants like papaya, apricots and all types of berries. Have Vitamin C rich fruits like oranges, lemons, lime and melons.
Use olive oil, at least 2-3 tablespoons a week. You can use olive oil for stir fry vegetables, dressing salad or for any type of cooking.
Include flaxseed in your diet as they help skin cells in maintaining their fluidity and flexibility. You can have a spoonful of flaxseeds with your breakfast cereal or add them to milk or salad or any other such thing.
You also must have vitamin D. Fish liver oil- both shark and cod liver oil- are concentrated sources of vitamin D. You can have them as dietary supplements- in liquid or capsule form. However, always consult the doctor before having any type of dietary supplement.
Drink lots of water during the day. It keeps skin well hydrated and washes away all toxins and impurities from body. If in dilemma about ideal quantity of water, read how much water should you drink in a day?

Do’s and Don’ts to Get Glowing Skin

Avoid white food stuff like sugar, potatoes, bread, pasta, rice and sweets in your diet. These simple carbohydrates make your skin inflamed and also make the skin pores larger leading to skin breakout. In their place, have complex carbohydrates that you will get from whole grain bread, brown rice and whole wheat pasta etc.
Do not have butter, ghee and lard as they lead to wrinkles- a hindrance in your way of getting glowing skin!
Do not depend upon caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. Avoid or cut back on smoking and even having tea, coffee, colas- they all weaken the body that ultimately shows in poor skin. You can switch to green tea instead that is also a rich source of antioxidants!

Health Insurance Cashless Dispute – Diversified Policies for Consumers

2010-08-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

The ongoing health insurance cashless dispute in India has led the public sector health insurance companies design new health insurance products according to the paying ability of the consumers. According to A.V. Girija Kumar, director, National Insurance Company (NIC), 'It is evolving towards designing policies based on the paying ability of the consumers.' He told this to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce on alternate dispute resolution.

The development had come after controversy over excess billing by private sector hospitals in cashless system. Kumar said: 'Billing is much higher for those availing cashless facility than those who don't.' This has led to a situation for large claims ratio for the insurance companies, which was becoming unaffordable for the companies. ‘It is not that cash-less facility has been withdrawn, it is only some kind of restructuring that is taking place keeping in mind the larger interest of the consumers,’ Kumar said.

The public sector insurance companies are also searching avenues for setting up ailment-wise health insurance packages. ‘We are looking at whether a disease-wise limit could be taken up if possible separate products can be designed over a period of time. If somebody prefers expensive hospitals, he would necessarily have to have to bear a higher costs (of insurance policy),’ Kumar said.

In National Insurance Company, health insurance claims last year were 108 percent - including individual and group mediclaim.

Natural Psoriasis Treatment with Sunrays Vitamin D!

2010-08-20T01:34:00.000-07:00

A new research published in the August issue of the 'Archives of Dermatology' states that there is a natural way for psoriasis treatment - exposure to vitamin D boosting UV-B light or the sun rays!

Comprising the "tanning rays" from the sun that are blocked by sunscreen and that were long feared for supposedly causing wrinkles and "age spots", UV-B light can actually promote health by increasing levels of vitamin D. A team of scientists from St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, have found that psoriasis treatment with narrow-band UV-B rays greatly increases serum levels of vitamin D in the wintertime. They have actually shown how adequate exposure to UV-B light therapy can treat psoriasis naturally without any side effects. In fact, the new research finding about psoriasis treatment is a powerful evidence that a lack of the "sunshine" vitamin is involved in the development and worsening of this skin condition.

The researchers studied 30 consecutive patients with psoriasis who were treated with narrow-band UV-B light three times per week between October 2008 and February 2009. Their psoriasis was treated and also their serum vitamin D levels (which were measured before the study, after four weeks of treatment and after the treatment was finished) were compared with those of 30 control patients who also had psoriasis but did not have any UV-B therapy for their psoriasis treatment. The researchers also assessed the severity of the patients' psoriasis symptoms and their skin disease-related quality of life before and after treatment.

The results showed that levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is considered the most accurate measurement of vitamin D levels in the body, had increased significantly among individuals who got the UV-B therapy - rising from about 23 nanograms per milliliter to 59 nanograms per milliliter at the end of treatment. However, there was no change in the control group.

"At the end of the study, all patients in the treatment group were vitamin D sufficient, but 75 percent of the control group had vitamin D insufficiency," the researchers wrote in their paper. The control group's skin condition didn't improve at all. However, in the group that was treated with UV-B light exposure, psoriasis severity scores decreased dramatically from 7.1 at the beginning of the study to only 0.5 after light therapy.

Source: Natural News

Psoriasis Treatment- Causes and Home Remedies

2010-08-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

There are many types of psoriasis treatments. Psoriasis natural treatment among all ensures prolonged relief from this troublesome skin disease.

What is Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a skin disease- a prolonged inflammation of skin. Psoriasis can begin at any age but generally starts either around the age of 20 or between 50 and 60 and affects both the genders. Psoriasis is not an infectious skin disease and it does not affect the general health.

Usually, skin cells go through a month-long life cycle. New skin cells are formed deep within the skin which replace the top skin cells over a period of about 28 to 30 days. The old dead skin cells are sloughed off by everyday routines such as showering and toweling off. In people suffering from psoriasis, however, the entire skin cell process happens in three or four days which causes a buildup of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin. This usually happens in patches, mostly on the scalp, lower back, elbows, knees, and knuckles. The technical term used for these dry, irritating, scaly patches is plaques.

Causes of Psoriasis

The actual causes of psoriasis are still not known to medical science but there are certain factors that can trigger psoriasis

Heredity - If one of the parents suffer from psoriasis, there is 15% chances for a child to get it and if both the parents have psoriasis then this possibility rises upto 60%.
Throat infections – Prolonged throst infection sometimes trigger psoriasis.
Trauma - Mental stress or psychological trauma may also set off psoriasis.
Skin problems- Cuts, bruises or burns on skin may also cause psoriasis.
Food – According to the Ayurvedic concept of psoriasis, having foods that have opposite influences can lead to psoriasis. Consuming food that is too salty, too sour and/or too heavy for digestion can also cause psoriasis.
Climatic conditions- Exposure to severe climatic conditions can also sometimes cause psoriasis due to sudden changes in temperature. Taking bath in cold water immediately after physical exertion can also cause psoriasis.

Some medicines or skin irritants can also initiate psoriasis as also smoking and alcohol. According to Ayurveda, controlling natural urges is also one of the causes of psoriasis.

Psoriasis Home Remedies

Although there is no complete treatment to get rid of psoriasis, one can help avoid it and let the body recover more quickly. The symptoms of psoriasis can be eased with some simple home remedies.

Apple Cider Vinegar Dip- Apple cider vinegar is a disinfectant and has been used since very early times to soothe minor burns and other skin inflammations. Make an apple cider vinegar compress by adding 1 cup apple cider vinegar to 1 gallon water. Then soak a washcloth in this mixture and apply it to the skin to ease itching.

Olive Oil- For easing psoriasis outbreaks, add 2 tsp olive oil to a large glass of milk. Add this to bathwater. If having psoriasis on scalp, massage some warm olive oil on scaly patches there. This helps soften the dead skin and makes it easier to remove them.

Aloe Vera- .Aloe vera plant has great skin-soothing properties. split open an aloe vera leaf and apply its gel onto the plaques. One can even buy aloe vera gel available at pharmacies and health-food stores.

Baking Soda- Mix 1- 1/2 cups baking soda into 3 gallons water. Apply this to itchy patches with the help of a washcloth soaked in the solution. This relieves itching caused by psoriasis.

Epsom Salts- Add a handful of Epsom salts to bathwater. They keep swelling down and heal psoriasis.

Mineral Oil- Add some mineral oil to bathwater and soak the affected skin. Vegetable oil can also be used for the purpose.

Psoriasis- Some Do's and Don'ts

Minor lifestyle changes and food habits can help avoid psoriasis and problems related to it. Here are some do's and don'ts for people suffering from psoriasis.

Avoid all factors (that you can) which trigger psoriasis.
Reduce stress levels through meditation and Yoga .
Do not prick, peel or scratch skin as it may trigger psoriasis.
After bathing or washing pat dry the skin. Don't rub the towel vigorously on skin.
Don't use soap as it dries skin. Use gram flour (besan) to cleanse skin instead of soap.
Apply moisturizing creams liberally on affected areas after bathing. If possible, use emollient moisturizing lotion or cream but consult your doctor before using any such thing.
Wear cotton clothes and avoid synthetic clothes.
Avoid consuming opposite foods.
Don't control natural urges like vomiting, urination, bowel emptying etc.
Don't take cold water bath immediately after a heavy work out, traveling, a long walk etc.
Don't consume foods that cause indigestion. Also avoid eating too much of salty, sour or acidic foods.
Don't eat radish, urad dal, sesame, jaggery (gur), curd, fish and other sour foods as they trigger psoriasis.

Tips for Improving Memory and Concentration

2010-08-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

You might be searching some really helpful tips for improving memory and concentration and must also be thinking that why you only forget things, places, names or why aren't you able to memorize your lessens effectively? But let me tell you, it is not only you but a major chunk of population who suffers from loss of memory and concentration. There are many reasons for this. I will quote some of these reason (you might find them very “so-out-of-place” types reasons but they are today's truth) And make it clear that I am writing reasons of 'bad memory' and 'poor concentration' just because when I give you tips to improve memory, you should not feel that they are total non sense! So, here are some reasons for poor memory and concentration.

Lesser Use of Brain- We use calculators for even simple calculations, we do not entertain ourselves with puzzles, crosswords (but watch TV- a total 'mind less' activity that doesn't engage your mind at all except for those 'sensible enough' quiz programmes). There's a simple rule - “use it or lose it”- when we are not using our memory, we are losing it!

Poor Diet Habits- At younger ages, we do not realize the importance of food. But just think, if a car doesn't run due to lack of fuel how can your body and mind run with nutrients' deficiency? Mind too needs its share of fuel and that is not junk foods in anyway.

Lack of Attention- Have you ever thought why you are able to repeat the whole story of that movie you watched last week (with minor details, remind you!) but could not recall what your professor taught you in the class today morning? Its just because you pay attention to movie and not to the lecture of your professor (and then you blame your poor concentration and look everywhere for tips to improve memory!)

But then that is also a good sign that you have realized you need memory improvement. Here are some ways to improve memory and concentration. These are all practical ways of improving memory and concentration provided you take them seriously and follow them, however, absurd they seem to be at the first instance

Do Memory Exercise for Improving Memory

Work out your brain more, perform memory exercises. You need not search for any memory exercise, just do everyday work in novel ways to present challenges to your mind or learn some altogether different thing- a language, a task, a game, a cooking recipe- anything but it should be new to your mind

Brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand
Do “neurobic” exercise (aerobic exercise for your brain) like showering and getting dressed with your eyes closed.
Enroll yourself on a course in a subject you don’t know much about

These were only some examples, think of some other exclusive memory exercises tailored to your needs.

Adopt Healthy Habits for Improving Memory

These healthy habits are mostly those that are essential to keep our body going (brain is after all a part of our “so-loved-but-neglected-body”)

Exercise regularly. It increases oxygen to your brain; reduces the risk for disorders that might result into memory loss; enhance the effects of helpful brain chemicals and protect brain cells; and manage stress.

Sleep Tight. It is necessary for memory consolidation. Sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea make you tired and unable to concentrate during the day. Get medical help if you suffer from serious sleep disorders.

Quit Smoking. It increases the risk of vascular disorders that can cause stroke and constrict arteries that deliver oxygen to the brain.

Get Right Nutrition for Memory Improvement

Diet is also key to improving memory along with keeping your body healthy. Many researches state that certain nutrients nurture and stimulate brain function. I'll tell you what nutrients to look for in food without going into technical details about how they help you to improve memory concentration, but they do help. Find out and take foods that contain

B vitamins, especially B6, B12, and folic acid (sources: spinach and other dark leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, strawberries, melons, black beans and other legumes, citrus fruits, soybeans.)
Antioxidants like vitamins C and E, and beta carotene (sources: blueberries and other berries, sweet potatoes, red tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, green tea, nuts and seeds, citrus fruits, liver.)
Omega-3 fatty acids (sources: cold-water fish such as salmon, herring, tuna, halibut, and mackerel; walnuts and walnut oil; flaxseed and flaxseed oil)

Senior persons should have dietary supplement for B12 and folic acid.Omega-3 supplement can be had by people of any age (if they don’t like eating fish.) However, nutrients work best when they are consumed in foods.

The most important thing- pay attention to every thing that you do- read, listen, memorize, see- whatever you do because at most of the time when we think that we suffer from poor memory concentration, we actually pay less attention to everything. Just be attentive to check whether you really need to improve your memory!

New Insulin Types – Better Diabetes Treatments in Future

2010-07-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

New Insulin Types

Here are some new insulin inventions that are making rounds in recent health news.

Once-in-Four-Months Insulin

In near future, people with diabetes would not have to care about their daily shots of insulin. Better diabetes treatment has come in news in form of insulin injection that diabetics need to take once in every four months. Presently insulin injected as diabetes treatment can maintain the normal sugar levels up to 18 hrs only. Therefore, diabetics have to to take a daily dose (sometimes twice daily) of insulin injection to sustain the blood sugar levels.

This amazing insulin has been discovered by Scientists at the National Immunology Institute, New Delhi, India headed by Dr Avadhesha Surolia. According to Dr Surolia, the new insulin is based on new principles of 'protein folding' and is capable of producing insulin molecules in a controlled and sustained manner for over 120 days. The newly discovered insulin has been sent to an US based company for further clinical trials and will be launched in the market in a period of six years from now. The team of scientists had already patented the new efficient insulin for diabetes treatment.

Needle less Insulin Without Need of Refrigeration

A team comprising a chemist and her few colleagues at Monash University have done research to develop a type of insulin that could be delivered by pill. Thus, it can be said the painless diabetes treatment without needles and refrigerated insulin. The team has successfully strengthened insulin's chemical structure without affecting its activity. It has even filed a series of patents with the support of their long-term commercial partner ASX-listed Circadian Technologies and are in the process of negotiating with pharmaceutical companies so that the new insulin could be introduced to the pharma markets. The new insulin was presented through Fresh Science, a communication 'boot camp' for early-career scientists held at the Melbourne Museum.

Insulin that can be Inhaled

Inhaler Insulin

AFREZZA™ is a new ultra-rapid acting mealtime insulin that is orally inhaled for absorption through the lung. As the new insulin is absorbed so rapidly, it closely acts similar to the normal early insulin response seen in healthy individuals. This amazing diabetes treatment – the inhaler insulin- was presented at the 239th American Chemical Society National Meeting held in San Francisco, California, USA during March 2010 and is awaiting approval by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This new insulin uses the Technosphere® technology- a delivery technology that is applicable to a wide variety of other drugs that are currently injected. Just as insulin, these medications are proteins that are digested and destroyed in the stomach if taken by mouth. The inhaling insulin will be available in form of dry powder. Diabetics would be able to inhale a small amount (a pinch) of the powder with the help of a thumb-sized device. This insulin powder would dissolve immediately after inhalation and the drug will be absorbed into the patient's bloodstream for diabetes treatment. AFREZZA™ also controls glucose as well as poses a lower risk of hypoglycemia than that typically associated with mealtime insulin therapy. It also leads to less weight gain compared to other insulin treatments as claimed by MannKind Corporation

Ayurvedic Tips for Breast Feeding Diet!

2010-07-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

Ayurveda gives importance to breast feeding from two viewpoints- nutritional and psychological aspect. Nutritional value of breastfeeding has been recognized even by the modern medicine.

Benefits of Breastfeeding

Ayurveda calls breast milk nectar because

It is naturally sterile and breast feeding protects baby from many infections and diseases by making him/her immune to basic health hazards.
Breast milk always stays at right temperature that is suitable for the child.
Breast milk is a good store of IgA ad lectoferrin (not available in such high concentration in any other milk.) It makes the child against a variety of bacteria and protects the infant from many diseases.
The milk available through breast feeding has got many digestive suitable for the newly developed digestive mechanism of the baby.
Breast feeding also inhibits growth of E. coli, and poliovirus due to the presence of milk lactose, thus protecting the baby.

Ayurvedic Concept of Quality Breastfeeding Milk

As for normal ayurvedic diet, breast milk is also affected by the three doshas described by Ayurveda- Vata-Pitta-Kapha dosha. If there occurs any health problem in baby then the feeding mother should watch her diet. The quality of milk depends on mother's diet as breast-milk is ‘Upadhatu’ of ‘Rasadhatu.’ Rasadhatu is made up of the food we eat. The big question here is- how to know the quality of milk given through breastfeeding? For this, place a drop of milk into a container with water and watch its behaviour.

If the milk drop disappears into water, it is of good quality.
If it sinks, it is heavy due to Kapha dosha. So, avoid Kapha provoking foods in diet.
If the milk drop floats, it has Vata dosha and can result into child suffering from gaseous stools and gripes. The herb ‘Dashmoolarishta’ can be taken as its remedy.
If the milk bcomes yellow, it has Pitta dosha. Take ‘Shatavari’ herb as remedy to excessive Pitta.

Ayurvedic Diet Tips for Breast Feeding

There are certain dietery regulations prescribed by Ayurveda for breastfeeding

Breast feeding mother should take adequate amount of Ghee (clarified butter) and oil in order to improve digestion, smooth bowel movement, for nourishing stressed tissues, and to subdue the vitiated Vata Dosha (that generally gets aggravated during the process of childbirth.)
The best breast feeding diet, according to ayurveda is a simple, bland vegetarian food with lots of vegetables and fruits. To make the food tasy, one can use natural harmless spices in moderate amount such as turmeric, black pepper, cumin, carrom seeds etc.
Too much of canned foods, hot, pungent, and spicy food should be avoided by breast feeding mother because they decrease milk secretion.
If breast milk is scanty, mother should take mixture of almond milk and herbs. For this, soak ten almonds in water overnight, peel and grind them by adding a cup of hot milk to make puree. Pour the almond milk into a glass and add a pinch each of ginger powder, cardamom and saffron along with a teaspoon of date sugar or honey. Drink this milk twice a day for better quality and quantity of breast milk.
If having pitta or kapha doshas,breast feeding mother must drink three to four cups of pomegranate juice daily to regulate lactation. Women having Vata dosha must avoid pomegranate juice as it can aggravate this dosha.
Vegetable and pulses soups should be taken in adequate amount.
Breast feeding diet should be rich in fluid, sweet, sour and salty taste.
Jaggery, asfoetida and jatiphala should be added to diet as also garlic and onion as they are also good stimulant. They can be added to vegetables, soups, pulses and other dishes.
Cow's milk and curd should be included in diet.
Dalia- broken wheat – is a good option for increasing quantity of breastmilk. Add some dalia with rice, pulse (preferably moong dal), sesame seeds, carrom seeds (ajwain) and salt with water. Pressure cook or boil them till tender and have it once or twice daily.

Ayurveda says that quality and quantity of breast milk is negatively affected by such factors as anger, grief, lack of feeling of love or relatedness toward the baby, excessive dieting and physical exercise, fatigue, having too much of dry foods - without fat or oils, excessive sexual intercourse, too much use of purification processes of Ayurvedic panchakarma, becoming pregnant within a short time period. So, alongwith paying attention towards ayurvedic breast feeding diet, one must also avoid having negative feelings and too much stress – physical or mental- and must relax body and mind through meditation etc.

Increase Metabolism to Lose Weight Fast

2010-04-03T23:43:00.000-07:00

When people say, they have the tendency to gain weight in spite of having a low fat diet, they themselves don't know that their problem is due to a slow metabolism (an inefficient metabolism, to be technically correct). There are people who, no matter, what they eat do not have to bother about gaining weight. These people have an effective and fast metabolism rate. However, anyone can increase metabolism of his/her body by taking certain measures but before knowing the tricks to increase metabolism, it is desirable to know what is metabolism and what factors are responsible for a slow or a fast metabolism.

What is Metabolism?

Whatever food we eat gets converted into energy that is known as 'calories.' Our body needs this energy or calories to perform various functions- basic body maintenance as well as other physical activities too. Metabolism is the way our food (that we eat) is burnt or converted into energy by our body. This energy is then used in keeping ourselves going. Thus, metabolism is how the food converted into energy is used by our body? About 65% of the calories are used for carrying on the basic bodily activities like breathing, sleeping, and keeping the body organs functioning. This is called Basal Metabolism. Some of you will be amazed to know that even if you keep lying in the bed the whole day then also you need this much calories to support your basic body functions. About 25% of energy is spent in physical activities we perform during the day. About 10% is spent in processing the food we eat and in digesting that food. This is known as thermal effect of food.

This is an average calculation of energy used by the body or the metabolic rate of body. Now, if your body needs lesser energy to perform all the above mentioned functions, the extra calories or energy gets stored in the form of fat. Here is where you can interfere by various means to increase metabolism rate so that your body uses up more energy and you could lose weight fast! The magic mantra to lose weight and maintain the reduced weight is- what you take in should equal the calories you spend.

How to Increase Metabolism?

You have to work on all the fronts- increase basal metabolism rate, increase physical activities, increase thermal effect of food through metabolism diet.

Exercising and Building Muscles- Increased physical activities will require more calories and this will speed up metabolism. Do regular exercises in whatever form you can- running, walking, jogging, swimming, aerobics, yoga or any other form of exercising. Keep the forms of exercises changing so as to present your body with new challenges that will require more energy. This will build your body muscles too. Muscles burn more calories and thus help increase metabolism which, in turn, helps in loosing weight fast. Thus, include weight-bearing or resistance exercise like weightlifting etc. into your daily exercise routine to build muscles.

Avoid Fasting- Fasting contributes in slowing down you metabolism. Therefore, avoid fasting. Also avoid larger gaps in between meals. Do not have two or three large meals. Instead, have five to six small meals spanned equally over the day. When having snacks as small meals avoid sweet food and junk food.

Drink Enough Water throughout Day- Dehydration contributes in slowing down your body metabolism rate by affecting body temperature. When your body is devoid of water (dehydrated), its temperature drops slightly which leads the body to store fat as a measure to raise or maintain the temperature. Ensure that you drink enough water and/or liquids according to your body needs. If you can't make up as to how much water is enough for a day, read How much water should you drink in a day?

Take Foods that Increase Metabolism- You must take foods that are high on nutritional value with sufficient antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C and B vitamins. Instead of having more carbohydrates and fat, take foods with more proteins as they increase metabolism by 2-3 times as compared to carbs and fats. However, complex and high-fiber carbohydrates such as high-fiber vegetables and cereals, burn more calories than simple carbohydrates and can help you increase metabolism. So, your metabolism diet must include quality protein, high-fiber fruits and vegetables, with an occasional high-fiber grain in order to increase metabolism. Chilli, mustard, green tea, water, dietary fibers, foods that are complex carbohydrates and proteins are best foods that increase metabolism.

You must, however, remember that foods can increase metabolism only to a certain level. Lifestyle changes by including exercises and avoiding certain habits like smoking, excessive alcohol intake, junk foods etc. can only increase metabolism to a level where you are able to lose weight fast and also maintain optimum body weight.

Wrist Pain! Check for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

2010-03-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

If you can't sleep properly at night and get awake due to excessive numbness and tingling of the hand, often mistaken as wrist pain, you could be suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

The term 'Carpus', originating from the Greek word "karpos" means "wrist." There is a band of tissue around the wrist that provides support to the joint. There is a canal like structure between this fibrous band and the wrist bone which is known as the carpal tunnel. The median nerve passing through the carpal tunnel receives sensations from the thumb, index, and middle fingers of the hand. When there are such conditions that lead to swelling or changes in the tissue position, the median nerve is compressed due to decreasing size of the canal. It affects the functioning of the median nerve that loses its capability of sensations. This causes tingling and numbness of the thumb, index, and the middle fingers which is known as "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" or CTS.

What are Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Causes?

Most of the patients suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome due to idiopathic causes which means there is no specific cause for their carpel tunnel syndrome. However, there are also cases that have some specific causes that include genetic predisposition and certain diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, hypothyroidism, acromegaly (a disorder of growth hormones), diabetes mellitus, amyloidosis, sarcoidosis, multiple myeloma and leukemia. Certain other medical conditions like obesity, pregnancy and trauma are also the causes of carpal tunnel syndrome. Certain work related activities are also attributed as the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome in some people. However, these reasons have not been established medically and are in a state of controversy. As per the believers of work related causes for carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive tasks, force, posture, and vibration such as those evident in cases of continuous typing on computer keyboard or on mobile phones and even while playing guitar can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.

What are Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms?

Those suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, feel numbness and paresthesia (a burning and tingling sensation) of the hand in the thumb, index, middle, and part of the fourth fingers. These sensations are more acute at night while asleep because most of the people tend to bend their wrists when they sleep, which further compresses the carpal tunnel. This makes one awake from sleep. These are the initial symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome which, if left untreated, can lead to more pronounced burning sensation, cramping and weakness of the hand. In advanced stages of carpal tunnel syndrome, the grip of hand decreases and things fall from hands more often. Also, sharp pain in the forearm is felt. In chronic carpal tunnel syndrome, one can even experience wasting or atrophy of the muscles of hand, especially those which are close to the base of thumb in the palm of the hand.

Is Wrist Pain Always a Case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

No, all the cases of wrist pain can not be called carpal tunnel syndrome. If there is a wrist pain at any location and with any kind of severity but lacks the sensation of numbness or paresthesia, it is not likely to be called a carpal tunnel syndrome. A medical examination of neck, shoulder, elbow, pulses, and reflexes are essential to exclude other conditions that are similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. To check carpal tunnel syndrome, sometimes the front part of the wrist is tapped that produces a tingling effect known as Tinel's sign of carpal tunnel syndrome. To ensure whether any kind of wrist pain or discomforting condition of wrist is carpal tunnel syndrome or not, one should go for nerve conduction velocity test. This test measures the rate of speed of electrical impulses as they travel down a nerve. In carpal tunnel syndrome, these nerve impulses slow down as they cross the carpal tunnel. A test of muscles of the extremity, electromyogram (EMG), is sometimes suggested to exclude or detect other conditions that might be similar to carpal tunnel syndrome.

How Much Water Should You Drink In a Day?

2010-03-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

We all know the significance of drinking water but how much water to drink in a day? Drink water as per your body weight, activity level, climate and medical condition. Lets know how to measure these to drink optimum amount of water in a day!

Water has been equated with life and there's no exaggeration to that. You can not concentrate on your work when thirsty. You just get crazy when you do not find water! However, as we all know that human body can get adapted to any situation, you can even do without taking a glass of water for a manageable period of time. It all depends on your will power and you feel brave when you suppress your urges, including the urge to drink water! How many times has it happened that you feel thirsty and in dire need of water but you behave good in front of clients and don't get up to drink water? And when you are busy preparing that final meeting report or the balance sheet or any other important document, it feels worthless to leave your seat to get just a glass of drinking water! But see what happens to your body due to lack of water! If you don't have your share of water intake per day, you will suffer from dehydration that will further lead to other medical conditions.

Consequences of Dehydration

There are many symptoms of dehydration that will tell you that you are not drinking enough water per day.

Headaches like what you get during a hangover
Muscle cramps
Decreased blood pressure or hypotension
Dizziness or fainting
Unconsciousness, swelling of the tongue and, in extreme cases, even death. (you knew that!)

If you do not change your habit of drinking less water than required, you might also experience the following conditions

Increase in pain of all types
Stress
Increased blood pressure
Imbalance in body weight (now you know why aren't you losing weight or gaining weight for that matter!)
Allergies and skin disorders
proneness to tumor formation
Weak immune system ( that means, you are more prone to get infected by bacteria, viruses, parasites, and even candida and cancer)

Now you know the significance of water and are well prepared to drink required amount of water per day but you don't know how much water should you drink in a day? Here's the answer.

Water Intake Per Day

Generally it is said that you should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day but everyone has a different requirement based on body weight, activity level, certain health conditions and climate.

Water intake per day on the basis of body weight!

Measure your weight in pounds or kilograms. Divide your weight in pound by 2. If you weigh 160 pounds, you will get 80 when you divide it by 2 and that is the number of ounces of water you should drink in a day (80 ounces of water). If you have measured your weight in kilograms, divide it by 30. If you weigh 75 kgs, dividing by 30 will give you the number 2.5. That means, you need 2.5 liters of water per day. A regular glass of water is 8oz. When talking of liters, a standard glass holds 200 ml. However, this is only a general view for getting a quantifiable measure of water intake per day. The amount of water you should drink in a day will also depend upon the activity levels, climate and your health conditions.

Water Intake for people with high activity levels!

If you are exercising, you will need to consume extra water to compensate for the loss of body fluid due to sweating. Take a couple of ounces of more water every fifteen minutes if you are doing mild exercises. However, if you are indulged in heavy exercising activities like running a marathon, you should increase your water intake considerably.

Water intake in different climates!

If you are in a weather condition that is excessively hot and humid, you will lose much of your body fluid through sweating. In winters, when you are staying within climate controlled conditions (with the help of room heating systems), you will lose body fluid again and will need more water. If you are visiting a hill station (at an altitude of more than 8200 feet or approx. 2500 meters), you will experience rapid breathing and frequent urination, again a cause of losing body fluid. So, you have to drink more water at high altitudes too.

Water intake in certain medical conditions!

Here your water intake has to be increased or decreased on the basis of individual diseases. For example, in urinary tract infection when you lose much of your body water reserves, you have to increase your water intake per day. Pregnant women or nursing mothers too have to drink more water to make up for the loss of body fluid. On the contrary, in certain types of kidney, liver and adrenal diseases where water excretion is impaired, you have to restrict your water intake.

The rule of drinking eight glasses of water a day is not bad for average human being (with average body weight) in average conditions. 8 glasses of water approximately will mean 1.6 liters. If that goes well with your body weight and other factors discussed above, you can drink 8 glasses of water a day otherwise increase or decrease your water intake per day according to your specific requirements.

Swine Flu Vaccine Made in India to be in Market by April 2010

2010-03-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

The demand for H1N1 vaccine is quite high in India. However, wait is only for a month or half now and the indigenous swine flu vaccine- made in India- will be commercially available in the market latest by April 2010. Zydus Cadila, the Ahmadabad based pharmaceutical company and Serum India, the Pune based pharmaceutical company have completed the first phase trials of the swine flu vaccine. Zydus Cadila is conducting the phase two and phase three trials of the swine flu vaccine in four major cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Jaipur and Pune. Serum India also started its clinical trials of nasal form of vaccine on 300 subjects at different locations around the country on March 8, 2010.

Zydus Cadila is prepared to manufacture about ten to twelve million doses of the swine flu vaccine in the initial phase that is expected just after the 2nd and 3rd phases of trial (that may take another six weeks to complete). Serum India, on the other hand, plans to introduce the single dose swine flu vaccine in two forms —nasal spray and as an injectable. The inhalation vaccine uses a live virus, which will be administered to three age groups ( 9-19 years, 20-48 years and 48 and above.) during the trials. According to S Jadhav, the Executive Director of Serum India, “Further trials will be carried out later to test safety of the injectable vaccine on another set of people."

Apart from the two pharmaceutical companies, Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech are also working on the swine flu vaccination. Additionally, the 1.5 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine is to be imported from French company Sanofi Pasteur who has already passed the safety test. The mass vaccination for swine flu will begin in the country by next week. However, the swine flu vaccine developed by indigenous pharma companies will be much cheaper with a cost of around Rs 150-200 per vaccine. The global cost of H1N1 vaccine range between 9 and 15 Dollars.

Urinary Tract Infection- Symptoms, Causes, Remedies

2010-02-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection that can affect any part of the urinary tract. Passing urine is a very essential activity of any human body as it removes excess liquid and wastes from the blood. Narrow tubes called ureters carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder, a sack-like organ situated in the lower abdomen. Urine is stored in the bladder and emptied through urethra. An adult, on an average, passes about a quart and a half of urine each day, depending on the fluids and foods consumed. The urinary tract is designed to generally prevent any kind of infection. The ureters and bladder, in normal conditions, prevent urine from backing up toward the kidneys and the flow of urine from the bladder helps wash bacteria out of the body. However, urinary tract infections can still occur due to many reasons.

Urinary Tract Infection Causes

Urine is sterile which means it is free of bacteria, viruses, and fungi but it contains fluids, salts, and waste products. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is caused when bacteria, from the digestive tract, cling to the opening of the urethra and begin to multiply. Escherichia coli (E. coli), which normally lives in the colon, is the most common type of bacteria that causes urinary tract infection. There are multiple stages of urinary tract infection. The infection limited to urethra is called urethritis. If bacteria move to the bladder and multiply, then it causes bladder infection, called cystitis. If the infection is left untreated, bacteria may multiply and infect the kidneys, which is called pyelonephritis.

Apart from bacteria, some other microorganisms called Chlamydia and Mycoplasma may also cause urinary tract infection in both men and women. However, these infections, generally remain limited to the urethra and reproductive system. Chlamydia and Mycoplasma may be sexually transmitted. In such cases where, UTI is caused by sexual transmission, both the partners have to be treated for urinary tract infection. Urinary Tract infection can also be caused by an obstruction like a urinary stone or due to a medical procedure involving a catheter. In men the cause of UTI can be enlarged prostate too. Unhygienic conditions ( like using infected public toilets) or improper cleaning of the genital areas may also cause UTI.

Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms

In many cases, the person suffering from urinary tract infection, is not aware of any symptoms. It is because of the subtle nature of symptoms that go unnoticed. However, there are many symptoms of urinary tract infection that can help in early detection of the UTI, provided the patient remains alert.

Strong and frequent urge to urinate. Sometimes, the amount of urine passed is very little in spite of strong urge to urinate.
Pain or a burning sensation during urination
Changed appearance of the urine. It may appear milky cloudy due to pus present in the urine or can contain traces of blood.
Men who might have got urinary tract infection can experience pain or pressure in the rectum. Women can feel pain or pressure within the area of pubic bone.
Weakness and tiredness. The infected person feels bad all the time resembling a shaky and washed out feeling.
Some of the people affected with urinary tract infection may also experience pain in the back or below the ribs, nausea, or vomiting.
Fever, only when the urinary tract infection has infected the kidneys and blood too. In mild UTI, fever is not its symptom.
Bleeding, again when the kidney has also been infected.
Urinary tract infection in babies, especially infants, may go unnoticed due to their regular habits of urinating more than adults. If an infant gets a urinary tract infection, the more common symptoms include irritability, fever, loose stools or any kind of feeding problems.

Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis and Treatment

To confirm whether the symptoms felt by a patient is actually a case of urinary tract infection or not, doctors test a sample of urine for pus and bacteria. Urine is examined for he presence of white and red blood cells and bacteria. The bacteria found in the urine are grown in a culture and tested against different antibiotics to establish which drug best destroys the bacteria. If the patient experiences recurrent urinary tract infections, further tests are conducted that include imaging studies and/or visual examination of the bladder (cystoscopy).

Urinary tract infections are treated with antibacterial drugs (antibiotics). The specific drug and length of treatment depend on the results of urine culture tests and patient's history. If the UTI is a mild one, it can be cured with 1 or 2 days of treatment. However, doctors recommend their patients to take antibiotics for a week or two in order to ensure that the infection has been cured completely. Longer treatment is essentially needed for patients having signs of a kidney infection, diabetes, structural abnormalities, or men who have prostate infections. Longer treatment is also needed in UTI caused by Mycoplasma or Chlamydia. Usually, doctors recommend lengthier therapy in men than in women, in part to prevent infections of the prostate gland. After the treatment is over, a followup urinalysis is conducted to ensure that the urinary tract is completely free of infection.

Urinary Tract Infection Remedies and Prevention

The golden saying goes- prevention is better than cure. Urinary tract infections can be prevented by taking care of not getting infected by bacteria. Treatment should also be followed religiously because once having urinary tract infection makes the patient prone to frequent urinary tract infections. The full course of antibiotics recommended by the doctors should be taken. Following measures should also be taken during the treatment of urinary tract infection and for further prevention of UTI.

Drink plenty of water which helps cleanse the urinary tract of bacteria.
Avoid coffee, alcohol, and spicy foods during urinary tract infection treatment. Quit smoking too.
Don't resist the urge to urinate. Urinate whenever the need is felt.
Women must wipe from front to back to prevent bacteria around the anus from entering the vagina or urethra.
Avoid public toilets. If it can't be done, avoid contact with the toilet seats. Indian toilets are most safe (for women) from the point of view of preventing urinary tract infections. If you can't find one, ensure to flush before using western public toilets.
Tub baths promote spreading of bacteria. Take showers instead.
Cleanse the genital area before having sexual intercourse.
In case of female urinary tract infection, women must avoid using feminine hygiene sprays and scented douches. They may cause irritation to the urethra.
Take lots of Vitamin C. It grants acidic nature to urine and helps in reducing the number of potentially harmful bacteria in the urinary tract system.
Wear cotton panties. They allow moisture to escape. Moist environment is the breeding ground for bacteria that might cause frequent urinary tract infections.
inspirational

Brain Capable of Handling Just 150 Friends on Facebook Too!

2010-02-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

Everyone may be trying to make thousands of friends on Facebook and many of them have been successful too but the truth is that our brain can handle only 150 friends at a time. This was revealed in a study conducted by Robin Dunbar, a professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University, due to be published later this year.

The theory- ‘Dunbar’s number- developed in the 1990s, stated that the part of the brain responsible for conscious thought and language, known as neocortex, can only manage a social circle of about 150 friends. The term 'friend' here has been taken to mean the people whom we contact at least once in a year. According to Dunbar, the “Facebook effect” has hardly had an impact on the size of social groupings.

People on Facebook and other such social network sites, according to Dunbar, “maintain the same inner circle of around 150 people that we observe in the real world.” Most people agree to the fact that friends on social network sites are not close "friends."

Younger generation might be taking it as “cool” to have thousands of friends on their Facebook profiles but the truth remains that the brain is not capable of handling more than 150 friends either in person or on Facebook!

News Source- The Times of India

What is Insulin Resistance?

2010-02-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

When the cells of human body become lesser sensitive to insulin (hormone secreted by pancreatic gland that helps glucose, derived from food, enter cells to be turned into energy), the state is called insulin resistance or insulin resistance syndrome. In such a situation, pancreas secrets more insulin because the body doesn't get the signal of having enough of insulin. Excessive release of insulin, in turn leads to undesirable conditions including diabetes, obesity coupled with high cholesterol and heart disease.

How Insulin Resistance Causes Diseases?

Due to overwork, pancreas gets worn out resulting in lower insulin production in long term. This leads to Type 2 diabetes in about 30% of cases. When the patient suffering from insulin resistance does not develop diabetes, s/he might suffer from abnormal high levels of insulin in the blood referred to as hyperinsulimia (as a result of excessive insulin production.) This often leads to chronic obesity along with high blood pressure, high levels of triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol, heart disease, and possibly some types of cancers.

What are the Causes of Insulin Resistance?

Causes of insulin resistance vary from diet, cellular, genetic, and other reasons including some medicines and diseases too.

Diet- A high carbohydrate diet is often linked to developing of insulin resistance. Many researches have found that higher quantities of fructose (sweetener) change blood lipid profiles, among other things, mostly due to its effects on the function of liver. High amounts of ordinary sucrose or sugar in diet can also develop insulin resistance.

Cellular causes- Excessive circulating insulin seems to be contributing to insulin resistance via down-regulation of insulin receptors. This happens because of prolonged and repeated elevations of circulating insulin.

Genetic causes- Sharply increased rates of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes are present in people with close relatives who have developed Type 2 diabetes.

Diseases, Medicines and Other Medical conditions- Some of the recent researches and studies have observed that patients who have had some kind of bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) have shown increased insulin sensitivity and even remission of Type 2 diabetes. Other studies have shown that glucosamine (often recommended for joint problems) may also cause insulin resistance. Insulin resistance has also been linked to PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) as either causing it or being caused by it.

What is Insulin Resistance Test?

In the near absence of any outward symptoms of insulin resistance, a glucose-tolerance test, which measures insulin and blood-glucose, can help identify whether a person suffers from insulin resistance or not? However, many people who are insulin resistant produce enough quantities of insulin to maintain near normal blood-glucose levels. Therefore, insulin resistance can be diagnosed when three of the following elements are present:

Intra-Abdominal obesity that is measured by waist circumference (Men having greater than 40 inches and women having greater than 35 inches of waist measurement)
Low Blood HDL cholesterol (Men having less than 40 mg/dL and women having less than 50 mg/dL)
Fasting blood triglycerides that is greater than or equal to 150 mg/dL
Blood pressure that is greater than or equal to 130/85 mmHg
Fasting glucose that is greater than or equal to 110 mg/dL

What is Best Insulin Resistance Treatment?

It is a controlled balanced diet (insulin resistance diet) and an active lifestyle. If anyone has insulin resistance, his/her blood sugar levels may still be normal. However, it may be on the high side after meals even if the person does not have diabetes. This can be termed as pre-diabetes where such a person is leading a life that is putting a lot of stress on blood sugar control system. Such persons who are predisposed to insulin resistance, or those who suffer from a lesser form of insulin insensitivity must take positive steps for improving insulin sensitivity.

Insulin Resistance Diet- Reducing having refined carbohydrates and sugary foods. Increase intake of healthy carbohydrate like whole grains and also fruits, vegetables and beans. Having more of monunsaturated fats, lean protein and lower-fat dairy foods can help improve insulin sensitivity.

Physical exercise- Regular physical exercise for about to 30-45 minutes per day is highly recommended for improving insulin sensitivity. Even if one doesn't lose weight, s/he must exercise regularly to control insulin resistance. Thirty minutes of physical activities three or four times a week can cut insulin levels by 20% while lowering blood sugar levels by 13%. This is enough to take a person from "pre-diabetes" to "normal" conditions.

Rest- Sleep disorders and stress, both may cause hormone imbalance. If this is a regular habit (cutting on sleep hours and taking stress), it might lead to diabetes in years to come. A recent study has stated that people who slept for less than 6 hours a night were twice as likely to develop diabetes over the following 15 years compared to people who slept for about 7 hours a night. However, those who slept for more than 8 hours a night were also at a higher risk.

New Sex Education Game Launched for Teens

2010-02-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

Middlesex public health unit in London, Ontario has launched a comic-book inspired interactive game on its website called "Adventures in Sex City," to test the knowledge of teens about sex and to impart correct sex education to them.

To play this sex game, players would choose one of the characters- Captain Condom, who is a man wearing a condom on his head; Wonder Vag, a virgin; Willy, a boy who believes size doesn't matter; or Power Pap, a sexually active girl. There is the super villain, the 'Sperminator', who is a muscular man wearing a red wrestling mask with penis arms. To play the game, player- on behalf of the chosen character- would answer a set of 25 questions about sexual activity. If the player gets a question wrong, Sperminator shoots the character with sperm. However, if the question is answered correctly, the character uses a "condom shield" to shoot the sperm back at the Sperminator. Another feature of the game- "Myths Maniac"- addresses and dispels faulty sexual information teens often hear at school or from friends.

A two-player version of the game has also been made available. This version allows parents to play with their teen. The very useful sex game also links to health clinics, videos, contraceptive information, and posters. It will also be promoted at some public schools across the region.

According to Shaya Dhinsa, Manager of sexual health at the Middle-London Health Unit, this game would grasp the interest of teens between 16-20 years of age as it is an interactive way to educate them about sex. This interactive game can be visited at healthunit.com/sectionList.aspx?sectionID=378.

News Source: ecanadanow.com

Sleep Apnea Treatment, Diagnosis and Home Remedies

2010-02-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

If you have read Sleep Apnea- Causes and Symptoms, you will know whether you might be suffering from sleep apnea or not. However, before going to a doctor to confirm or reject the possibility of sleep apnea, you must do certain things to make it easier for the doctor and for yourself about diagnosing the sleep disorder.

Sleep Apnea Diagnosis

You have to note down your sleeping condition for a few days. For this, you may maintain your sleep diary by writing every day about how well did you sleep the previous night? How many times did you wake up? Try to remember any incident of breathing problem that might have occurred during sleep (or waking up from sleep). Note all that seems inconvenient or abnormal. Also keep a record of your snoring by taking help of your sleeping partner. Do you snore always or not? How loud is your snoring? Get answers of these and any other such questions. You can even record your snoring sound with the help of audio recorder. If you take all these information to the doctor, solution to your sleep problems can be easily achieved. If, based on your sleep report, doctor feels that you might be suffering from sleep apnea, you will be sent to the sleep clinic- also called sleep lab or sleep center- for a night or two for "polysomnogram" (or "PSG" - a sleep study). Sleep tests in a sleep clinic will help in diagnosing sleep apnea by testing how frequently you stop breathing.

Minor Sleep Apnea Cures- Home Remedies for Sleep Apnea

If you are diagnosed with minor sleep apnea, the doctor will suggest some behavioral changes (lifestyle changes) and some home remedies for sleep apnea that may include

Losing weight
Avoiding alcohol, tobacco, sedatives, or any other drug or other thing that relax the muscles of your throat and encourage snoring.
Sleeping on your sides. Special pillows might be suggested to be used as tools for sleeping on your sides. Special techniques such as 'tennis ball trick' might also be suggested where you can sew a tennis ball in the back of your pajama top that will keep you on your sides while sleeping.
Keeping your head at an elevated position by using pillows that are 4 -6 inches higher than the normal pillows. This strategy prevents snoring and makes breathing easier.
Maintaining regular sleep hours.
Using nasal dilator, nasal strips or saline nasal spray for keeping the nasal passages open and decongested.

Sleep Apnea Treatment

If, on the hand, you have got a serious kind of obstructive sleep apnea that causes you to stop breathing for multiple times at night, you will be subjected to special sleep apnea treatments.

Special Oral Appliances- patients of sleep apnea need to keep their air passage open. So, many form-fitting dental mouthpieces are used to cure sleep apnea. These oral appliances help advance the position of the tongue and soft palate to keep the patient's air passage open,. After getting the oral appliances fitted, one must regularly visit the dentist in every six months to ensure whether everything is all right or not.

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty Surgery- Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is the traditional surgical treatment for sleep apnea. The excess tissues in the throat are tightened and trimmed to avoid their relaxed position that also causes breathlessness apart from snoring.

Laser Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP)- In this type of surgery to treat snoring, a small hand-held laser beam is used to shorten the soft palate and remove the patient's uvula. This enlarges the airway and reduces vibration. This may need more than one session to control snoring. However, laser surgery is not usually advised for occasional or light snoring. Generally it is also not advised for sleep apnea.

Somnoplasty- or Radiofrequency Tissue Ablation involves using of a low-intensity radiofrequency signal to remove part of the soft palate to reduce snoring. It is done using local anesthesia. It is comparatively a newer technique for treating sleep apnea.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure(CPAP)- In this treatment, the patient wears a pressurized mask over the nose while sleeping. The mask is attached to a small pump that forces air through the patient's airway to keep it open. CPAP treats snoring and prevents sleep apnea. Although many patients find it uncomfortable, CPAP is the most preferred method of treating obstructive sleep apnea.

Now when you know all about sleep apnea causes, symptoms and treatment, measure the degree of seriousness of your sleep problem but let the doctors decide what is the most suitable treatment for your type of sleep apnea? If that treatment causes you some discomfort, try to tolerate it for the first few days after which it will naturally convert into your habit. After all, nothing is valuable than you life- breath right, while sleeping too, and save your life!

Sleep Apnea- Causes and Symptoms

2010-02-03T04:54:00.000-08:00

Do you stay exhausted during the day and so do your sleeping partner? Do you occasionally wake up in the night and feel yourself breathless? Is your partner unable to sleep restfully due to your snoring? All these might be the symptoms of sleep apnea. Anyone can be a victim of sleep apnea though due to different reasons. Before knowing the various reasons or causes of sleep apnea, we must know what is sleep apnea?

What is Sleep Apnea?

Apnea is a Greek word which means "without breath." Sleep Apnea is the condition where a person stops breathing for short intervals during sleep. This might happen for many a times ranging from 5 to over 100 times in an hour. As a result of stopped breathing, the brain gets stimulated to restart the breathing process and signals the body to wake up so that the muscles of the tongue and throat can increase the size of the airway and carbon dioxide and oxygen can be exhaled and inhaled respectively. The patient may not remember the waking episodes but this disturbs his/her sleep which is the reason for daytime exhaustion.

Types Of Sleep Apnea

There are three types of sleep apnea- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA); Central Sleep Apnea; and Complex Sleep Apnea. The three types differ from each other in causes but all of them lead to breathlessness during sleep. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea- OSA is caused by the blocked airway, generally when the soft tissues in the back of the throat collapse and close during sleep.

Central Sleep Apnea- In this type of sleep apnea, the brain fails to send signal to the body to breathe.

Complex Sleep Apnea- It is mixed type of sleep apnea- the combination of the other two types.

Risk factors of sleep apnea include being male, overweight, and over the age of forty. However, sleep apnea is not uncommon in other persons irrespective of any age. Even children might suffer from it but they do not fall in the high risk group. This article deals with the most common type of sleep apnea- the Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Sleep Apnea Causes

As the name suggests, obstructive sleep apnea results from obstruction or blockage of the air passage of the patient. The throat collapses during sleep, blocking the airway and preventing air from going into the lungs. The main causes of sleep apnea include

Obesity- the extra tissues help in blocking the airway.
Large tonsils- or adenoids do the same work (obstruct the path of air)
Other Physical Characteristics- like deviated septum, shape of head and neck, receding chin, enlarged tongue.
Nasal congestion- due to cold, sinusitis, allergies, smoking, etc. can also lead to difficulty in breathing.
Alcohol intake- the throat muscles and tongue relax more than normal during sleep due to the effect of alcohol or sedatives.
Old age- the loose muscles block the airway.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

One must consult a medical professional when the following symptoms of sleep apnea are visible or experienced by self or partner.

Loud snoring. However, snoring do not always mean sleep apnea.
Shortness of breath- that leads to waking up from sleep.
Intermittent pauses in breathing during sleep- This is better observed by the partner or other family members as the patient might not feel it.
Excessive daytime drowsiness- If the person falls asleep while working, watching television and even driving

Read about Sleep Apnea Treatment, Diagnosis and Home Remedies.

Chest Congestion- Symptoms & Remedies

2010-01-08T23:21:00.000-08:00

Chest congestion is one of the medical conditions involving inflammation of the lower respiratory tract which causes difficulty in breathing and is mostly accompanied by chest pain and some other discomforting states. Inflammation is one of the body’s immune responses to an infection, a foreign body or even an allergy, virus or bacteria. Due to inflammation, mucus accumulates in the chest region which causes chest congestion.

Causes of Chest Congestion

There are many causes of chest congestion

Common cold
Asthma
Bronchitis
Flu
Airborne allergies
Gastroesophageal reflux
Pulmonary edema
Croup
Heart failure
Pneumonia
Lung cancer, and
Cystic fibrosis

However, the most common cause of chest congestion is common cold. Allergens, bacteria, and fungi can also cause infections that further result into chest congestion.

Symptoms of Chest Congestion

Symptoms of chest congestion are not very difficult to identify. One feels very tired due to the short supply of oxygen and labored breathing. Tightened chest and chest pain along with coughing are the common symptoms of chest congestion. Coughing is the most common and natural response of lungs and throat to clear out the thick mucous deposited in the chest area. This mucous or phlegm is produced to trap pathogens and pollutants. The symptoms of chest congestion can be listed as under

Coughing
Shortness of breath
Labored breathing
Chest pain
Dizziness
Runny nose
Wheezing
Discomfort
Blood in cough
Loud noises while breathing

Sometimes, chest congestion itself is a symptom of some other disease or medical conditions. If so, it is accompanied by several other symptoms. If chest congestion is due to flu, it will accompany other symptoms too such as fever, chills, body ache and malaise. Therefore, one must always be careful while judging the symptoms of chest congestion. For example, if breathing becomes more and more difficult or blood tinged mucous is noticed while coughing, it could indicate a more serious condition like pneumonia. In such conditions, patients should always see medical practitioner as soon as possible instead of taking chest congestion as a mere symptom of common cold.

Chest Congestion Remedies

Both traditional and alternative medicine is used to cure chest congestion. As an immediate remedy of chest congestion, the patient is given anti-histamine that contains diphenhydramine. However, if the infection is severe, doctors may also prescribe some kind of antibiotics. Chest congestion due to common cold can easily be cured by certain home and herbal remedies. These natural chest congestion remedies make use of simple things that can be found in any kitchen or in neighborhood health stores. Home remedies for chest congestion are nothing but some anti-inflammatory measures that help in dissolving the thick mucous in the chest, making breathing easier for the patient. Some of the home remedies for chest congestion are mentioned here for getting quick relief from discomfort caused by chest congestion.

Steam Inhaling- steam treatment is one of the best chest congestion remedies. Take some really hot water in a bowl and mix some drops of any essential oil from among eucalyptus, clary sage, pine and rosemary. Eucalyptus oil is particularly effective as chest congestion remedy. You can find it in any medical store. Eucalyptus leaves, instead of oil, can also be used. Now incline your face over the bowl in such a way that steam can easily enter your nostrils and cover the head with a towel big enough to cover the bowl too in a way that doesn't lets the steam out. Inhale the aromatic steam for a few seconds or minutes that is tolerable. Inhaling steam loosens up the hardened phlegm to be easily coughed up giving immediate relief from chest congestion.

Hot and Spicy Foods- Spicy foods that contain chili, garlic and ginger paste act as decongestants. Hot foods even kill bacteria. Eating spicy foods like peppers and chilies can help in getting rid of the unwanted bacteria. The heat also helps the congested mucus to become thin. This is why one experiences runny nose whenever spicy food is eaten as it loosens the phlegm that runs through nose.

Herbal Tea- Tea prepared with herbs, especially ginger, is very beneficial in getting relief from chest congestion. Ginger, in fact, is an excellent anti-inflammatory agent that can even be chewed raw with some salt for getting fast relief from chest congestion. Tea brewed with a few drops of chamomile can also help relieve congestion in the chest.

Hot water- Anything hot is beneficial in chest congestion. Drink hot water every time you feel thirsty, more importantly in the morning just after waking up when the mucous is most thick and hardened in the chest. It will help in dissolving the phlegm and will make it easier to cough up. Gargle with tolerable hot salty water three to four times a day in order to loosen up the phlegm.

Preventive Measures for Chest Congestion

There are some people who suffer from chest congestion more often. It is a sign of weak immunity. Every time when the body of such people finds any foreign elements like bacteria, fungi, virus, pollutants etc. entering the body, self defense mechanism is automatically activated resulting in inflammation of the respiratory tract and forming of mucous to trap such foreign bodies which are detrimental to one's health. Such people should take preventive measures so that they do not experience chest congestion so often. They should also work for strengthening their immune system. Here are some ways to do so.

Yoga and Pranayama- Yoga is one of the best exercises for body and mind. There are many yoga asanas that improve body immunity. However, learn these yoga postures from some learned yoga practitioner to get the maximum benefits. Pranayam- one of the breathing exercises within Yoga- can help expand lung capacity and improve the breathing mechanism. The following video shows the yoga for chest congestion. It uses a blanket to achieve the pose required to open up the chest because the exact yoga pose for chest congestion is quite difficult to do for beginners without the help of experts.

Yoga for Chest Congestion Video

Balanced Diet- A balanced diet is important not only for avoiding chest congestion but for overall health and wellness. A diet rich in vitamin C and E can help boost immune system that ultimately takes care of chest congestion. Foods rich in anti-oxidants and beta carotene aid in the correct functioning of lungs. Spinach, papaya, berries are good sources of beta carotene and anti oxidants and should be included in diet on a regular basis. Enzyme rich foods like kiwi and pineapple too can break down phlegm. Garlic is yet another very good immune booster. It helps ward off infections. It can be taken daily- raw or mixed with food preparations and even as an ingredient in food recipes.

Apart from taking the above measures for strengthening immunity, one must also get adequate sleep and should stay away from polluted environments. Polluted environment triggers respiratory infection and causes a relapse of chest congestion.

Anti Smoking Vaccine- To Be a Reality Soon!

2009-12-31T23:58:00.000-08:00

People, who have in the past, tried to quit smoking by various means but relapsed will be happier with the news about an anti smoking vaccine- NicVAX- that can hit the markets very soon. This anti smoking vaccine meant to help people quit smoking, has entered the III phase of clinical trials which, when successful, will clear the way of anti smoking injectable drug to enter the market, most probably next year.

How NicVAX Works?

NicVAX stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies that bind to nicotine in the bloodstream and makes the nicotine molecule too large to cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain. Once inside the brain, nicotine triggers the release of dopamine, a chemical linked to pleasure and to addiction. NicVAX ultimately prevents the pleasure that keeps people addicted to smoking and other nicotine use. During the clinical trials using the vaccine and placebo- carried out by nine different institutions including the University of California- it helped half of smokers to quit smoking. During the second phase of trials, participants were vaccinated six times and now 80 per cent gave up. Unlike nicotine replacement treatments, NicVAX does not enter the brain, and thus, does not have the same adverse psychological effects, like depression or suicidal ideation, associated with other treatments.

The vaccine that limits the ability of nicotine to enter the brain gives smokers a fighting chance to end the addiction as well as the relapse cycle. “Phase III trial of nicotine vaccine offers tremendous hope towards solving this immense public health problem,” said Dr. Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH) that has granted $10 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund the phase III testing of NicVAX.

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals & GlaxoSmithKline Partnership

The maker of the anti-smoking vaccine NicVAX- Nabi Biopharmaceuticals- has entered a partnership with the pharma company GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals to develop the vaccine using Nabi's intellectual property. GSK could elect to exercise its option to further develop and commercialize NicVAX as soon as the deal closes, which is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2010, or wait until the first Phase III results are available, which are anticipated in the second half of 2011. Successful completion of the phase III trials will bring the NicVAX vaccine closer to final FDA approval. Based on successful initial testing, the FDA has already granted NicVAX "fast track" designation for final testing and approval.

Viscosupplementation- Osteoarthritis Knee Pain Treatment

2009-12-06T09:46:00.000-08:00

For the patients of osteoarthritis who suffer from knee joint pain but do not want to go for knee replacement surgery, there is an alternative knee treatment known as Viscosupplementation.

What Is Viscosupplementation?

There are many causes for painful joints. Poor lubrication due to low hyaluronic acid (HA) levels is one of such causes for osteoarthritis knee pain. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a chemical produced by our body. With low levels of this acid, there is an increase in the levels of inflammatory substances called prostaglandins which further results in painful movements. Viscosupplementation is a treatment which involves the injection of gel-like substances (hyaluronates) into the joints to supplement the viscous properties of synovial (lubricating) fluid. It reduces pain, swelling and inflammation of the knee joints. Viscosupplementation can also be achieved by taking oral supplements. However, injecting hyaluronic acid into the affected joint is the most prevalent treatment technique.

Viscosupplementation Video

See this viscosupplementation injection video which displays the technique of injection with viscosupplementation for osteoarthritis of right elbow joint.

Viscosupplementation Injection Video

Is Viscosupplementation Effective for Knee Joint Pain?

Viscosupplementation injections have so far proved to increase synovial fluid levels of hyaluronic acid thereby improving its viscosity and freedom of joint movement. They have also been useful in reducing pain by decreasing levels of prostaglandins. However, not all patients of osteoarthritis benefit from viscosupplementation. Only those patients who have mild to moderate osteoarthritis have shown significant improvement in their pain condition. Those having advanced destructive osteoarthritis with chronic knee pain do not seem to have any beneficial effect from viscosupplement injections.

When is Viscosupplementation Recommended?

When the patients of osteoarthritis with mild to moderate knee joint pain do not get any relief from the following traditional treatments, they are recommended by the doctors to take viscosupplementation treatment.

Anti-analgesic and anti-inflammatory medicines
Topical anti-inflammatory gels
Physio Therapy and exercises
Joint aspiration and intra-articular LA/steroid injection.

Once taken, the viscosupplementation injection is effective for 6-8 months.

What is the Cost for Viscosupplementation Injection?

In India, the cost of one time administration of Viscosupplementation Injection is about Rs. 15,000.

What are the Side Effects of Viscosupplementation?

Hyaluronic acid has approximately a 1% incidence of side effects per injection. The side effects of viscosupplement injections are generally mild. The most common side effects are local reactions at the knee joint such as swelling, pain, and increased warmth. This kind of reaction typically lasts for 1 to 2 days.

Viscosupplementation treatment is, till date, available for treating knee joint pains only. However, experiments are being conducted to see its effect on other joint pains like shoulder pain, hip pain etc. Watch the video on viscosupplementation treatments in India for more information on the subject.

4 die in China after taking H1N1 vaccine

2009-12-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

The Chinese ministry of health has reported four deaths that came to persons who had been inoculated with A/H1N1 flu vaccine made in the country. The confirmation of these deaths comes after 26 million people were vaccinated within weeks of formulating the vaccines in record time after the swine flu outbreak.

The ministry hastened to say that three of the four deaths were not related the vaccines and it was a coincidence that these persons died after taking the inoculation shots. The cause of the fourth death is year to be determined, Liang Wannian, director of the ministry's emergency response

Liang said suspected adverse reactions have been reported in 2,867 of the people who took the vaccines. About four fifths of the reactions were fever or swelling.

"Clinical tests and practices in China and other countries have shown the A/H1N1 flu vaccines are safe," Liang said.

The flu has infected more than 90,000 people in China and 80% of them have recovered, official statistics show. A total of 178 people have died in the Chinese mainland until Sunday.

Read the full news

World AIDS Day- A Review of AIDS Status

2009-11-28T09:36:00.000-08:00

World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1. This year, it will be the 21st annual World Aids Day. The aim of this day is raising awareness about the AIDS pandemic which is caused by HIV infection. Memorials to honor persons who have died from HIV/AIDS are held on this day. People from different walks of life come together for the cause of HIV infected people.

AIDS Statistics

Today 33 million people in the world are HIV positive. From among this huge number, only about 4 million are receiving treatment. According to the statistics released by UNAIDS and WHO, this global epidemic is slowing down. However, there are some hard-hit countries where nothing seems to be helpful. In June 2008, a joint WHO/UNAIDS report stated that about three million people were receiving anti-retroviral drugs in the developing world, less than a third of the 9.7 million people who needed them at that time. It means that 6.7 million were dying for lack of drugs.

AIDS Research

AIDS researches are being conducted vigorously all over the world in two key areas- for finding a cure for HIV/AIDS; and for developing an effective vaccine to prevent it. However, even with all ongoing efforts, any effective solution doesn't seem to be there for AIDS treatment.

AIDS Vaccine Conference

AIDS vaccine conference is being organized every year since 2000 for exchanging information related to HIV vaccine research and development. It aims at providing a platform for an international exchange of information in HIV vaccine research and development; cross-fertilizing scientific areas of research; increasing coordination and communication among international groups; and monitoring progress in the field.

AIDS Prevention

At this point of time, prevention seems to be the only cure of AIDS. Right condoms are 100% effective in preventing the spread of HIV virus. However, people don't seem to be serious enough about using them which shows in the low levels of their utilization. Also people should get rid of their habits of sharing needles, syring

Learn more about HIV & AIDS Prevention

References

Wikipedia

The Huffington Post

Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise

Ayurvedic Remedies for Prostate Problems

2009-11-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

Author: DeepaRoy

Prostate, the small organ below the urinary bladder in males has significant role to play in both- sexual activity and urination. It surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine passes out of the body and produces seminal fluid discharged from penis during sexual stimulation. Prostate problems include the very common prostatitis- the inflammation of the prostate gland. Ayurveda recognizes two specific prostate problems-

Mootrakruchra - painful urination, and

Mootraghaata - suppression of urination.

They are, in fact, symptoms of prostate problems. Apart from these two main symptoms, other symptoms include problematic urine flow, dribbling, increased urination, hematuria (blood in urine), urinary tract infection and urinary retention.

Herbal Remedies for Prostate Gland Problems

Ayurveda suggests many herbs for the treatment of prostate gland problems:

Punarnava or Hog Weed (Boerhaavia diffusa)- It is useful in all urinary problems caused due to prostate ailments.

Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca scariola)- The bitter tonic of its leaves is very effective in treatment of enlarged prostate gland.

Shalaba mishri or Salep Orchid (Orchis mascula)- Useful where prostate problems are due to vata vitiation.

Gokshura or Small Caltrop (Tribulus terrestris)- This Indian herb, tribulus terrestris , is useful in treatment of urinary complications caused due to prostate problems. Its fruit is boiled in two cups of water till it is reduced to half the amount and drunk after mixing sugar in it.

Home Remedies for Prostate Gland Problems

Some remedies for prostate problems are available as common ingridients at home:

If having enlarged prostate, eat a mixture of juniper berries and parslane.
Eat more tomatoes to avoid prostate infections.
If experiencing prostate problems, have alternate cold and hot hip baths for about ten minutes daily. Remaining sexually active is advisable but over indulgence is prohibited by ayurveda.
Regular exercise, even walks or mild exercises are a must.
Never suppress the urge to urinate.
Don't sit on a hard stool for longer periods. If doing desk job, get a soft ergonomic chair to sit on.
Quit smoking and alcohol, especially if you are overweight.

Taking these precautions will certainly keep the prostate problems at bay.

Article Source: Ayurvedic Remedies for Prostate Problems

About the Author:

Deepa RC recommends reading more about health related issues at http://www.ayurveda-herbal-remedy.com/ , the comprehensive directory of ayurvedic products companies. The site also contains wide information about general health and natural ways to deal with many diseases.

Diabetes Communities Unite to Celebrate World Diabetes Day November 14

2009-11-13T04:34:00.000-08:00

Leading Diabetes Organizations Join Forces to Fight Diabetes as World Diabetes Day Celebrations get underway in New York City

Diabetes currently affects 246 million people globally, including nearly 21 million children and adults in the United States. For all of them and the many millions more at risk, November 14, 2007 is a highly significant date as it marks the first United Nations-observed World Diabetes Day.

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), who leads the campaign, will be joined by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and many other organizations to mark the day in celebrations throughout the United States.

World Diabetes Day is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes world. It was introduced by IDF and the World Health Organization in response to concern over increasing numbers of people with diabetes around the world. The date marks the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1921. With the passage of the United Nations' World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, November 14 has now become a United Nations-observed day.

Source: Worlddiabetesday.org

Diet For Strong Bones

2009-11-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

When a person reaches puberty, the growth of bones is almost completed. Just as in the case of body cells, the tissues of bones too degenerate and are renewed through out our lives. Bones are made of minerals (calcium) and proteins (collagen). As we age, we lose more of these things than we generate. As a result, the bones constantly lose their strength and become weak or fragile. The best period for building the strength of bones is childhood and adolescence. However, its better late than never! Anyone who comes to know the fact about losing continuous loss of bone strength must start taking care of them, at whatever age they may be in. Nutrition and exercise are the key to good strong bones.

Nutrients for Bone Strength

All human beings require a number of nutrients in order to keep their bones strong.

Minerals- calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, boron
Proteins
Fats
Vitamins- A, D, E, K, B complex and C

Therefore, a balanced diet is a must for keeping bones in shape. Everyday diet of an average human being must contain

Milk;
Fruits;
Vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables;
Pulses/legumes or dals;
Animal protein- fish/chicken;
Nuts;
Cereals; and
Fat from oil, ghee or butter.

What is not needed is sugar. If you cannot live without it, limit its intake to 2-3 teaspoons per day. A good strategy would be to replace it with honey.

Action Plan for Strong Bones

Take a balanced diet everyday by including the above mentioned food
Provide your body with enough Vitamin D. Try to be in sun for ten to fifteen minutes twice or thrice a week. Sunscreens prevent your body from generating vitamin D- avoid them.
Remain physically active. Bones have to be strong by both the ways- weight bearing and strength training exercises. Walking, running, jogging, tennis, badminton, football, dancing, aerobics etc. are weight bearing exercises- do them for about 30-40 minutes for 5-6 days in a week. Strength training comes from weight lifting- do them with weight. Ask your doctor about the ideal weight for you to lift. Also learn the correct way of weight lifting from a trained expert like a gym instructor. Do these exercises for about 10-15 minutes thrice a week.
Quit smoking- it is dangerous not only for your bones but for your overall health.

Diet and Home Remedies for Constipation

2009-11-04T07:38:00.000-08:00

When there is a problem with the bowels, it is called constipation. It can be any one of these- too hard or too little stool, difficulty in passing stool or infrequent bowel movements. However, infrequency amounts to constipation only if there are less than three bowel movements per week.

Causes of Constipation

There are many reasons for constipation, main being dietary imbalance, certain medical conditions and inactivity. The causes of constipation can be listed as

Low fiber diet
Insufficient fluid intake
Inactivity like those in disabled or elderly people
Medical conditions like hypothyroidism, pregnancy, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, spinal cord injuries, and colon cancer.
Sometimes certain medicines taken for pain, muscle spasms, depression, mineral deficiencies, high blood pressure, and heart disease can also lead to constipation.

Home remedies for constipation

Include high fiber fruits and vegetables as well as exercises in your daily routine and don't forget to drink lots of water during the day. Your diet should consist wholegrain cereals, bran, honey, lentils, green and leafy vegetables, fresh and dry fruits, milk products in the form of clarified butter, etc. All fruits are useful in treating constipation except banana and jackfruit.

Spinach- Take it raw or cooked. Spinach is the best diet for getting relief from constipation. Juice of raw spinach can even cure chronic constipation. Mix this with carrot juice to make it some more effective.

Bael Fruit- Bael fruit is a natural laxative. Preferably take it in its whole fruit form (not juice) before dinner.

Guava- Guava has lots of roughage which helps in the normal evacuation of the bowels. One or two guavas everyday can keep off constipation.

Grapes- Cellulose, sugar, and organic acid in grapes make them a good laxative food. Fresh grapes are best. Alternatively take raisins after soaking them in water for about 1-2 days so that they swell to the original size of grapes. Eat them early in the morning and also take the water in which they were soaked.

Orange-Yet another effective treatment of constipation is the delicious fruit orange that has lots of fiber. Orange juice is good but preferably take the fruit to get all its fibers.

Papaya- A bowl full of papaya pieces with breakfast can act as an excellent laxative.

Lime- Squeeze half a lime into a glass of warm water. Take it with a teaspoon of salt for effective treatment of constipation.

Water- Make the habit of drinking at least 8-10 glasses of water everyday. You can even keep water in a copper vessel overnight and drink it in the morning on an empty stomach.

Milk- take warm milk before going to bed. If suffering from chronic constipation, mix some almond into it (soak a handful of almonds for five to six hours and mix with milk after grinding them). You can even eat dates with milk for treating constipation.

Olive and Castor Oil- Take 1-2 spoonful of olive or castor oil. It is a good remedy for constipation. If you can't take them alone put them in some juice like orange juice or carrot, spinach juice.

Linseeds and Sesame- Take some seeds of sunflower, almonds, sesame and linseed(flax seeds). Grind them to get their powder. Take 1 tablespoon of this herbal powder for a week with fruit juice or salads to naturally get relief from constipation.

Exercises and Yoga- Walking, jogging, swimming- do any of these or other exercises. Yoga is particularly good not only for constipation but for overall health. Learn 'Vajrasana' from some expert yoga guru. This yoga asana is particularly effective for the treatment of constipation.

Always chew your food properly. Make your mealtimes a priority over other works. Eat regular meals, preferably at fixed time everyday. Avoid too much of refined food items. Avoid sugary foods, white flour, too much of rice, white bread, cakes, pastries, biscuits, cheese, fleshy foods, preserves, white sugar, and hard-boiled eggs. Get enough of fresh air and indulge yourself in outdoor games and exercises to get rid of constipation.

H1N1 Flu Self-Evaluation Guide

2009-10-30T23:21:00.000-07:00

US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has provided H1N1 Flu Self-Evaluation guide for adults 18 and older along with a new 'Flu Myths and Facts section' on their flu.gov website for flu information. It provides the public with the latest and most accurate information about the flu.

“Flu.gov is a one-stop clearinghouse for the latest news about the flu,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “These new resources on flu.gov will help individuals get critical information on how to protect themselves and their families from the H1N1 virus. They will also help us to get accurate information out into the public realm so people know what the facts are about the flu.”

The new Flu Myths and Facts section on flu.gov debunks some of the myths about the H1N1 virus and vaccine, and provides accurate information on vaccinations, the flu, and public health.

H1N1 Flu Self-Evaluation Test

The most useful feature on the website is the H1N1 Flu Self-Evaluation. The H1N1 Flu Self-Evaluation was developed in collaboration with the Emory University School of Medicine and is given on the website to help people understand the flu symptoms so that they can make their own health decisions.

Take the H1N1 Flu Self-Evaluation Test

The Status of Swine Flu Vaccine in India

2009-10-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

Swine flu pandemic has again hit many countries. The flu may not have hit India hard in its first wave, but in its second wave, it could be expected to be worse because winters is the ideal season for spreading flu virus. The sure shot way of fighting this new disease is vaccination.

What has India done for Getting Swine Flu Vaccine?

In July this year, the Indian Government granted licence to three pharmaceutical companies to manufacture swine flu vaccine. A committee has also been constituted to keep watch on the process of acquiring the seeds from WHO and manufacturing of vaccine. The committee is headed by the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Reseasch, Dr. V M Katoch.

India had also initiated talks for import of this vaccine with the Swiss multinational Novartis which has developed the first swine flu vaccine in the world.

What is the Production Status of Swine Flu Vaccine?

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, one among the three licensed pharmaceutical companies which will manufacture the swine flu vaccine, has already started their work on the vaccine. The company has taken strains of the virus from the Government of India, who in turn took it from the CDC (Center for Disease Control), Atlanta which is a federal agency of United States. However, the vaccine development may take six months to even five years to come into the market as told by Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director, Bharat Biotech International. Normal vaccine processing and its development clinical regulatory testing protocols have to be approved by the Ministry of Health, which is a very long procedure that cannot be cut short. Paper works and test trials on animals will also take a considerable period of time.

What is The Import Status of Swine Flu Vaccine?

In spite of several months of talks with Novartis, India did not reach any decision about importing swine flu vaccines from the multinational company. Meanwhile, Novartis is already full up with orders from the the US and European regulatory authorities. It has, in fact, started shipping the H1N1 pandemic vaccine to the first countries in October. According to Dr Andrin Oswald, CEO, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland, the company has requests from many other countries who have not ordered, including India. According to the company representatives, they will do the best possible to protect at least the high risk patients in India. However, this will take time since their production capacity has been sold out at least till March 2010. The company will have India as a high priority country to ship the vaccines as early as possible provided they manage to have additional production capacity. In any condition Novartis' swine flu vaccine can not be delivered to the high risk groups before April 2010.

Sources: expressbuzz news and ndtv news

Benefits of Stevia- the Natural Sweetener

2009-10-25T00:07:00.000-07:00

Stevia rebaudiana, also known as sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is a South American shrub that grows in semi-arid regions, mainly of Brazil and Paraguay. This South American herb has been used for hundreds of years now, as a sweetener by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil in medicinal teas for treating heartburn and other ailments. More recently, stevia has been accepted as a natural sweetener throughout South America and Asia. It is considered to be a safe, natural, and calorie-free sweetener. It has been widely used in Japan for over thirty years without any reports of harmful effects.

Properties of Stevia

Stevia has many properties par excellence. It is a calorie free substitute of sugar as well as as of aspartame, the artificial chemical sweetener. The sweet glycosides found in the stevia leaf, and also present in its processed forms, do not get metabolized by the body and so there is no caloric intake. As a result, it does not adversely affects blood glucose levels and may be used by diabetics without any health concerns.

Stevia extract is 300 times sweeter than sugar and it also mixes easily with foods or beverages. While many stevia extracts have a slightly bitter aftertaste reminiscent of licorice, a number of manufacturers of this herbal product claim to have figured out how to eliminate this.

A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has also found the extracts from the leaf of Stevia to be high in natural antioxidants that prevent the DNA damage which leads to cancer. The varieties of antioxidants found in Stevia leaves include apigenin, kaempferol and quercitrin.

Some medical researches have also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity, hypertension and high blood pressure.

For all these benefits of Stevia, it is fast becoming attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others who are on low-carb or carbohydrate-controlled diets.

Types and Causes of Urticaria (Hives)

2009-10-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

Urticaria (Hives) is a severe skin disease that can cause physical and emotional stress to a person. It is represented by severe itching and rashes on skin. It can affect any person at any age and at any time. However, more often the symptoms of urticaria (itching and rashes) show up in the evening or in the early morning. Itching is worst at night, which interferes with sleeping.

Types of Urticaria

Urticaria is broadly classified as 'acute urticaria' and 'chronic urticaria' depending on the duration for which rashes are present. Acute urticaria lasts for less than one and a half months or 6 weeks. Chronic urticaria lasts for more than 6 weeks.

Acute Urticaria: Mostly children and young adults suffer from acute urticaria. Most of such urticaria episodes are idiopathic ( whose cause is not known). If somehow the cause of acute hives is revealed it turns out to be an infection, food or drug allergy, or an insect sting. Usually acute hives do not require typical treatment and is cured on its own.

Chronic Urticaria: The symptoms of chronic urticaria occur at least twice a week and can occur daily too. It is present for more than 6 week. Chronic urticaria requires long treatments. It occurs more often in middle-aged women and rarely occurs in children. The causes of chronic urticaria may be similar to those of acute urticaria. There can be some additional causes too including autoimmune diseases, chronic infections, and one or combined physical urticarias.

Physical Urticarias

Hives that are the results of certain physical triggers are termed as physical urticarias. These physical triggers can be anything- pressure, cold, heat, sunlight, physical stress through exercising etc. There are different types of physical urticarias:

Dermatographism-caused by pressure;
Cholinergic Urticaria- caused by heat and sweating;
Cold Urticaria- caused by cold elements;
Solar Urticaria- caused by sunlight); and
Exercise-Induced Anaphylaxis- caused by exercise

These are all forms of Chronic Urticaria

Types of Chronic Urticaria
Dermatographism: Dermatographism means the ability to write on skin. People having this type of chronic urticaria are ultra sensitive to touch, pressure and scratching. The areas of skin that are touched or scratched get a raised, red and itchy rash. Although in all the types of chronic urticaria, there are present some features of dermatographism, people with actual dermatographism have pressure as the only trigger for their symptoms. In some types of dermatographism, symptoms can be seen after within a few minutes of stroking the skin with an object like pen or pencil. The rashes that occur go without treatment within an hour. In other forms of dermatographism (delayed pressure urticaria), symptoms can remain for long hours accompanied with burning sensation and pain.

Cholinergic Urticaria: Cholinergic, also known as heat urticaria, is caused by an increase in body temperature by any means incluing hot showers, exercise, spicy foods, or being under too many covers in bed at night. Sometimes strong emotions may also cause cholinergic urticaria. Initially, the hives are very small in size ( like mosquito bites) which may become larger over time. More severe symptoms like asthmatic symptoms and low blood pressure are also seen in some patients. Some people appear to have an allergy to their own sweat too.

Cold Urticaria: Cold urticaria is characterized by hives and swelling due to exposure to cold environment or element including cold weather, cold food and drinks, or even swimming in cold water. Apart from itching and rashes, some people having this type of chronic urticaria sometimes experience life-threatening anaphylaxis with aquatic activities involving cold water. Other causes may include medical problems like infections, autoimmune diseases, certain cancers, and side effects from certain medications. Sometimes, cold urticaria is genetic and runs in families.

Solar Urticaria: Sun rashes are caused due to the exposure to sunlight. Sometimes, the symptoms are confused with sunburn. Solar urticaria may occur within minutes of exposure to the sun, and can easily go away after one hides from sun. It is very likely that people with solar urticaria make allergic antibodies against various proteins present in their own skin.

Exercise-Induced Anaphylaxis (EIA): This chronic urticaria is caused by exercise-jogging, tennis, swimming, walking, or any other strenuous work . Apart from hives, some people may also experience symptoms of severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis which involves breathing difficulties (shortness of breath, wheezing), circulatory problems (lightheadedness, low blood pressure) and gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea). Symptoms, includings tiredness, warmth, itching and redness, may show within a few minutes of starting exercise. If exercise continues, it may result into swelling of face, lips, eyes and throat (a condition called angioedema), and ultimately anaphylaxis. In some cases, other triggers certain medications- aspirin, ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), foods, alcohol, cold weather, and menstruation may also cause EIA. Prevention seems to be the only way to cure urticaria.

Prevention of EIA symptoms is the most important goal of treatment. People with EIA should avoid exercising alone, or in cold weather. Exercising on an empty stomach and avoiding the causative food, if recognized, at least 24 hours before exercise may help. In addition, avoidance of NSAIDs and alcoholic beverages for 24 hours prior to exercise is also recommended for such patients. Women should always avoid exercising during their menstrual period.

Diet to Protect Against Swine Flu

2009-10-21T00:17:00.000-07:00

Winters are about to come and the flu season too is all prepared to lower the health of many people. With Swine flu a possible risk still, it is good to give boost to your immune system. Here are some food that, when included in daily diet, will boost your immunity and save you from swine flu as well as other influenzas.

Garlic – This culinary herb is a very effective natural medicine due to its natural antimicrobial properties. Garlic is one of the best immune boosters and fights bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites effectively. It can be taken in large doses to destroy viruses and bacteria without causing any damage.

Yogurt – Yogurt contains the strain Lactobacillus reuteri which helps in fighting off the harmful bacteria responsible for stomach upset and lowered immunity. It is a natural probiotic that assembles the good bacteria in our stomach. A small helping of yogurt is better than any probiotic supplements. In fact, curd is one of the essential daily dietary element in countries like India.

Oats and Barley – Oats and barley have a fiber rich in antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. These are foods rich in beta-glucans too. Beta-glucans are polysaccharides or molecules made up of many sugar units. They generally occur as cellulose in plants and have immune-supporting properties. Other food sources include yeasts and certain mushrooms.

Citrus fruits – Vitamin C is a great immune-booster as well as aids in wound healing and is an antioxidant that protects against free radical damage to the body. Adding one fresh citrus fruit a day into the diet for vitamin C can keep off any kind of flu by strengthening the immune system. It can be any such fruit- guava, papaya , strawberries, kiwi, orange, grape fruit- anything

Sweet Potatoes – Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and a very good source of vitamin C and manganese. They also contain vitamin B6, potassium, iron, copper, dietary fiber and manganese. The human body uses beta-carotene in sweet potatoes to make vitamin A, which is essential for cell growth, good vision and also has an antioxidant effect.

Foods Rich in Antioxidants- Part II

2009-10-19T00:41:00.000-07:00

You got the list of top antioxidants foods in the post Foods Rich in Antioxidants- Part I. Now read about the other foods that are also rich in antioxidants. These are very common foods but we do not, somehow, understand their value. Read on the following details about the rich sources of antioxidants and know how you can get health benefits from them.

Sources of Antioxidants

Garlic: It is one of the best culinary herbs that protects against cancer, heart diseases and harmful ageing effects. A study also states garlic to be effective in preventing and treating cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. It also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Add garlic in foods as a routine. Add them in gravies, sauces, pickles, soups, etc.

Broccoli: Broccoli and other such cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and cauliflower prevents heart diseases and cancers, especially breast cancer. Broccoli contains the antioxidant sulphoraphane which protects eyes from damages caused by solar UV rays and thus prevents macular degeneration

Red Grapes: These grapes contain resveratrol, an antioxidant that helps in getting rid of free radicals, reduces platelet aggregation and keeps blood vessels open and unobstructed. A study has also founded that the antioxidants in red grapes inhibit many critical factors leading to atherosclerosis which occurs due to cholesterol build-up on the arterial walls. This condition results in blockage of blood vessels that supply blood to heart and brain causing heart attack. Grapes also have bioflavonoid named quercetin that stimulates the immune system when combined with vitamin C.

Green Tea: The high concentrations of antioxidants polyphenols in green tea neutralize the free radicals that occur due to external factors like UV rays of sun, cigarette smoking, and pollution. It also reduces cholesterol. Green tea also has anti-carcinogenic effects that protects against risks of cancer due to environmental factors. Consumption of 3-4 cups of green tea everyday is really beneficial to health.

Raisins: Naturally sweet raisins contain phenolic antioxidants. Raisins give energy from natural sugar and also potassium that maintains normal blood pressure. Raisins are rich in tartaric acid which helps in digestion and in maintaining healthy colon. They are also rich in fibers. They als oincrease the plasma antioxidant capacity of body which in turn decreases the levels of oxidized LDL or bad cholesterol in body. The minerals in raisins keep the bones strong. They also have olenolic acid that fight the mouth bacteria causing cavities. Add raisins to sweet dishes or other dishes like fried rice etc.

Foods Rich in Antioxidants- Part I

2009-10-17T00:26:00.000-07:00

What are antioxidants? What does they do? Our body converts oxygen to carbon dioxide. This is the basic metabolic process of human body. Oxidant substances, or free radicals, are produced in this process. These oxidants cause cell damage and lead to chronic diseases. Free radicals also result from stress, exposure to the sun or pollution, alcoholic beverages, unhealthy foods, and cigarette smoking. Antioxidants are the soldiers of our body that fight off the free radicals damages. Although body has its own defense against oxidative substances, they become lesser efficient with age. A diet rich in antioxidants can help in fighting body toxins and free radicals.

What are the Sources of Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are found in abundance in beans, grains, fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables with bright colors are the rich sources of antioxidants. Five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day can fulfill our needs of antioxidants.

Strawberry: Red plump strawberries are a rich source of vitamin C, flavonoids and ellagic acid. They protect against diseases like cancers, cataracts and heart diseases. Strawberry also helps in combating colon cancer cells and inhibiting prostate and breast cancer cells. Vitamin C fights the free radicals. Flavonoids protect the nerve cells from inflammation and thus reduces decline in cognitive functions. Eat them in raw form rather than taking their juice.

Carrot: Carrots have antioxidant beta-carotene that belong to the family of carotenoids. Carotenoids are also present in other yellow and orange foods like mangoes, corn, yellow pepper, apricots, spinach, pumpkin and sweet potato. Beta-carotene in carrots prevents eye degeneration and improves vision, particularly night vision. They also protect cells from free radicals as well as from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Cooked carrots are better than raw ones as the heat breaks down the active compounds in them to be used freely by body.

Tomato: The vine riped tomato have antioxidant lycopene that prevents macular degeneration, cataracts and certain cancers such as that of prostate. Tomatoes also have Vitamin C that boosts the immune system of our body. Body doesn't produce lycopene and therefore, tomato is its good source. Cooked and raw tomatoes- both are equally beneficial. In fact, raw tomatoes also contain Vitamin A that is destroyed when cooked.

Spinach: Spinach is rich in lutein which protects the eyes from macular degeneration and the retina from sun damage. It also protects against osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, arthritis and many other diseases. Spinach is best when steamed or sauted with olive oil.

Whole Grains: Whole grains like oats and barley have beta glucan that inhibits cholesterol absorption. They also have Vitamin E that prevents cancer. However, white foods made from grains like white flour and white bread are devoid of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Have multi grain bread instead and a bowl of cereals for breakfast with fresh fruits, nuts and raisins.

These were the Top five foods that are the best and the richest sources of antioxidants for ageless beauty and health. To get the list of next top foods rich in antioxidants, read FoodsRich in Antioxidants- Part II. Eat good food and stay healthy.

Safe Diwali- First Aid for Burns

2009-10-15T23:24:00.001-07:00

Diwali is a happy time but also the most accident prone day.

There are all reasons for accidents to occur- Diwali diyas, candles, firecrackers- fire in all forms is present everywhere. However, with a little care and precaution, we can always enjoy a safe and happy Diwali. However, if there occurs some untoward incident and someone burns, use first aid and seek expert medical help. Here is what you can do to give first aid to victims of burns.

Be Prepared for Minor and Major Burns

Save Diwali helpline number 09312377554 in your mobile phone and write it in big letters and paste at the outside and inside of your house at a visible place. This is a Delhi based number. Find out the medical emergency number of your doctor/ hospital and save in mobile and paste at visible places.
Before bursting fireworks, ensure to keep a bucket full of water handy.
In any event of fire, howsoever small it seems, extinguish flame by pouring water from the bucket. Remember, all major fires are small when they start.
If someone catches fire, don't panic and act fast.
Learn to differentiate between minor and major burns.
In the event of minor burns, only the outer layer of skin is burned. The skin usually gets red with swelling and sometimes it is painful too. This is a first-degree burn.
When blisters develop on the skin and it becomes intensely reddened with splotchy appearance, it is a second degree burn. It is accompanied with severe pain and swelling.
If the second-degree burn is smaller than 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters in diameter, take it as a minor burn. However, if the burned area is larger or if the burn is on the hands, feet, face, groin or buttocks, or over a major joint, take it as a major burn and get medical help immediately.
Major burns or the most serious burns, also called third degree burns, are painless and affect all layers of the skin, fat, muscles and even bones. It causes permanent tissue damage. If the burnt area becomes charred black or appear dry and white and if it is difficult for the victim to breathe properly, don't waste time and seek immediate medical help.

First Aid for Minor Burns

In the event of minor burns, hold the burnt area under cold running water for at least five minutes or until the pain or burning sensation subsides. Remember, the water should not be “too cold”.
If the above is impractical to do, immerse the burnt area in cold water or cool it with cold compresses. Cooling the burn conducts heat away from the skin and reduces swelling.
Cover the burnt area with a sterile gauze bandage. Don't use fluffy cotton. It may irritate the skin. Always wrap the gauze loosely so that it doesn't put pressure on burned skin. Bandaging helps keeping air off the burned skin, reduces pain and protects blistered skin.
Do not use ice. The wound takes longer to heal when ice is applied on it.
Don't use ghee, oil, butter or any ointment etc. on the burn as it increases the risk of infection.
Don't break blisters, it may cause infection.
Minor burns generally do not need any further treatment. However, watch for signs of infection which include increased pain, redness, fever, swelling or oozing. In case of infection, seek medical help.

First Aid for Major Burns

To put off the intensive fire, make the victim roll on the floor with a blanket.
Call medical emergency number. Until medical help arrives, take the following steps.
After extinguishing fire, make sure that the victim is no longer in contact with smoldering materials or exposed to smoke or heat. However, don't remove burnt clothing.
Don't immerse severe burns in cold water. It can cause shock.
Check for signs of circulation- breathing, coughing or movement. If there is no breathing or other sign of circulation, begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)- chest compressions combined with mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing. Learn how to give CPR
Elevate the burned body part or parts. If possible, raise them above heart level.
Cover the burn area with a cool, moist, sterile bandage or a clean, moist cloth. You can even use moist towels for the purpose.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

2009-10-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

Breast cancer is curable. If you find it early, you can get a variety of treatments for breast cancer. So, how do you know if you have breast cancer?

There are rarely any outward symptoms of breast cancer. However, lumps, nipple changes, cysts, and sometimes breast pain are the known symptoms of breast cancer
One of the most common symptoms include lumps. It can be defined as a thickened area or dimple in the breast.
Breast swelling and redness is also a sign of breast cancer but they are very uncommon.
Lumps in armpits that do not hurt are also a sign of breast cancer.

Breast Self Examination

The signs of breast cancer can be detected only by Breast Self Examination on a regular basis. Not all the types of cancer can be found this way but it is a critical step that can be taken by any woman to know whether she has breast cancer or not. It is best if self examination is combined with regular physical exams by a doctor and mammography. In about twenty percent cases, breast cancers are found by physical examination rather than by mammography. It is the best strategy for all women to routinely perform breast self-exams. The more a woman examines her breast, the more it becomes easier for her to tell if something unusual has occurred. It is an essential part of taking body and health care for lowering the risk of breast cancer.

How to Make Habit of Breast Self Examination?

Try to examine breasts once a month so that you get to know them- how your breasts normally look and feel?
Examine yourself after your period ends. It is the time when your breasts are least likely to be swollen and tender.
If you have reached menopause, fix a day of each month when you will examine your breasts like first or last day or every second Monday or Saturday of the month.
Don’t panic if you get to feel a lump in your breast. Most women have some lumps or lumpy areas in their breasts. However, do get a biopsy to eliminate all doubts.
Breasts have different types of areas. The upper, outer area which is near armpit, tends to have the most prominent lumps and bumps. The lower half of breast sometimes feel like a sandy or pebbly beach. The area below the nipple also sometimes feels like a collection of large grains. Another part might feel like a lumpy bowl of oatmeal.

After self examination for a few days, you'll know your breasts. If something feels different from normal or anything changes, bring it to the notice of your doctor.