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Typical Behavior in Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-29T07:27:00.004-07:00

Many people with bulimic behavior are probably never diagnosed. The strict diagnostic criteria specify that, in order to be classified as having bulimia nervosa, a person must binge and purge at least twice a week for 3 months. People with bulimia nervosa lead secret lives, hiding their abnormal eating habits. Moreover, it is impossible to recognize people with bulimia nervosa simply from their appearance. Because most diagnoses of bulimia nervosa are based on self-reports, current estimates of the number of cases are probably low. The disorder, especially in its milder forms, may be much more widespread than commonly thought.
Among sufferers of bulimia nervosa, bingeing often alternates with attempts to rigidly restrict food intake. Elaborate food rules are common, such as avoiding all sweets. Thus, eating just one cookie or donut may cause bulimic persons to feel they have broken a rule. Then the objectionable food must be eliminated. Usually, this leads to further overeating, partly because it is easier to regurgitate a large amount of food than a small amount. For intake to qualify as a binge, an atypically large amount of food must be consumed in a short time, and the person must exhibit a lack of control over this behavior.
Binge-purge cycles may be practiced daily, weekly, or at longer intervals. A special time is often set aside. Most binge eating occurs at night, when other people are less likely to interrupt, and usually lasts from '/> to 2 hours. A binge can be triggered by a combination of hunger from recent dieting, stress, boredom, loneliness, and depression. It often follows a period of strict dieting and thus can be linked to intense hunger. The binge is not at all like normal eating; once begun, it seems to propel itself. The person not only loses control but generally doesn't even taste or enjoy the food that is eaten during a binge. This separates the practice from simple overeating.
Most commonly, bulimic people consume cakes, cookies, ice cream, and similar high-carbohydrate convenience foods during binges because these foods can be purged relatively easily and comfortably by vomiting. In a single binge, foods supplying up to 3,000 kcal or more may be eaten. Purging follows in hopes that no weight will be gained. However, even when vomiting follows the binge, 33% to 75% of the food energy taken in is still absorbed, which causes some weight gain. When laxatives or enemas are used, about 90% of the energy is absorbed, as these act in the large intestine, beyond the point of most nutrient absorption. The common belief of bulimic persons that purging soon after bingeing will prevent excessive energy absorption and weight gain is clearly a misperception.
Early in the onset of bulimia nervosa, sufferers often induce vomiting by placing their fingers deep into the mouth. They may inadvertently bite down on these fingers. The resulting bite marks around the knuckles are a characteristic sign of this disorder. Once the disease is established, however, a person can often vomit simply by contracting the abdominal muscles. Vomiting may also occur spontaneously.
Another way bulimic people attempt to compensate for a binge is by engaging in excessive exercise to expend a large amount of energy. Some bulimic people try to estimate the amount of energy eaten in a binge and then exercise to counteract this energy intake. This practice, referred to as "debting," represents an effort to control their weight.
People with bulimia nervosa are not proud of their behavior. After a binge, they usually feel guilty and depressed. Over time, they experience low self-esteem and feel hopeless about their situation. Compulsive lying and drug abuse can further intensify these feelings. Bulimic people caught in the act of bingeing by a friend or family member may order the intruder to "get out" and "go away." Sufferers gradually distance themselves from others, spending more and more time preoccupied by and engaging in bingeing and purging.

Health Problems Stemming from Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-29T07:27:00.003-07:00

The vomiting that many bulimic sufferers induce is the most physically destructive method of purging. Indeed, the majority of health problems associated with bulimia nervosa arise from vomiting:
Repeated exposure of teeth to the acid in vomit causes demineralization, making the teeth painful and sensitive to heat, cold, and acids. Eventually, the teeth may severely decay, erode away from fillings, and finally fall out. Dental professionals are sometimes the first health professionals to notice signs of bulimia nervosa. Until vomiting ceases, it is important to rinse the mouth with water after a vomiting episode, especially before brushing the teeth.
Blood potassium can drop significantly with regular vomiting or the use of certain diuretics. This can disturb the heart's rhythm and even produce sudden death.
Salivary glands may swell as a result of infection and irritation from persistent vomiting.
Stomach ulcers and bleeding and tears in the esophagus develop in some cases.
Constipation may result from frequent laxative use.
Ipecac syrup, sometimes used to induce vomiting, is toxic to the heart, liver, and kidneys. It has caused accidental poisoning when taken repeatedly.
Overall, bulimia nervosa is a potentially debilitating disorder that can lead to death, usually from suicide, low blood potassium, or overwhelming infections.

Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-29T07:27:00.002-07:00

Bulimia nervosa involves episodes of binge eating followed by various means to purge the food. This eating disorder was first described in the medical literature in 1979 and classified as a clinical psychiatric disorder in 1980. It is most common among young adults of college age, although some high school students are also at risk. Susceptible people often have genetic factors and lifestyle patterns that predispose them to becoming overweight, and many try frequent weight-reduction diets as teenagers. Like people with anorexia nervosa, those with bulimia nervosa are usually female and successful. Unlike anorexics, however, they are usually at or slightly above a normal weight. Females with bulimia nervosa are also more likely to be sexually active than those with anorexia nervosa.
The person with bulimia nervosa may think of food constantly. In contrast to the anorexic person, who turns away from food when faced with problems, the bulimic person turns toward food in critical situations. Also, unlike those with anorexia nervosa, people with bulimia nervosa recognize their behavior as abnormal. These people often have very low self-esteem and are depressed. Approximately half of the people with bulimia nervosa have major depression. Lingering effects of child abuse may be one reason for these feelings. Many bulimic persons report that they have been sexually abused. The world sees their competence, while inside they feel out of control, ashamed, and frustrated.
Bulimic people tend to be impulsive, which may be expressed as stealing, drug and alcohol abuse, self-mutilation, or attempted suicide. Some experts have suggested that part of the problem may actually arise from an inability to control responses to impulse and desire. Some studies have demonstrated that bulimic people tend to come from disengaged families—ones that are loosely organized. Roles for family members are not clearly defined. Too little protection is provided for family members, rules are very loose, and a great deal of conflict exists. Anorexic people in comparison tend to have families so actively engaged that roles may be too well defined.

Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa (Eating Disorder)

2010-06-29T07:27:00.001-07:00

A person with anorexia nervosa disorder is psychologically and physically ill and needs medical help.
Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa
People with anorexia often sink into shells of isolation and fear. They deny that a problem exists. Frequently, their friends and family members meet with them to confront the problem in a loving way. This is called an intervention. They present evidence of the problem and encourage immediate treatment. Treatment then requires a multidisciplinary team of experienced physicians, registered dietitians, psychologists, and other health professionals working together. An ideal setting is an eating disorders clinic in a medical center. Outpatient therapy generally begins first. This may be extended to 3 to 5 days per week. Day hospitalization (6-12 hours) is another option, as is total hospitalization. This hospitalization is necessary once a person falls below 75% of expected weight, experiences acute medical problems, and/or exhibits severe psychological problems or suicidal risk. Still, even in the most skilled hands and using the finest facilities, efforts may fail. This tells us that the prevention of anorexia nervosa is of utmost importance.
Once a medical team has gained the cooperation and trust of an anorexic patient, the team attempts to work together to restore a sense of balance, purpose, and future possibilities. As previously stated, anorexia nervosa is usually rooted in psychological conflict. However, a person who has been barely existing in a state of semi starvation cannot focus on much besides food. Dreams and even morbid thoughts about food will interfere with therapy until sufficient weight is regained.

Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-29T07:26:00.001-07:00

Therapy for bulimia nervosa, as for anorexia nervosa, requires a team of experienced clinicians. These patients are less likely than those with anorexia to enter treatment in a state of semistarvation. However, if a bulimic patient has lost significant weight, this must be treated before psychological treatment begins. Although clinicians have yet to agree on the best therapy for bulimia nervosa, they generally agree that treatment should last at least 16 weeks. Hospitalization may be indicated in cases of extreme laxative abuse, regular vomiting, substance abuse, and depression, especially if physical harm is evident.
The first goal of treatment for bulimia nervosa is to decrease the amount of food consumed in a binge session in order to decrease the risk of esophageal tears from related purging by vomiting. A decrease in the number of this type of purges will also decrease damage to the teeth.
The primary aim of psychotherapy is to improve patients' self-acceptance and help them to be less concerned about body weight. Cognitive behavior therapy is generally used. Psychotherapy helps correct the all-or-none thinking typical of bulimic persons— "If I eat one cookie, I'm a failure and might as well binge." A patient may be asked to analyze the statement as a scientist would do when testing assumptions. In this way, patient and therapist together examine the validity of food and weight beliefs. The premise of this therapy is that, if abnormal attitudes and beliefs can be altered, normal eating will follow. In addition, the therapist guides the person in establishing food habits that will minimize bingeing: avoiding fasting, eating regular meals, and using alternative methods—other than eating—to cope with stressful situations. Group therapy is often useful to foster strong social support. One goal of therapy is to help bulimic persons accept as normal some depression and self-doubt.
Although pharmacological agents should not be used as the sole treatment for bulimia nervosa, studies indicate that some medications may be beneficial in conjunction with other therapies. Fluoxetine (Prozac) is the only antidepressant that has been approved by PDA for use in the treatment of bulimia nervosa, but physicians also may prescribe other forms of antidepressants and related medications.
Nutritional counseling has two main goals: correcting misconceptions about food and re-establishing regular eating habits. Patients are given information about bulimia nervosa and its consequences. Avoiding binge foods and not constantly stepping on a scale may be recommended early in treatment. The primary goal, however, is to develop a normal eating pattern. To achieve this goal, some specialists encourage patients to develop daily meal plans and keep a food diary in which they record food intake, internal sensations of hunger, environmental factors that precipitate binges, and thoughts and feelings that accompany binge-purge cycles. Keeping a food diary not only is an accurate way to monitor food intake but also may help identify situations that seem to trigger binge episodes. With the help of a therapist, patients can develop alternative coping strategies.
In general, the focus is not on stopping bingeing and purging per se but on developing regular eating habits. Once this is achieved, the binge-purge cycle should stop by itself. Patients are discouraged from following strict rules about healthy food choices, because this simply mimics the typical obsessive attitudes associated with bulimia nervosa. Rather, encouraging a mature perspective on nutrient intake—that is, regular consumption of moderate amounts of a variety of foods balanced among the food groups—helps patients overcome this disorder.
Setting time limits for the completion of meals and snacks is important for people with eating disorders. Many bulimic persons eat very quickly, reflecting their difficulties with satiety. Suggesting that the patient put his or her utensil down after each bite is a behavioral technique that a therapist might try with a recovering bulimic person. (In comparison, many anorexic persons eat in an excessively slow manner—for example, taking 1 hour to eat a muffin because it was cut into tiny, bite-size pieces.)
People with bulimia nervosa must recognize that it is a serious disorder that canhave grave medical complications if not treated. Because relapse is likely, therapyshould be long term. Note that those with bulimia nervosa need professional help because they can be very depressed and are at a high risk for suicide. About 50% of people with bulimia nervosa recover completely from the disorder. Others continue tostruggle with it to varying degrees for the rest of their lives. This fact underscores theneed for prevention because treatment is difficult.

Food Prejudices

2010-06-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Price and prejudice removed (which is rare), most people eat what is good for them. If they didn't, they would not survive. Unprejudice normal appetite is the best guide to nutrition. Man and rat are omnivorous creatures; they eat everything. Even some of the things we call prejudices or superstitions about eating have a sensible basis, sunk sometimes in deep folk wisdom. For example; on a particular island in the South Pacific, it was observed that all food was liberally sprinkled with pepper made from a pepper tree that grew in front of every household. Indeed, the marriage ritual of people on this island absolutely required that the girl to be married must take shoots or seeds from the pepper tree in front of her mother's house, and plant and grow them in front of her own. When a scientific analysis of the diet of these people was made, it was discovered that the pepper tree was the only source of vitamin C on the island.
Some personal food prejudices also have a reasonable basis in physiology and psychology. When a person says he doesn't like milk or eggs, or chocolate, or onions he may well know by personal experience that this particular food or beverage does not agree with him. He may indeed have a slight or pronounced allergy to it. Allergy to cow's milk, for instance, occurs both in infancy and later life.
Generally speaking, it is a good idea to avoid foods that you can still taste for several hours after eating foods that "repeat on you," as the saying goes. It is also understandable that you may resist foods that were forced upon you at some time earlier in your life. You may secretly feel that you are swallowing your pride with every mouthful, and this masked resentment is a detriment to digestion. On the other hand you may learn to like foods that you formerly disliked sometimes because you have discovered their nutritional value.
The child who cries for candy, ice cream, or soda pop may sometimes be expressing a real need for the extra caloric values that they make quickly available or for the love and affection the giving of them represents. The disgruntled, crying child may also be lacking other nutrients often minerals in his diet.
We must also reconcile sex differences in attitudes toward food. Women have a different outlook from men. Father may "bring home the bacon," but mother cooks it. Woman has traditionally played the role of food-giver in the household; indeed, this may be considered an extension of the mammary function. As food-giver, a woman holds a position of power in the household, and the psychological implications of this fact should not be overlooked. To give (or withhold) food is in the final analysis to have the power of life or death, and even in subtler ways it is a means of controlling members of a family.
Men are interested in good food ("good home-cooked meals, like mother used to make," they say), but women spend more time with food (count the hours in the grocery store and the kitchen) and have special interest in the preparing and giving of food which men do not generally share. Of course, there are famous male chefs, such as Oscar of the Waldorf, but this is a professional business, not a matter of crucial interpersonal relationships. Most men eat what is set before them by their mothers and wives. Hence it is not surprising that women are often more interested than men in learning about foodstuffs.

Minerals in the Body

2010-06-29T07:22:00.001-07:00

About 4% of the total weight of the body is made up of inorganic or mineral elements, chiefly calcium and phosphorus. Still, there is enough iron to make a good size nail and enough sodium for a small shaker of table salt. In general, the minerals are regulators of metabolic processes. The fourteen so-called mineral elements deemed essential in human nutrition are calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, zinc, copper, potassium, sulfur, manganese, magnesium, cobalt, iodine, fluorine and chlorine. "Trace amounts" of other minerals such as aluminum, silicon, and nickel are also present.
From the standpoint of human diet, however, we must give the most important consideration to the three mineral elements which are most likely to be lacking in the American diet—namely calcium, iron, and iodine. When these elements are supplied from natural food sources, the other mineral elements needed are also likely to be present. A good variety of common foods supplies required minerals in adequate quantities. The body stores and utilizes them well.
Calcium plays many roles. It is essential to the growth, development, and maintenance of bones and teeth. It is necessary to the clotting of the blood. It helps to regulate the heartbeat, to maintain the acid-base balance in the body, and to control the irritability of the neuromuscular system.
Calcium is needed throughout life, but is most important in the early years. The richest source of calcium in the human diet is milk — mother's, cow's, goat's, camel's, or mare's. Another good source is shellfish.
Phosphorus likewise is essential for the development of the bony structure of the body and the regulation of acid-base balance. In many respects calcium and phosphorus play complementary roles. Phosphorus plays an added role in carbohydrate and fat metabolism. Phosphorus is widely distributed in many foodstuffs, often in the form of phosphates. If calcium intake is adequate, phosphorus usually comes along with it.
Iron in the human body is concentrated largely in the blood and blood-forming organs, chiefly the bone marrow. It is an essential constituent of hemoglobin the crucial element in the red blood cells. It is needed for the transport of oxygen by the red blood cells.
Actually, the amount of iron required by the body is small only a few specks, equivalent to the daily intake of about 12 milligrams. Variety meats, like liver, are the best sources of iron.
Copper, as a dietary essential, usually goes along with iron, but only about one-quarter as much as needed. Sodium and potassium are another pair of minerals that complement each other's effects in cell and body metabolism; they are importantly concerned with water balance. Sodium is found in common table salt, along with chlorine that appears as hydrochloric acid in the stomach juices. Iodine is essential for the manufacture of thyroxin by the thyroid gland- Iodine is found in seafood and it is added to common table salt in the form of potassium iodide.

Fluorine and the Teeth

2010-06-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

The story of fluorine in relation to the teeth is a fascinating example of controlled research and bears brief retelling. Back in the 1890's the dentists in Colorado began to observe that children and adults who had lived in the area of Colorado Springs for the first eight years of their lives had a strange kind of enamel on their teeth. It was mottled enamel, pocked with little brown or chalky-white patches.
Later this mottled enamel began turning up in other communities. Eventually it was traced to the drinking water of the community. About 1931, the specific element in the water which caused the mottled enamel was discovered. It was fluorine Of course; this gaseous element appears in chemical composition as fluoride.
Then, in the 1930's the dentists began to make a careful study of the people with mottled enamel. Contrary to previous assumption, it turned out that these people had about 60% fewer cavities than people who were brought up in areas where there were no fluorides in the water supply. In other words, the fluorides helped to protect teeth from decay.
The U.S. Public Health Service, whose dental division has conducted much of the fluoride research, then set out to determine how much fluorine added to the drinking water would cut down the caries rate and still not produce mottled enamel. The answer came out about one part per million. This amount is perfectly safe and does not mottle the teeth.
On the basis of this research some ten cities in the United States and Canada began the mass public health experiment of adding fluoride (one part per million) to their drinking water. This is called fluoridation. The results were so convincing that hundreds of communities have now added fluorides to their municipal water supplies, but not, it may be said, without public objection in many places.
Campaigns for fluoridation of public drinking water supplies as a strong line of defense against dental caries were pioneered by the U.S. Public Health Service and have been approved by virtually all important public health agencies. Nevertheless there are still many "crackpot" and a few responsible voices raised against it.

Food Fallacies

2010-06-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

There remains, nevertheless, a vast amount of food prejudice and faulty eating habits arising from sheer ignorance, foolish fads and fashions, and from faulty and even fraudulent advice and advertising about food. Nonsense preached in the name of nutrition is sometimes nauseous; for example, "Eat raw foods only," "Don't mix carbohydrates and proteins at the same meal" (the stomach mixes them beautifully), "Molasses and yoghurt guarantee a ripe old age," and the like. Protection against such nonsense against your own and other people's silly prejudices is to be found in a sound knowledge of the science of nutrition, as far as it has yet gone.
The facts about food are easy enough to come by, and we shall present a number of them in this and the following chapter. Nevertheless lies, half-truths, and misstatements about food find millions of willing listeners and believers. This is a field in which the "big lie" told with a straight face readily flourishes. People are more gullible about food nonsense than about almost anything else. They will swallow myths and fallacies about food without choking. They can be easily sold on the "magic" powers of one food or another. Here are some more of the lies about food that you are likely to encounter. Don't believe them.
"You are what you eat" Nonsense you are also what you breathe and what your hereditary determines you shall be.
"Fish is brain food." So is all other food."An apple a day keeps the doctor away." The apple-growers get sick and call physicians.
You may also hear such nonsense as celery is a tonic, onions will cure a cold, garlic is good for heart disease, only "organic" foods supply proper nourishment, tomatoes are poisonous, corn is hog food. Don't believe it! You may also be urged to buy "health foods" (at fancy prices), daily vitamin pills (at even fancier charges), or "reducing foods." Save your money!
All pure foods are health foods when included in a scientifically sensible eating plan. A wide variety of common foods will supply all the vitamins you need. There are no "reducing foods." The amount not the kind of food is what counts in any diet safely designed to effect weight loss. We shall have much more to say about this in the next chapter. Knowledge of the scientific facts about food and nutrition will fortify you against any of the food fallacies and myths you may henceforth encounter.
For a different, and perhaps larger, group of college students and adults the problem of exercise resolves itself into the problem of not overdoing it. For such a rule of thumb is: exercise to the point of mild fatigue, but not beyond it.
The amount of fatigue produced is probably the best measure of the amount of exercise that ought to be taken. On this score a statement prepared by the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation offers sound guidance.
"The ability to recuperate after exercise is a good guide at any age. Recuperation should be reasonably prompt. If (1) breathing and heart rate are still greatly accelerated at the end of ten minutes after exercise, and if (2) there is marked weakness or fatigue persisting after a two-hour rest period, (3) restlessness with broken sleep after retiring for the night, or (4) a sense of definite fatigue the day following, the exercise has been too severe or too prolonged for that person in his present stage of physical training and strength."
Choice of Exercise for Recreation
The best choice of exercise is that which gives the most satisfaction. Many factors must be considered to determine suitability of physical activity, but one should certainly like the sports he chooses. There is little to be gained, and much lost, in teaching a girl who wants to go swimming how to swing a pair of Indian clubs instead.
Exercise should be fun! Exercise is part of the normal desire for play that inhabits the human psyche. In young children play and exercise are nearly synonymous.
Several important studies have shown that sports and games are definitely better than calisthenics and apparatus work in conditioning men for physical fitness. Wilbur's study of college freshmen, for example, indicated that games were better than formal gymnastics in building strength in the arms and shoulder girdle, in establishing body coordination, agility, and control, and in reaching a higher degree of general physical fitness.
Recreation has been defined as "activity for pleasure." It achieves relaxation of mind and muscle. The range of recreational exercises is far broader than most people think. Here are some of the possibilities: walking, swimming, dancing, skating, rowing, canoeing, fencing, bicycling, horseback riding, tennis, squash, handball, Softball, volleyball, badminton, skiing, sailing, hunting, table tennis, archery, bowling, fishing, gardening, croquet, shuffle board, horseshoe pitching, hiking, climbing, and golf. How many of these recreations have you tried? All of these can be coeducational if desired.
Walking is the most flexible and natural of all forms of exercise. Dancing also is a beneficial form of exercise, especially folk dancing and "modern dance." Social dancing has its place too. The rhythms of dance can afford release of emotional and psychosexual tensions rather than unduly heightening them. There is an advantage in learning sports and obtaining reasonable proficiency at games that you can play for fun for many years after college.
A contrast between work and play activity is also advisable. People whose occupations are generally sedentary and indoors should choose games and sports that take them out of doors and offer opportunity for the exercise of trunk, leg, and arm muscles. Conversely, the man who stands on his feet all day should not select recreations that keep him on his feet all night too.

Recreational exercises

2010-06-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

The best choice of exercise is that which gives the most satisfaction. Many factors must be considered to determine suitability of physical activity, but one should certainly like the sports he chooses. There is little to be gained, and much lost, in teaching a girl who wants to go swimming how to swing a pair of Indian clubs instead.

Exercise should be fun! Exercise is part of the normal desire for play that inhabits the human psyche. In young children play and exercise are nearly synonymous.

Several important studies have shown that sports and games are definitely better than calisthenics and apparatus work in conditioning men for physical fitness. Wilbur's study of college freshmen, for example, indicated that games were better than formal gymnastics in building strength in the arms and shoulder girdle, in establishing body coordination, agility, and control, and in reaching a higher degree of general physical fitness.

Recreation has been defined as "activity for pleasure." It achieves relaxation of mind and muscle. The range of recreational exercises is far broader than most people think. Here are some of the possibilities: walking, swimming, dancing, skating, rowing, canoeing, fencing, bicycling, horseback riding, tennis, squash, handball, Softball, volleyball, badminton, skiing, sailing, hunting, table tennis, archery, bowling, fishing, gardening, croquet, shuffle board, horseshoe pitching, hiking, climbing, and golf. How many of these recreations have you tried? All of these can be coeducational if desired.

Walking is the most flexible and natural of all forms of exercise. Dancing also is a beneficial form of exercise, especially folk dancing and "modern dance." Social dancing has its place too. The rhythms of dance can afford release of emotional and psychosexual tensions rather than unduly heightening them. There is an advantage in learning sports and obtaining reasonable proficiency at games that you can play for fun for many years after college.

A contrast between work and play activity is also advisable. People whose occupations are generally sedentary and indoors should choose games and sports that take them out of doors and offer opportunity for the exercise of trunk, leg, and arm muscles. Conversely, the man who stands on his feet all day should not select recreations that keep him on his feet all night too.

Choice of Exercise with Respect of Fatigue Point

2010-06-26T08:22:00.001-07:00

For a different, and perhaps larger, group of college students and adults the problem of exercise resolves itself into the problem of not overdoing it. For such a rule of thumb is: exercise to the point of mild fatigue, but not beyond it.

The amount of fatigue produced is probably the best measure of the amount of exercise that ought to be taken. On this score a statement prepared by the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation offers sound guidance.

"The ability to recuperate after exercise is a good guide at any age. Recuperation should be reasonably prompt. If
(1) breathing and heart rate are still greatly accelerated at the end of ten minutes after exercise, and if
(2) there is marked weakness or fatigue persisting after a two-hour rest period,
(3) restlessness with broken sleep after retiring for the night, or
(4) a sense of definite fatigue the day following, the exercise has been too severe or too prolonged for that person in his present stage of physical training and strength."

The Digestive System And Process

2010-06-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

The alimentary or digestive system of the human being is an extremely complicated apparatus and process. Fortunately, however, the process of digestion, turning food into nutrient, is practically automatic; man need be concerned only with getting food into his mouth and ejecting the waste products of that food about 10% of the total in a socially acceptable manner. The physiology of digestion is managed by the autonomic nervous system; it takes no conscious effort.

In its simplest terms the digestive system is a flexible mucus-lined muscular tube, 24 to 36 feet long, beginning in the mouth and ending at the anus (see figure, page 90.). Along the tube lie a series of glands and cells which produce the chemical substances — such as saliva and gastric juice-that act upon foodstuffs taken into the mouth and break them down for absorption into the cells of the body.

In the mouth the process of mastication takes place the chewing of food into small bits so that it can be efficiently handled by the rest of the digestive system. Mastication is the function of the teeth, which must be considered as part of the digestive system. We shall deal with the important subject of the teeth at the end of this chapter.

The Physiology of Digestion
The process of digestion begins in the mouth, where the teeth chew and grind food, and enzymes secreted by the salivary glands immediately go to work breaking down carbohydrates. About 7 seconds later the time it takes for swallowed food to traverse the esophagus the stomach takes over. Its 5 million tiny glands manufacture about 3 quarts of gastric juice a day. This includes hydrochloric acid in a weak solution ranging from 0.2 to 0.5%and the enzymes pepsin and rennin. The stomach itself is a pear shaped distensible pouch, capable of holding
2 to 3 pints of food. Very few substances, notably honey and alcohol, are absorbed into the
bloodstream directly from the stomach.

Food stays in the stomach about 2 to 4 hours sometimes longer. It is churned into
a mushy, semi-solid mass, called chyme, and discharged into the duodenum. There it is
acted on by more enzymes, arriving by way of a common duct (or channel) from the pan
creas, and by bile. Bile is not an enzyme; it is essentially a solvent and emulsifier of fats. It
is produced by the liver but stored and concentrated in the gall bladder. The pancreatic
juices contain a great number of powerful and important enzymes. Some absorption of nutrients takes place in the duodenum, but to a far greater extent in the lower reaches of the
small intestine.

Projecting from the inner lining of the small intestine are thousands of tiny absorptive organs called intestinal villi (singular, villus). Finger-shaped projections, about V25 of an inch long, the numerous villi give the lining of the small intestine the feel of velvet. Within each villus is a network of minute blood vessels (capillaries) surrounding a small tube called a lacteal?

When the broken-down food particles are finally absorbed by the villi and conveyed to the bloodstream for distribution to the rest of the body, the process of digestion is completed and the far more complicated processes of tissue nutrition and body metabolism may b e said to begin.

Female Athlete "Triad: a risk of eating disease

2010-06-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Women participating in appearance-based and endurance sports are at risk of developing an eating disorder. A study of college-age female athletes found that 15% of swimmers, 62% of gymnasts, and 32% of all varsity athletes exhibited disordered eating patterns. Estimates of eating disorders for college women not involved in competitive sports are much lower.

In addition to disordered eating, college women athletes tend to experience irregular menstruation more frequently than other college women. Disordered eating, particularly food restriction and stress, can precipitate this, causing women to have less dense and weaker bones than normal because of lower estrogen concentrations in the blood. Some of these young women have bones equivalent to those of 50- to 60-year-olds, making them overly susceptible to bone and stress fractures during both sports and general activities. Much of the bone loss is irreversible.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has named the syndrome female athlete triad because it consists of three parts: disordered eating, lack of menstrual periods, and osteoporosis. The ACSM has issued a call to teachers, coaches, health professionals, and parents to educate female athletes about the triad and its health consequences.

Many coaches/trainers and even some health professionals wrongly believe that loss of menstrual periods is a normal consequence of a high level of physical activity. However, this loss of menstrual periods has negative consequences on the body, such as fragile bones, as just mentioned. Correcting menstrual irregularities by increasing caloric intake should help normalize hormone levels and increase bone mineral density. During therapy, a physician may prescribe a multivitamin and mineral supplement as well as calcium supplements as needed to maintain an intake of 1200-1500 milligrams, as mentioned for treatment of anorexia nervosa in the answer to the Real Life Scenario.

Those exhibiting symptoms should seek treatment from a multidisciplinary team of health professionals. Involving the coach or trainer in therapy is usually a key factor in the success of the treatment plan. Suggestions for treatment are as follows

• Reduce preoccupation with food, weight, and body fat.
• Gradually increase meals and snacks to an appropriate amount.
• Achieve an appropriate weight-for-height.
• Establish regular menstrual periods.
• Decrease training time and/or intensity by 10% to 20%

Fluorine and the Teeth

2010-06-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

The story of fluorine in relation to the teeth is a fascinating example of controlled research and bears brief retelling. Back in the 1890's the dentists in Colorado began to observe that children and adults who had lived in the area of Colorado Springs for the first eight years of their lives had a strange kind of enamel on their teeth. It was mottled enamel, pocked with little brown or chalky-white patches.

Later this mottled enamel began turning up in other communities. Eventually it was traced to the drinking water of the community. About 1931, the specific element in the water which caused the mottled enamel was discovered. It was fluorine Of course; this gaseous element appears in chemical composition as fluoride.

Then, in the 1930's the dentists began to make a careful study of the people with mottled enamel. Contrary to previous assumption, it turned out that these people had about 60% fewer cavities than people who were brought up in areas where there were no fluorides in the water supply. In other words, the fluorides helped to protect teeth from decay.

The U.S. Public Health Service, whose dental division has conducted much of the fluoride research, then set out to determine how much fluorine added to the drinking water would cut down the caries rate and still not produce mottled enamel. The answer came out about one part per million. This amount is perfectly safe and does not mottle the teeth.

On the basis of this research some ten cities in the United States and Canada began the mass public health experiment of adding fluoride (one part per million) to their drinking water. This is called fluoridation. The results were so convincing that hundreds of communities have now added fluorides to their municipal water supplies, but not, it may be said, without public objection in many places.

Campaigns for fluoridation of public drinking water supplies as a strong line of defense against dental caries were pioneered by the U.S. Public Health Service and have been approved by virtually all important public health agencies. Nevertheless there are still many "crackpot" and a few responsible voices raised against it.

Early Warning Signs of anorexia nervosa

2010-06-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

A person developing anorexia nervosa exhibits important warning signs. At first, dieting becomes the life focus. The person may think, "The only thing I am good at is dieting. I can't do anything else." This innocent beginning often leads to very abnormal self-perceptions and eating habits, such as cutting a pea in half before eating it. Other habits include hiding and storing food and or spreading food around a plate to make it look as if much has been eaten. An anorexic person may cook a large meal and watch others eat it while refusing to eat anything. Anorexics may also exercise compulsively to the point that it is obsessive and driven. It can interfere with life activities or occur at inappropriate times or settings—for example, doing squats while brushing teeth.
As the disorder progresses, the range of foods may narrow and be rigidly divided into safe and unsafe ones, with the list of safe foods becoming progressively shorter. For people developing anorexia nervosa, these practices say, "I am in control." These people may be hungry, but they deny it, driven by the belief that good things will happen by just becoming thin enough. It becomes a question of willpower.
Soon people with anorexia become irritable and hostile and begin to withdraw from family and friends. School performance generally crumbles. They refuse to eat out with family and friends, thinking, "I won't be able to have the foods I want to eat," or "I won't be able to throw up afterward."
Anorexic persons see themselves as rational and others as irrational. They also tend to be excessively critical of themselves and others. Nothing is good enough. Because it cannot be perfect, life appears meaningless and hopeless. A sense of joylessness colors everything.
As stress increases in the person's life, sleep disturbances and depression are common. Many of the psychological and physical problems associated with anorexia nervosa arise from insufficient energy intake, as well as deficiencies of nutrients, such as thiamin and vitamin B-6. For the latter reason, a multivitamin and mineral supplement is typically prescribed in therapy. For a female, the combination of problems— coupled with lower and lower body weight and fat stores—causes menstrual periods to cease. This may be the first sign of the disease that a parent notices and represents the hallmark of the disease.
Ultimately, an anorexic person eats very little food; 300 to 600 kcal daily is not unusual. In place of food, the person may consume up to 20 cans of diet soft drinks and chew many pieces of sugarless gum each day.

Treatment of Binge-Eating Disorder

2010-06-26T08:12:00.001-07:00

Those with binge-eating disorder must learn to eat in response to hunger—a biological signal—rather than in response to emotional needs or external factors (such as the time of day or the simple presence of food). Counselors often direct binge eaters to record their perceptions of physical hunger throughout the day and at the beginning and end of every meal. These people must learn to respond to a prescribed amount of fullness at each meal. They should initially avoid weight-loss diets because feelings of food deprivation can lead to more disruptive emotions and a greater sense of unmet needs. Diets are likely to encourage more intense problems, such as extreme hunger. Many people with binge-eating disorder may experience difficulty in identifying personal emotional needs and expressing emotions. Because this problem is a common predisposing factor in binge eating, communication issues should be addressed during treatment. Binge eaters often must be helped to recognize their own buried emotions in anxiety-producing situations, and then encouraged to share them with their therapist or therapy group. Learning simple but appropriate phrases to say to oneself can help stop bingeing when the desire is strong.
Self-help groups, such as Over eaters Anonymous, aim to help recovery from binge-eating disorder. The treatment philosophy parallels that of Alcoholics Anonymous. Over eaters Anonymous attempts to create an environment of encouragement and accountability to overcome this eating disorder. Dietary advice typically ranges from avoiding restraint in eating to limiting binge foods. Some experts feel that learning to eat all foods—but in moderation—is an effective goal for binge eaters. This practice can prevent the feelings of desperation and deprivation that come from limiting particular foods. Antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac), and other types of medications also have been found to help reduce binge eating in these individuals by decreasing depression. Overall, people who have this disorder are usually unsuccessful in controlling it on their own. Professional help is advised.

Nutritional counseling for Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa
Nutritional counseling has two main goals: correcting misconceptions about food and re-establishing regular eating habits. Patients are given information about bulimia nervosa and its consequences. Avoiding binge foods and not constantly stepping on a scale may be recommended early in treatment. The primary goal, however, is to develop a normal eating pattern. To achieve this goal, some specialists encourage patients to develop daily meal plans and keep a food diary in which they record food intake, internal sensations of hunger, environmental factors that precipitate binges, and thoughts and feelings that accompany binge-purge cycles. Keeping a food diary not only is an accurate way to monitor food intake but also may help identify situations that seem to trigger binge episodes. With the help of a therapist, patients can develop alternative coping strategies.
In general, the focus is not on stopping bingeing and purging per se but on developing regular eating habits. Once this is achieved, the binge-purge cycle should stop by itself. Patients are discouraged from following strict rules about healthy food choices, because this simply mimics the typical obsessive attitudes associated with bulimia nervosa. Rather, encouraging a mature perspective on nutrient intake—that is, regular consumption of moderate amounts of a variety of foods balanced among the food groups—helps patients overcome this disorder.
Setting time limits for the completion of meals and snacks is important for people with eating disorders. Many bulimic persons eat very quickly, reflecting their difficulties with satiety. Suggesting that the patient put his or her utensil down after each bite is a behavioral technique that a therapist might try with a recovering bulimic person. (In comparison, many anorexic persons eat in an excessively slow manner—for example, taking 1 hour to eat a muffin because it was cut into tiny, bite-size pieces.)
People with bulimia nervosa must recognize that it is a serious disorder that can
have grave medical complications if not treated. Because relapse is likely, therapy
should be long term. Note that those with bulimia nervosa need professional help be
cause they can be very depressed and are at a high risk for suicide. About 50% of people with bulimia nervosa recover completely from the disorder. Others continue to
struggle with it to varying degrees for the rest of their lives. This fact underscores the
need for prevention because treatment is difficult.

Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-26T08:10:00.001-07:00

Health Problems Stemming from Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

The vomiting that many bulimic sufferers induce is the most physically destructive method of purging. Indeed, the majority of health problems associated with bulimia nervosa arise from vomiting:
• Repeated exposure of teeth to the acid in vomit causes demineralization, making the teeth painful and sensitive to heat, cold, and acids. Eventually, the teeth may severely decay, erode away from fillings, and finally fall out. Dental professionals are sometimes the first health professionals to notice signs of bulimia nervosa. Until vomiting ceases, it is important to rinse the mouth with water after a vomiting episode, especially before brushing the teeth.
• Blood potassium can drop significantly with regular vomiting or the use of certain diuretics. This can disturb the heart's rhythm and even produce sudden death.
• Salivary glands may swell as a result of infection and irritation from persistent vomiting.
• Stomach ulcers and bleeding and tears in the esophagus develop in some cases.
• Constipation may result from frequent laxative use.
• Ipecac syrup, sometimes used to induce vomiting, is toxic to the heart, liver, and kidneys. It has caused accidental poisoning when taken repeatedly.
Overall, bulimia nervosa is a potentially debilitating disorder that can lead to death, usually from suicide, low blood potassium, or overwhelming infections.

Typical Behavior in Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-26T08:07:00.001-07:00

Many people with bulimic behavior are probably never diagnosed. The strict diagnostic criteria specify that, in order to be classified as having bulimia nervosa, a person must binge and purge at least twice a week for 3 months. People with bulimia nervosa lead secret lives, hiding their abnormal eating habits. Moreover, it is impossible to recognize people with bulimia nervosa simply from their appearance. Because most diagnoses of bulimia nervosa are based on self-reports, current estimates of the number of cases are probably low. The disorder, especially in its milder forms, may be much more widespread than commonly thought.

Among sufferers of bulimia nervosa, bingeing often alternates with attempts to rigidly restrict food intake. Elaborate food rules are common, such as avoiding all sweets. Thus, eating just one cookie or donut may cause bulimic persons to feel they have broken a rule. Then the objectionable food must be eliminated. Usually, this leads to further overeating, partly because it is easier to regurgitate a large amount of food than a small amount. For intake to qualify as a binge, an atypically large amount of food must be consumed in a short time, and the person must exhibit a lack of control over this behavior.
Binge-purge cycles may be practiced daily, weekly, or at longer intervals. A special time is often set aside. Most binge eating occurs at night, when other people are less likely to interrupt, and usually lasts from '/> to 2 hours. A binge can be triggered by a combination of hunger from recent dieting, stress, boredom, loneliness, and depression. It often follows a period of strict dieting and thus can be linked to intense hunger. The binge is not at all like normal eating; once begun, it seems to propel itself. The person not only loses control but generally doesn't even taste or enjoy the food that is eaten during a binge. This separates the practice from simple overeating.
Most commonly, bulimic people consume cakes, cookies, ice cream, and similar high-carbohydrate convenience foods during binges because these foods can be purged relatively easily and comfortably by vomiting. In a single binge, foods supplying up to 3,000 kcal or more may be eaten. Purging follows in hopes that no weight will be gained. However, even when vomiting follows the binge, 33% to 75% of the food energy taken in is still absorbed, which causes some weight gain. When laxatives or enemas are used, about 90% of the energy is absorbed, as these act in the large intestine, beyond the point of most nutrient absorption. The common belief of bulimic persons that purging soon after bingeing will prevent excessive energy absorption and weight gain is clearly a misperception.
Early in the onset of bulimia nervosa, sufferers often induce vomiting by placing their fingers deep into the mouth. They may inadvertently bite down on these fingers. The resulting bite marks around the knuckles are a characteristic sign of this disorder. Once the disease is established, however, a person can often vomit simply by contracting the abdominal muscles. Vomiting may also occur spontaneously.
Another way bulimic people attempt to compensate for a binge is by engaging in excessive exercise to expend a large amount of energy. Some bulimic people try to estimate the amount of energy eaten in a binge and then exercise to counteract this energy intake. This practice, referred to as "debiting," represents an effort to control their weight.
People with bulimia nervosa are not proud of their behavior. After a binge, they usually feel guilty and depressed. Over time, they experience low self-esteem and feel hopeless about their situation. Compulsive lying and drug abuse can further intensify these feelings. Bulimic people caught in the act of bingeing by a friend or family member may order the intruder to "get out" and "go away." Sufferers gradually distance themselves from others, spending more and more time preoccupied by and engaging in bingeing and purging.

Typical Behavior in Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

Bulimia Nervosa

2010-06-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa (Eating Disorder)

2010-06-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

A person with anorexia nervosa disorder is psychologically and physically ill and needs medical help.

Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa
People with anorexia often sink into shells of isolation and fear. They deny that a problem exists. Frequently, their friends and family members meet with them to confront the problem in a loving way. This is called an intervention. They present evidence of the problem and encourage immediate treatment. Treatment then requires a multidisciplinary team of experienced physicians, registered dietitians, psychologists, and other health professionals working together. An ideal setting is an eating disorders clinic in a medical center. Outpatient therapy generally begins first. This may be extended to 3 to 5 days per week. Day hospitalization (6-12 hours) is another option, as is total hospitalization. This hospitalization is necessary once a person falls below 75% of expected weight, experiences acute medical problems, and/or exhibits severe psychological problems or suicidal risk. Still, even in the most skilled hands and using the finest facilities, efforts may fail. This tells us that the prevention of anorexia nervosa is of utmost importance.
Once a medical team has gained the cooperation and trust of an anorexic patient, the team attempts to work together to restore a sense of balance, purpose, and future possibilities. As previously stated, anorexia nervosa is usually rooted in psychological conflict. However, a person who has been barely existing in a state of semi starvation cannot focus on much besides food. Dreams and even morbid thoughts about food will interfere with therapy until sufficient weight is regained.

TB Preventions, Progress in TB control

2010-06-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

Prevention
The prevention of tuberculosis requires that the public be protected against droplet infection originating in a patient with tuberculosis. This, in turn, requires that all persons with a positive sputum be identified and isolated from others until they become noninfectious. Thus basically, the prevention of new cases of tuberculosis depends primarily on case finding, isolation, and continued surveillance of patients with active disease.

At one time there was in the United States a problem with bovine tuberculosis. To a limited extent, bovine tuberculosis is still seen, but an active program of case finding among cattle (using the tuberculin test) and destruction of infected animals, combined with the fact that practically all milk today is pasteurized, has made this method of infection a rarity.
In some parts of the world great reliance is placed on prevention by use of the BCG vaccine. Indeed, in some of the developing nations, BCG vaccination may be the only feasible method of tuberculosis control. In this country, BCG vaccination has been used only in high-risk groups (such as medical students and student nurses) and in groups such as American^ Indians and Eskimos with a high prevalence of the disease. /
There has been some experience with chemotherapy (isoniazid) used prophylactically. In a study carried out in Alaska, it was found that chemotherapy prevented 70 percent of the cases that might otherwise have occurred. This approach is practicable only among populations with a high prevalence of tuberculosis.

Progress in Tuberculosis Control
Considerable progress is being made toward the eradication of tuberculosis as a community health problem. The mortality rate today is approximately one twentieth what it was in 1900. The annual incidence of new cases is also falling, but at a slower rate, and is now much lower than the 1900 rate.

TB PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

2010-06-23T23:22:00.001-07:00

As we grow older we must be reminded to exercise each day in order to keep muscles in good tone and to keep the blood circulating rapidly. Play is good mental relaxation for an adult. It is fun for all. It takes our minds off the cares of the day and keeps the body in good working order. Colds are commoner among people who live in overheated rooms. Moderate daily exercise, such as walking or playing outdoors, stimulates deep breathing. A rich supply of oxygen is carried into the lungs and helps to stop the T. B. germ. Avoid over-tiring or chilling. Over-exertion and fatigue weaken the body's resistance. Be sure to keep warm after exercising. Don't overdo.

You can take these precautionary measures on your own. But your physician must help to protect you against tuberculosis. You should have a complete physical examination with a chest X-ray at regular intervals, and at the first sign of illness.

The well-known symptoms of coughing, losing weight and spitting blood appear only when tuberculosis has been present for some time. The best time to look for T. B. is before you see any sign! or symptom. And the best way to find' out whether you have the disease is to have your chest X-rayed.

An X-ray takes but a few seconds. You merely take a deep breath, hold it—and that is all. The picture is then developed like a snapshot. The doctor looks at it to see whether T. B. germ? have done any harm to your lungs. T. B can be cured if it is treated in time.

When T. B. germs make a home in the human body they usually enter the lungs. Then one of several things can happen. A healthy body may fight off the germs, especially if they are few
Your body, is on the job all the time getting rid of dangerous germs. Most people do not know when their body has fought a round with tuberculosis germs and come out a winner. Very
often an X-ray picture shows the seal of old battles in the lungs.
I
In other cases the body may not defeat all the T. B. germs. Millions of people have T. B. germs living in the! bodies, waiting for body resistance to weaken. The body holds its own against the germs. The battle goes on. Neither side is winning.

A chest X-ray can tell the doctor that a battle is in progress. To keep an eye on how the battle is going, the doctor 'will want to have more X-rays and careful examinations and tests.

WHAT IS CANCER

2010-06-23T23:21:00.001-07:00

About cancer We can describe only its appearance and its behavior. No one knows why Hippocrates, two and a half millenniums ago, chose the word crab (cancer) to designate the various tumors and ulcers that came under his observation. Possibly their shape or associated symptoms suggested this particular crustacean to the ancient physician. Suffice it to say that the accumulated evidence of the centuries has taught us that cancer is a new growth of tissue which pursues an impudently independent course, without regard to the rest of the body, has no definite termination of growth, serves no useful purpose, and is ultimately fatal to the individual afflicted with it. The growth kills either by expansion as a single mass, or by infiltration and destruction of normal tissues, or by spreading to various parts of the body to set up similar parasitic growth.

Like other tissues, cancer is composed of living units called cells. These cells, although they may at times appear like normal well-disciplined cells, are "armed-to-the-teeth bandits," as far as the regulatory laws of the body are concerned. Normal body barriers and de- fence mechanisms are shattered under their barrage. These cells invade, replace, and destroy normal tissue precisely like a horde of vandals who ravage the land without thought of future needs and eventually perish, victims of their own destruction. Why these cells behave that way we do not know. Both normal cells and cancer cells can be made to live and grow in culture mediums outside the body. Under such conditions both possess the property of unlimited growth. But if transplanted back into the body from whence they came, the normal cells immediately become obedient to the laws of the body. The cancer cells remain outlaws.

Atopic Dermatitis, Symptoms and Prevention

2010-06-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

People with Asthma, Hay fever and other allergies commonly have a skin disease which is known as Atopic dermatitis. Itchy, Red, raised rash are caused by it and a clear fluid oozes out of it. The rash can be in any form. It may be in tiny blisters which break and crust over. If scratching is not controlled, the lesions can turn into infections.

Atopic Dermatitis may form on different forms of the body in Children and adults. In children it can be on the face, scalp, buttocks, thighs and torso. In adults it can be on the neck, inside the elbows, and the back of the knees. If an adult's hands or feet are exposed to irritating substances, the disorder of AD is most likely to occur on that place. During Infancy, it is even more worse but improves when the child grows up. Many children are more likely to have it better by ages of five and six.

Home Treatment:

When the skin retains moisture, it leads to a successful treatment.

Taking bath everyday with lukewarm (which is not too hot) water. Use of a gentle soap like Dove, Oil of Olay and Neutrogena or a cleanser like Cetaphil or Aveeno is more likely to have a good affect. It is good to bathe without the use of a soap because soap has all the chemicals.

Pat your skin dry after bathing and apply a lubricating cream. These creams help your skin from drying out. It is better to reapply the cream often. Benadryl or antihistamine helps relieve itching and relax one enough to allow sleep. Avoid antiseptics as they cause irritation. Irritation and allergy can be minimized if one avoids contact with things causing it. Some safety measures should be taken like when you are working with substances which are irritating you should wear gloves. Mild detergents should be used when washing clothes and hands should be washed twice after the washing. Fabric softener should not be used if it is irritating for a person.

When to call a doctor:

When a bacterial infection is present, it can cause crusting or sweeping sores. Health Professional should be called when the itching is so much that it is interfering with your sleep. Advice should also be taken when AD is not controlled with home treatment.

Weight Lose a fashion or health issue

2010-06-03T05:53:00.000-07:00

Today, the topic of weight has become an important issue and gained more popularity because many people around us are weighty. Its an endless topic because food is made for human and they love to eat and considerable attention must be paid to eating habits. Now days, the awareness standard of people has increased much due to increased literacy rate and many health problems are being identified like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol just because of this weight problem.

Weight has become a funny thing, people unaware of its complications like to lose weight for looking beautiful, and they never know it’s weight lose body is also sign of beauty but it will be also away from many bad diseases.

Weight motivates such things which cause one to lose confidence and self-respect in such a way when one faces the people with his overweight body, feels his body not well-shaped and in return feels oneself not good looking resulting in inferiority complex and isolation. People looking at a person overweight make him the center of their discussion,

To lessen the weight, one doesn’t need to be very fast but to be patient. Only 5 to 10 percent of overall weight decrease is much in initial stage.

This amount of weight lose is realistic and valuable. Once this target is achieved the journey will be continued for more weight lose in same way. And you lose weight day by day with changing your eating routines and bad habits.

Less amount of food can be taken by changing the ways we eat without feeling deprived. The brain takes fifteen minutes to get the message that we have been fed .So; by slowing down the rate we can allow the brain to receive a full signal by the end of the meal. Vegetables can help to feel fuller and less food in smaller plates may help in feeling fuller.

Hoodia & weight Lose

2010-05-30T13:33:00.001-07:00

Hoodia is a small plant and may be described as a herb. This plant’s effectiveness was found when CSIR was conducting a study on food eaten by the Bushmen from the desert. People who want to lose their weight may use it as an option. Hoodia has been in use by a tribe from the Kalahari Desert in South Africa as a hunger suppressant.
The function of this plant to suppress hunger and food, that is why people have been using this plant on long trips. It seems that the people have also used this plant to feed hunting dogs to make them not feel the necessity of eating. Once there were famines , this plant proved its importance , and the same plant is used in the same situations.
Care must be taken when planning to use Hoodia on long trips as appetite suppressor as ,of course , it reduces your thirst and hunger but it doesn’t mean that you need no more food to eat. If you use this plant as a part of your diet and not totally depend on it , it will have no negative effect on your health.
Hoodia is like cactus with no relation to it . It is a herb and not a drug .In this plant , there is a molecule named P57.This molecule contains the characteristics of being appetite suppressant. As glucose sends the signals to the brain that appetite is served and you are full, the same effect has this plant.
It is to know that Gordonii is a specific variety of Hoodia in which this molecule is found . Gordonii is the only one that has spines and is succulent. Hoodia’s effectiveness is still under research and there are some definite researchers who are trying to isolate this P57 molecule to manufacture a drug. Taste wise this herb is not tasty and something caustic.
There are capsules and liquids which are made up by this plant and are used as supplements. The liquid form is better than the pills and capsules as it works faster and has a good taste. To make the liquid form more effective and results more accelerated , the green tea extracts are combined with it.

The Gordonii variety of Hoodia is protected by law in South Africa and Namibia because it is rare. First , a permit is taken from the government to grow or harvest the plant.and this causes the plant price more expensive in its pure form. approximately one thousand calories a day may be decreased by using it by controlling the appetite.

First the animals and later the humans were experimented on to check the results that show that Hoodia really works and decreases the weight. People suffering the diabetes may use this herb satisfactorily as it is not harmful to them.

There are many people who are completely satisfied in using this plant as it has positive results on them . the supplement is more effective when used with a healthy diet and a regular exercise.

5 Tips To Losing Weight With Convenience Food

2010-05-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, many people don't have the time to prepare meals which are sufficient for them or are in the best of their interests. There are some easy ways to lose your weight with convenience food.
Tip 1: SHOP SMART:
Remember when ever you go for shopping, don't go with an empty stomach. Having an empty stomach will always make it hard for you to chose the food you should be buying. If you find some really good stuff, which looks good but will not be good for your health, just walk past it.

Tip 2: READ LABELS:
It is always best to read labels before putting anything in your basket because a convenience food may not be convenient for everyone. Always see if its in your best interests to buy it.

Tip 3: Trim the fat:
Whenever you take a frozen meal out of the fridge, remove the excess oil and fats. This will make your meal more healthier.

Tip 4: Portion Control:
Measure before you eat. You may not know how much you ate when you ate something directly from the container, and you may eat more than you were supposed to eat. That is you may eat more than 1 serving.

Tip 5: Make your own:
Its not always necessary to buy food from outside. You can make your own food. On the weekend just do some good grocery shopping, cook whatever feels great to you and enjoy it!

Methods of Skin Tightening – Turning Back the Clock

2010-05-27T00:04:00.001-07:00

Human being have always wished to be beautiful and for that purpose they use different techniques as how to keep their skin soft and beautiful. For many years people have been trying different methods to improve their skin, skin tightening and use different surgeries. For matters concerned to the skin, people go and seek advice from the Dermatologist. Skin tightening is an important issue, which is dealt by the dermatologist, but there are also some people who make home remedies in order to minimize the skin tightening. The methods used by the dermatologists are using lotions and cosmetic surgeries.
Skin tightening creams are used a lot by those people whose skin has been damaged by the constant exposure to the sun which damages the collagen. Collagen is actually the layer on your skin which gives our skin a soft and good look. The amount of collagen also decreases when a person gets older i.e above 40. So when the amount of collagen is decreased, the skin starts to sag and one may be now in the need to seek the advice of a dermatologist.
One of the methods, as discussed earlier, is Cosmetic Surgery. It is the most radical method. Not everyone wants to do a surgery or can afford a surgery, so for people like these, researchers have been trying to find a way for surgery which is non-invasive. For example, there is a popular method in which a person is injected which helps to keep the face muscles cal to reduce wrinkles. There are also other methods like Sculptra, Lipodissolve and Fraxel Laser Treatments.
Another popular method for non-surgical skin tightening is to use the radio waves to remodel the skin structure. This procedure for skin tightening is known as Thermage. Another method is known as Titan which uses infrared lights for the same purpose and produces the same results. Laser Technology is developing in order to provide a treatment to people which is non-invasive and comfortable for people.
Dermatologist should always be consulted with when you are planning for a skin tightening treatment. For there are things other than surgeries, like using lotions and creams to give your skin a good look. Your face, upper arms, thighs and abdomen will start to sag when you grow older. Normally, surgeries like tummy tucks, liposuction and face lifts are considered by many men and women. People will go for these procedures because everyone wants to look good. Even if they don't have to show it to any one it still makes themselves happy.

Death Toll in Russia with Swine Flu Virus

2010-05-03T00:45:00.001-07:00

Sept. 27 a new influenza virus detected in Russia from 457 people. This news was heard on all famous tv channels.

* November 18 - On the Yamal Peninsula of "eating pork” 10 peole died with this influenza.

* November 18 - Thus, in the Smolensk region officially recorded 2 deaths from swine influenza.

* November 19 - In the capital of Karelia, Petrozavodsk, the epidemic halted studies in all 48 schools.

* November 19 - From the swine flu seven residents of Voronezh region died,

* November 19 - In a number of Russian regions where the epidemic threshold has been exceeded for influenza and SARS, began to decrease morbidity, told Interfax on Thursday the head of Rospotrebnadzor, chief state sanitary doctor, Gennady Onishchenko,. In his statement Onishchenko did not mention a specific figure.

* November 19 - In Lipetsk - already three victims of swine flu.

* November 19 - The first victim of swine flu in Altay .

* 19 November - Karachay-Cherkessia Technology Academy suspended classes because of the "swine" influenza. In KChR died two young women who have been identified as "swine flu. Victims.

* Nov. 20 - Fourteen people died of influenza A/H1N1 in Moscow.

* November 20 - Perm epidemiologists confirmed the first death from H1N1 influenza in the Perm region.

* November 22 - A third resident of Kalmykia died of swine flu.

* November 23 - In Omsk, the first recorded death from swine flu.

* Nov. 23 - The Ministry of Health of the Nizhny Novgorod region reported that as of November 23 in the field of 15 registered deaths from flu, including 10 cases - from the swine flu.

23 November - The first victim of swine influenza in the Angara region. In the Irkutsk regional infectious diseases hospital, died on 57-year-old woman.

* 23 November - not better things in the Leningrad region. There, according to 47News, the virus A/H1N1 Three people died. Also influenza A/H1N1 virus found at the autopsy of the deceased child of the Kirov District of Leningrad region.

* November 24 - In the Kaluga region of swine influenza have died three.

* November 24 - Two more people died from the Krasnoyarsk region of swine flu. They, as well as in the previous four deaths had been confirmed diagnosis of swine influenza.

* November 24 - In the meantime, already seven of the Urals have been victims of "Swine" influenza, reported OTV. That's the number of deaths registered in the Sverdlovsk region.

* November 24 - November 24 night in a hospital in Tambov, died a young man diagnosed with the highly influenza A/H1N1.

* Nov. 24-In Udmurtia officially confirmed 5 deaths from the virus A/H1N1.

* November 25 - UFA - According to the Ministry of Health of Belarus recorded six deaths from the disease by laboratory detection of RNA virus A/H1N1

* November 25 - Yaroslavl - When Encyclopae room, became aware of the first victim of swine influenza in the area.

* November 25 - In the Saratov region recorded five deaths, with"swine" influenza.

· Nov. 25 - Khabarovsk. RF Presidential envoy in the Far Eastern Federal District Viktor Ishayev considered necessary to conduct a judicial inspection in the Amur region, where due to this deadly disease the complications of influenza A/H1N1 caused nine people died.

2009 WHO Swine Flu report

2010-05-03T00:44:00.000-07:00

· Analysis of the situation in many homes shows that the pandemic strain of the H1N1 virus has spread rapidly around the world and currently is the dominant structure of influenza morbidity;
·
* The virus is bound to spread in the coming months to complete coverage of all susceptible populations, around the world, Because it is also spread by birds which drink water any where they find and infect the water with disease.
· Genetic analysis of the virus showed almost complete identity of the pathogen in different foci, with no detected signs of increased virulence, or lethality of the virus;
·
* Symptoms are the same throughout the world and in most cases correspond to the mild form of influenza, the number of complications and deaths in susceptible individuals remains small, Because timely given treatment.

* Since the virus is very different antigenic properties from the seasonal flu the past few decades, the disease occurs with greater coverage of young non-immune population in comparison with the usual seasonal outbreaks of influenza (the most severe cases were observed in people younger than 50 years, whereas at 90% of seasonal flu deaths occur in people over 65 years); but that can’t be said its due to swin flu although swin flu and seasonal flu symptoms are exactly same.

* The pandemic strain of H1N1 cure include oseltamivir and zanamivir effective medications against the deadly disease, which are sensitive to most of the options strain, WHO does not recommend any other antiviral drugs for prophylaxis and treatment of influenza;

* Due to the fact that in the coming times will increase the incidence of swin flu and its almost impossible to stop or cover all susceptible populations in the world, the number of patients in need of drugs will increase, as will increase and the total number of complications will be recognize pneumonia.

* Usually in individuals Complicated forms of the disease occur, with predisposition: pregnant women, patients with chronic respiratory disease (especially asthma), diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, AIDS patients on antiretroviral therapy did not develop complications more frequently than healthy people.

WHO recommended limiting the movement of people to avoid such travel which cause spread of this virus, as well as organizing mechanism of control at airports, specially when entering to another country.

RECORDED CASES OF SWIN FLU IN UKRAIN

2010-04-27T00:56:00.000-07:00

Oct. 30 - Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevich reported that Ukraine has started reciving viruses of swin flu name H1N1 by foreign tourists.

1. In the nine regions of Ukraine quarantined. In three regions of Ukraine - Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil state incidence of influenza reached epidemic threshold and also be introduced a special regime, which include the restriction of transport of people from these regions to other regions. The government decided that as of today, without exception, schools (public, private, all levels) must be given 3-week vacation. Kiev city council also decided to impose strict same rules on all citizens. institutions, trade, catering and markets. In addition, the decision to cancel all public events, concerts, film shows, any other assembly of people a period of 3 weeks.

* November 4 - In Ukraine, 17 confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1), including 6 people died due to this disease.

* November 19 - The diagnosis of influenza in Ukraine Californian laboratory confirmed in 225 people were infected with the virus and same day , at a briefing in the Ministry of Health informed the Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Mr. Lazoryshynets all situation going on latest death tool numbers caused by swin flu.

Best way to Lose Weight Using Acai Berry

2010-04-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

Do you know how remarkable is Acai Berry for losing weight?

Acai Berry is one of the most important tree found in Latin America as well as in others regions of American continent. It has been used as an important diet for the last few centuries, espcially for the people who want to remain smart. It has come to be noticed a few years ago in the western countries as an essential remedial element to reduce weight without any side effects. It has been publicized in numerous famous magazines , newspapers, t v shows, and through internet .through different experiment which were carried out in European countries it is testified that the fruit of Acai Berry tee contain an amazing combination of health-promoting nutrients as well as dietary fiber and monounsaturated fats.

How doseAcai Berry help in Losing Weight.

Acai berries are a wonderful product for losing weight as it is used all over the American states for reaming fit and smart. There are others benefits of using Acai Berries such as reducing the aging process and helping cell recovery that have made it a unique product for men women and specially aged people. Its usage provide all the necessary amount of antioxidants (substances, which prevent oxidative stress and benefits such as reducing the aging process and helping cell recovery cell damage) it contains very effective control upon aging effect. Because Acai Berry make the process of losing weight faster and easier without any side effects. Many well known research papers have given highly recommendations for using it as a food supplement to control weight

Be very careful in choosing the Right Acai Berry Supplement...

Always be careful whenever you are going to buy an Acai Berry product.

Here is little suggestion to keep in mind whenever you have to shop an Acai Berry product. Make sure you are purchasing 100% pure Amazonian Acai berry extract containing product.

Brazilian rainforest, where Acai Berry is harvested, requiring very labor-intensive task. Keep in mind that normally the price of a good product of Acai Berry is $40-50 per bottle and any other cheaper rate is not a better product.

Make sure that money back guarantee is provided because in few rare cases the product may not work, the money back guarantee makes sure to safe your money.

Need to change the behaviour to lose weight in small time

2010-04-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Today , the topic of weight has become an important issue but to say a very hot topic . It is not a today’s but an everlasting topic . Now a days , the awareness standard of people has increased much due to increased literacy rate and many health problems are being identified like diabetes , high blood pressure and high cholesterol .
Weight has become a funny thing as it is not recognized by those who need to lose weight on account of health problems and by those who don’t care for the weight losing for the sake of fashion as they think it a beauty.

Weight is that thing which motivates the things causing one to lose confidence and self-respect in such a way when one faces the people with his overweight body , feels his body not well-shaped and in return feels oneself not good looking resulting in inferiority complex . People looking a person overweight lose their confidence on him and behave with him in not a well confident manner as physically upset person is not likely to be very active .

To lessen the weight , one doesn’t need to be very fast but to be patient . Only 5 to 10 percent of overall weight decrease is much in initial stage.

This much less weight is realistic and valuable. Once this target is achieved the journey will be continuted for more weight lose in same way.

Behaviors are the most important factors in reducing weight . setting the goals is the main thing . Goals are the effective things and go along to reducing weight . For the most people the thing to be noticed is the only one goal that is the weight . There should be other goals too in the way to weight reduction . The effective goals are: detailed, achievable and tolerant . For example a walk of 30 minutes for five days is detailed , achievable and tolerant as compared with the walk in which there is no specification of days and times . Further goals may be the intake of fat from 40% of calories to 35% of calories and later 30% or increasing the amount of time from 10 minutes to 20 to 30.
A sequence of giving rewards to yourself must be continuing specially for the targets with more difficulty . The giving rewards must be dependent on meeting the goals. It is better to have a lot of small rewards for achieving smaller goals than to have a larger reward that can take a lot of effort to obtain and can lose its desirability. The rewards only need to be simple such as a new music CD or a movie or an afternoon off etc.

Another behavior to achieve must be self-monitoring to keep a track of calorie use and exercise session. In this way you may have the knowledge what is better and what is worse. Similarly , a recording of the weight is important although it is not necessary to weigh you everyday. The exect approximation of the exercise and food effect on the weight does not show up the next day. The weight looks different because the weight is made up of water which changes from day to day unlike body fat.

There are many situations where people get themselves engaged in eating like sitting in front of T.V . There are many places where food items are on display at social places tempting the people to eat not willingly. Such situations must be avoided as people get themselves towards unplanned eating.

Less amount of food can be taken by changing the ways we eat without feeling deprived. The brain takes fifteen minutes to get the message that we have been fed .So; by slowing down the rate we can allow the brain to receive a full signal by the end of the meal. Vegetables can help to feel fuller and less food in smaller plates may help in feeling fuller. If we have the habit of eating skipping, we must have scheduled eating timing.

Bacterial Vaginosis Natural Treatments Right in Your Home

2010-03-26T12:53:00.001-07:00

Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) is vaginal condition that can produce vaginal discharge and results from an overgrowth of normal bacteria in the vagina. BV is not dangerous, but it can cause disturbing symptoms. Women usually ignore the natural treatment and preferred to take medicines. But the disadvantage of antibiotic treatment is that the antibiotics kill good bacteria in the vaginal area along with harmful bacteria. So it is preferred to opt for natural treatment for BV which is free from any side effect.
Certain factors have been identified that increase the chances of developing BV. These include multiple or new sexual partners, vaginal douching, and cigarette smoking.
The natural treatment includes abstinence from sexual activity to allow the infection to heal and to allow the bacterial flora to return to the natural balance of good bacteria over bad. A strong immune system can also shield against the disease. A balanced diet, adequate exercise plus sleep are essential in maintaining a healthy immune system. Cigarette smoking plus alcohol drinking ought to even be avoided. The most important advantage of this is that it not only protects against BV but a good vary of diseases as well.

Hygiene Practices are useful in preventing BV and other diseases. Once using the toilet, it's best to wipe from front to shy as to not introduce additional unwanted bacteria into the vaginal area. Keeping the vaginal space dry can also deprive the bacteria of the moisture it needs to proliferate. Carrying loose, cotton underwear additionally promotes air circulation plus prevents moisture build-up.

Useful herbs and ingredients can also help in treating BV. This includes natural antioxidants plus antimicrobials prefer garlic, tea tree oil, aromatic essential oils and vinegar to call a few. This will be mixed in water plus used as female wash.

Natural treatments are generally safe. However, it is recommended to see a doctor even if you're using bacterial vaginosis natural treatments.

Eating Disorders

2010-03-26T12:46:00.001-07:00

In a society where ‘thin is in,” many of us have tried skipping meals or going on diets to lose weight. Unlike dieting, eating disorders are medical problems that cause disturbances in eating behavior.

Anorexia nervosa is a disorder of severe self-imposed dieting. It affects teenage girls most often. Symptoms include refusing to eat, extreme weight loss, a distorted body image (thinking she’s fat when she is actually very thin), a preoccupation with food, low self-esteem, and excessive physical exercise,

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging (forced vomiting or abuse of laxatives and diuretics). The binges are usually triggered by emotional upset, not hunger. Other symptoms include dry skin and brittle hair, swollen glands under the jaw from vomiting, depression and mood swings, a distorted body image, and secrecy to keep others from discovering the person’s abnormal behavior. People who have anorexia usually look starved, but most people who have bulimia maintain a normal weight and look healthy, most people with anorexia deny they have a problem; people with bulimia know that they do, but keep it a secret.

Compulsive overeating is characterized by binging on food. An overeater will consume thousands of calories at a time, quickly and without pleasure. Because there is no purging, a compulsive overeater becomes obese.

Eating disorders appear to be caused by emotional and psychological factors. They tend to run in families, so there may be a genetic link.

Eating disorders require professional treatment. If untreated, they can lead to major health problems or even death. Treatment usually involves nutritional counseling, individual psychotherapy, family therapy, and medication. A hospital stay may be required in extreme cases.

Prevention

· Teach and model healthy eating and exercise habits at home and at school.
· Help young people develop confidence and self-esteem. Accept them for who they are.
· Be careful about encouraging a young person to lose weight. Communicate that you love and care for the person, regardless of how much he or she weighs.

Mental Health Care Tips

2010-03-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

Medical Science is discovering that mental health problems often have a physical cause. Psychological problems are no longer thought of as character weaknesses or flaws. We now know that mental health problems can begin when psycho-logical or emotional stress (such as the loss of a loved one) triggers chemical changes in the brain. While some people can withstand more stress than other, nobody is immune to mental illness.

Because mental healthy problems have physical and psychology-cal causes, both self-care and professional care are often needed. The goal is to reduce stress and to restore the normal chemical processes in the brain.

Seeking Professional Help

This chapter does not cover all mental health problems. If you have mental or emotional symptoms that are not addressed here, contact your healthy professional. In general, it is a good idea to seek professional help when:

· A symptom becomes severe or disruptive.
· A disruptive symptom becomes a continuous or permanent pattern of behavior and does not respond to self-care efforts,
· Symptoms become numerous and affect all areas of your life and do not respond to self-care or communication efforts.
· You are thinking of suicide,

There is a wide range of professional and lay resources to choose from mental healthy problems.

Family doctors: Mental healthy problems may have physical causes. Your doctor can review your medical history and medications for clues, provide some counseling, prescribe medications, or refer you to other resources.

Psychiatrists: Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in mental disorders. They counsel patients, prescribe medications, and order medical treatments.

Psychologists, Social workers, and counselors: These professionals receive special training in helping people deal with mental health problems. They help patients identify, understand, and work through disturbing thoughts and emotions.

Pastors: People often turn to their clergy for counseling and advice in times of emotional distress. Many pastors have formal training in counseling and many do not.

Support Groups: Talking with others who are coping with the same problem is often helpful.

Relaxation Skills

2010-03-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Whatever you do to manage stress, you can benefit from the regular use of relaxation skills. Relaxation is the exact opposite to the fight-or-flight response.

When learning relaxation skills, you must remove yourself from all out side distractions. It may take some practice to become comfortable with these techniques. Once you have trained your body and mind to relax (two to three week), you have be able to produce the same relaxed state whenever you want.

The following three methods of relaxation and meditation are among the simplest and most effective. They should be done twice a day fro about 20 minutes. Pick a time and place where you won’t be disturbed or distracted.

Roll Breathing

The object of roll breathing is to develop full use of your lungs and get in touch with the rhythm of your breathing. It can be practiced in any position, but it is best to learn it lying on your back, with your knees bent.

1. Place your left hand on your abdomen and your right hand on your chest. Notice how your hands move as your breathe in and out.
2. Practice filing your lower lungs by breathing so that your left hand goes up when you inhale and your right hand remains still. Always inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Deadly Week of swin flu in Russia

2010-03-26T04:54:00.000-07:00

Nov. 10-Golikov: The Minister said that all in Russia officially registered 4563 cases of swine flu. To date, and 19 people had died with the virus A/H1N1 in Russia, till that date. During 9 months of 2009 (January-September) recorded 439 deaths from influenza, SARS and the resulting complications.

* November 13 - Resolution of the chief health officer of the Sverdlovsk region suspended classes in all secondary and higher educational institutions situated in the territory of Ekaterinburg and urban district. Were further advised to live in home, so maybe it can stop the rapid spread.

November 14 - The worst situation with A/H1N1 in the Baikal region, where the prosecutor's office confirmed 16 deaths.

As of November 16 in Russia recorded 5613 people with the virus H1N1. From 13 to 16 November - another 132 people fell ill, and in the acute form, which requires hospitalization. C 13 to November 15, still hospitalized, 1,573 Russians with severe forms of pneumonia.

* November 17 - Three residents of Tatarstan died from complications of swine influenza.

* November 17 - In the regional children's hospital, died on 14-year-old schoolgirl with swin flu.

* November 17 - In the Murmansk region LAB identified 208 cases "PORK" flu. Five people died from complications caused by this virus.

* November 17 - In the Chelyabinsk region diagnosed with the highly influenza A/H1N1 "laboratory confirmed in 162 people, including 9 umerlo.

* November 17 - In the ten months of 2009 from influenza and SARS have died 545 Russians. This statement was made today by the Minister of Health and Social Development Tatyana Golikova.

* November 17 - In the ten months of 2009 from influenza and SARS have died 545 Russians. This statement was made today by the Minister of Health and Social Development Tatyana Golikova.

Boosting Your Immune System

2010-03-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

Your immune system responds to your thoughts, emotions, and actions. In addition to staying fit, eating right, and managing stress, the following three strategies will help your immune system function better.

1. Create positive expectations for health and healing.

Mental and emotional expectations can influence medical outcomes. The effectiveness of any medical treatment depends in part on how useful you expect it to be. The ˝placebo effect˝ proves that expectations affect health. A placebo is a drug or treatment that provides no medical benefit except for the patient’s belief that it will help. On the average, 35 percent of patients who receive placebos report satisfactory relief from their medical problem, even though they received no actual medication.

Changing your expectations from negative to positive may give your immune system a boost. Here’s how to make the change:

Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA)

2010-03-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

By now, avid skincare users would have heard and read about alpha hydroxy acids, or AHA, which was pioneered by NeoStrata. Just a few weeks of NebStrata makes a difference. The complexion gets clearer and fairer, blotches disappear. No wonder NeoStrata has been given the thumbs up as a superior kind of skincare. AHA is what NeoStrata calls its first-generation technology. Now comes its second-generation technology— PHA, or poly hydroxy acids. Like its name suggests, PHA is many times more moisturising than AHA. It has the same smoothening and exfoliating properties as AHAs but yet so gentle that there's no risk of adverse reactions.
AHAs are made up of extremely small molecules which penetrate the skin very quickly — the reason for the sometimes burning and stinging sensation one feels when applying it. The molecules in PHA are much larger and penetrate the skin more gently, without causing irritation to the skin the way most AHAs do. And because PHA contains multiple, or poly hydroxy, groups, it's even more moisturising.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND AHA

In NeoStrata's new skincare range, which is simply known as Exuvianc-It's got three great things going for it: It's very gentle — so gentle it won -irritate even the most sensitive skin.

HIV Patient? what you should do?

2010-03-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

Although a large number of aids is controlled by safe sex by the use of condoms, due to awareness at large scale abut aids have decreased its dangers, but still some time due to a small mistake aids get you, The new technique is still the old, you go with the hunger of sex and just never think before sex what you can get without using the condoms or to whom you gona do the sex, so this is the most important thing you must keep in mind, Although its also a truth that sex is only like a excitement which can't be stopped and as you try to avoid it would not be avoided it would become even more hungry, there are tips and safe ways, so you must keep checking because A simple, confidential blood test, available from your doctor or a health department, can determine if you are HIV-positive. Remember that it can take up to six months after infection for HIV antibodies to develop, and the virus can be transmitted even before antibodies have developed.

Researchers believe that most people who are HIV-positive will eventually develop AIDS. Although there are treatments for some of the symptoms of AIDS, there is currently no cure, and it is apparently always fatal.

Symptoms of HIV Infection and AIDS
The early symptoms of HIV infection are like flu symptoms that won't go away. Common symptoms are:

• Rapid, unexplained weight loss
• Persistent unexplained fever and night sweats
• Persistent severe fatigue
• Persistent diarrhea
• Swelling of glands in neck, armpits, or groin

As the immune system deteriorates, a variety of other symptoms may appear, including:

• Unusual sores on the skin or in the mouth; white patches in the mouth
• Increased outbreaks of cold sores
• Unexplained shortness of breath and dry cough
• Severe numbness or pain in the hands and feet
• Personality change or mental deterioration
• Unusual cancers and infections

These symptoms are caused by many illnesses other than HIV infection or AIDS. However, if any symptom develops or persists without a good explanation, especially if your behavior puts you at risk of HIV infection, call your doctor.

Ten Ways to Stay Healthy

2010-03-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

Prevention works! You and your family can save a lot of pain, worry, and money by avoiding health problems in the first place. If you can't prevent a problem altogether, the next best thing is to discover it early, when it is easy to treat. This chapter helps you do both.

1. Immunize. Immunizations are the best bargain in health care. When you immunize, you prevent illness for your family and help prevent epidemics in your community.

2. Keep Moving. Any way you define it, fitness is essential to good health. Even moderate exercise makes a huge difference both in how you feel and what illnesses you get. For a three-part fitness plan,

3. Eat right. Eating a well-balanced, low-fat diet of wholesome foods will keep you energetic and free of many illnesses.. Consider breast-feeding your baby to help keep him or her in the best health.

4. Control stress. Even with a hectic and hurried lifestyle, you can prevent stress from undermining your health.

5. Be smoke-free. Smokers who quit gain tremendous health benefits. So do people who avoid secondhand smoke.

6. Avoid drugs and excess alcohol. When you say "no" to drugs and limit what you drink, you prevent accidents and illnesses and avoid a lot of problems for yourself and your family. For more on drug and alcohol problems,

7. Put Safety First. Safety at home, at work, and at play; safe driving; fire arm safety, and safe sex will all help keep you healthy.

8. Pursue healthy pleasures. Take naps, relax during meals, play with kids, care for a pet – they all can add to your health.

9. Think well of yourself. A good self-image is the foundation of good health. For more on self-esteem and wellness,

10. Promote peace. Peace on earth begins at home. Seek nonviolent way of resolving conflicts at home, at school, at work, and in your community.

UPDATED HIV Infections and AIDS

2010-03-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV destroys the immune system, so that it is impossible for the body to fight off disease or even minor illnesses, and it is so deadly that in days it take the life, so far after cancer HIV is declared the deadliest disease in whole world, Specially in African countries and India its ratio is rising greatly, Cultural believes and religious creeds also help to avoid HIV, for example in Muslims this disease is obsolete, Because it’s a great sin to do sex without marriage, I don’t say no one in Muslims have HIV, It can be but in those who don’t practice or care about their religion which strictly prohibits to do sex without marriage.

AIDS is the last phase in HIV disease, when the body is unable to fight a disease or infection.

A person is said to be HIV-positive if antibodies to the virus are detected in his or her blood. It may take up to six months after infection for the antibodies to appear. Someone who is HIV-positive may appear to be healthy for 10 years or longer before the symptoms of AIDS develop.

HIV is not spread by mosquitoes, toilet seats, being coughed on by an infected person, casual contact with someone who is HIV-positive or who has AIDS, or by donating blood.

Because all blood has been tested for HIV since 1985, the risk of getting the virus from blood or blood products is extremely low.

HIV is spread only when blood, semen, or vaginal fluids from an infected person enter someone else's body. The specific behaviors that spread HIV include:

1. Sharing injection needles, syringes, or drug-use equipment with someone who is HIV-positive.
2. Unprotected (without a condom) rectal entry intercourse (anal sex) with someone who is HIV-positive. Anal sex often tears the rectal blood vessels, allowing the virus to enter the body.
3. Unprotected vaginal intercourse or oral sexual activity with someone who is HIV-positive.

Babies born to or breast-fed by women who are HIV-positive are also al high risk of contracting the virus.

Being touched, hugged, or lightly kissed by someone who is HIV-positive will not transfer the virus to you. As long as you practice the prevention behaviors you have virtually no risk of contracting the virus.

If your behavior puts you at risk for HIV infection, have a blood test six months after the risky behavior. Early diagnosis and treatment of HIV is important even before symptoms develop.

Spanish flu

2010-03-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

Spanish influenza, or "Spanish flu" (born La Grippe Espagnole, or Spanish. La Pesadilla) was most likely the worst pandemic in human history. In the 1918-1919 worldwide have died from the Spanish flu of approximately 50-100 million people. Was infected with approximately 400 million people, or 21,5% of the population of the planet. The epidemic started in the last months of World War I and quickly eclipsed is the largest-scale massacre victims.

August 20, 2007 Department of Agriculture of the Philippines outbreak of H1N1 influenza in pig province Nueva Ecija and Central Luzon.
[edit] Pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009

Herbel Medicines Better Then Alopathics

2009-07-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

Man has been using herbal medicine since ancient times. Most of the medicine being made these days is inherently herbal in nature. Even in the advanced countries of the world 20 to 30 percent of the medicine essentially contains potent herbal content.

Roots of the Indian medicine can be traced back as far as four and a half thousand years to rig vied (sacred Hindu scripture).During the Muslim rule of the subcontinent valuable contributions were made in the field by Muslim herbalists who collected the works of their Arabian, Greek and Iranian counterparts and so, herbal medicine remains popular amongst the general populace of the subcontinent.

After the independence of the subcontinent, research started on the information extracted from the ancient Hindu texts and thus herbal diagnosis has been gaining more and more popularity since.

P.N Bhal, an expert dermatologist along with his assistants, has collected one hundred herbs used in diagnosis of skin disease in his book “Herbs Useful in Dermatological Therapy”. In order to signify the importance of the book under consideration, it’s worthwhile to mention here that the preface of the book was written by Hakim Muhammad Said (late) head of “hamdard dawa khana India”(Hamdard Medicine).

The book contains valuable information about herbs in along with the botanical names in a very comprehensive manner and is very useful for the scientists, herbalists and the average reader alike.

Asgand

Known as Kakanj in Arabic, asgand nagouri in Urdu and Hindi, ashwa gandha in Sanskrit and watania somnifera in herbal sciences.Iit grows in dry parts of India and in the Himalayas at about 5000 feet.

Planted in the rainy season and harvested in the winter, whole of the plant is used for medicinal purposes because its stem leaves seeds and roots, all contain valuable chemical substances.

Use in dermatological disorders

Asgand is extensively used in Greek and Indian herbal sciences, used externally as balm for itching and bruising of the skin. For internal use, powdered root of Asgand is diagnosed for the treatment of dermatological disorders like vitiligo(white spots due to de pigmentation in patches of skin), Alopecia areata(a condition affecting humans, in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body, usually from the scalp) and other skin disease due to stress and psychological disorders.

Its roots and bitter leaves are used to treat insomnia due to lung infection and excessive consumption of alcohol. Its leaves are also applied as balm on carbuncles and are also recommended as a potent medicine to treat weakness due to Chancrous .In case of Leucorrhoea, 5gms of powdered leaves along with brown sugar and with cow milk is recommended to be used until the problem is gone. Powdered asgand, brown sugar, ghee with honey and Ampelopsis arborea(pipli or pepper vine) is used along with milk and rice to treat hematuria, and in case of skin problems powder is applied with oil.

Mango King

2009-06-09T03:46:00.001-07:00

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Mango is a well known fruit which is also called as king of fruits. Its call “anmba” in Persian and amra in Sanskrit and mango in English. It Cultivates in sub-continent Myanmar and beside it is cultivated on vast level in Sri Lanka,India and pakistan,
It demands a high temperature to rip, And south asian countries such as India/Pakistan have a suitable weather to ripe it..

Chemical ingredients:
In the leafs of mango,fruits,and in roots there is magnifierin.in fruits there is garlic acid,galotinine,alogic acid,am,tri Gaelic acid,koercitien,ierkoersitien and golocogaline are chemical acids.
Uses:
By different types of mangoes cold drinks, pickle, sweets, jelly, amature are made. Except this flowers of mangoes are also used. Mango contains essential vitamamins and dietary minerals. The antioxidant vitamins A, C and E comprise 25%, 76% and 9% of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) in a 165 g serving. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, 11% DRI), vitamin K (9% DRI), other B vitamins and essential nutrients such as potassium, copper and 17 amino acids are at good levels. Mango peel and pulp contain other phytonutrients, such as the pigment antioxidants - carotenoids and polyphenols - and omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

For skin diseases:
The mango triterpene, lupeol is an effective inhibitor in laboratory models of prostate and skin cancer An extract of mango branch bark called Vimang, isolated by Cuban scientists, contains numerous polyphenols with antioxidant properties in vitro and on blood parameters of elderly humans.
Production and consumption:
Mangoes account for almost 50% of all tropical fruits produced worldwide. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N estimates worldwide production of mangoes at more than 23 million tons in 2001. With 12 million tons produced annually (2002-3 ), India accounts for almost half of the world production, followed by China (3 million tons), Pakistan (2.25 million tons), Mexico (1.5 million tons) and Thailand (1.35 million tons). The aggregate production of 10 countries is responsible for roughly 80% of the entire world mango production.
In Pakistan the popular mangoes are the Sindhri and Chaunsa, besides other varieties like Langra, Anwar Ratoal and Malva. The Sindhri mango is primarily produced in the province of Sindh and can measure up to half a foot in length. It is generally considered one of the best mangoes in the world.

Area harvested of mangoes as of 2007
Polity Hectares
India 2 143 000
China 445 000
Thailand 285 000
Indonesia 266 000
Pakistan 215 000
Mexico 200 000
Philippines 181 000
Nigeria 126 500
Brazil 89 800
Guinea 82 000
Vietnam 52 000
Bangladesh 51 000

Mango, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 70 kcal 270 kJ
Carbohydrates 17.00 g
- Sugars 14.8 g
- Dietary fiber 1.8 g
Fat 0.27 g
Protein .51 g
Vitamin A equiv. 38 μg 4%
- β-carotene 445 μg 4%
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.058 mg 4%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.057 mg 4%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.584 mg 4%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.160 mg 3%
Vitamin B6 0.134 mg 10%
Folate (Vit. B9) 14 μg 4%
Vitamin C 27.7 mg 46%
Calcium 10 mg 1%
Iron 0.13 mg 1%
Magnesium 9 mg 2%
Phosphorus 11 mg 2%
Potassium 156 mg 3%
Zinc 0.04 mg 0%

Top Ten Mango Producers of 2007
Polity Production in Tones Footnote
India
13501000
People's Republic of China
3752000 F
Pakistan
2250000 F
Mexico
2050000 F
Thailand
1800000 F
Indonesia
1620000 F
Brazil
1546000 F
Philippines
975000 F
Nigeria
734000 F
Vietnam
370000 F
World
33445279 A
• No symbol = official figure
• P = official figure, F = FAO estimate
• * = Unofficial/Semi-official/mirror data
• C = Calculated figure
• A = Aggregate(may include official, semi-official or estimates)
Source
Food And Agricultural Organization of United Nations: Economic And Social Department: The Statistical Division.

Food Value per 100 g of Edible Portion
Moisture 85.2 g
Protein 0.112 g
Fat 0.04g
Fiber 0.6 g
Ash 0.23 g
Calcium 6.0 mg
Phosphorus 10.8 mg
Iron 0.31 mg
Carotene 0.043 mg
Thiamine 0.031 mg
Riboflavin 0.025 mg
Niacin 0.286 mg
Ascorbic Acid 75.0 mg

Vegetarian are more Intelligent then Non-Vegetarian

2009-05-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

According to a British Research intelligent level of vegetarian is higher then “Non Vegetarian”. A Reputed UK newspaper “Daily Mail” tells in its Medial Journal Report south Hampton University prepared about study of 8 thousands males and females. According to that it came knowledge that intelligent level of vegetarians was 5% more than non vegetarians. Though it was difficult to clearly judge the intelligent level of non vegetarians as compared to vegetarians but it is assumed that intelligent level has very deep effect of using fruits vegetables and grains.

The chain of that Research was started under 10years children’s. When they were of 30 they were asked that whether they eat food consisting of vegetables or fruits. Their answers were compared with the answers of non vegetarians, including in this experiment 4% volunteer told that on being young they were still habitual of vegetetables, it should be noted that the percentage of vegetarians is almost equal in British. One interesting fact reveals young eat food consisting of vegetables as compared to meet and fish then children’s. In study intelligent level of young vegetarian is almost 5% more as compared to non vegetarians. And intelligence level of not using milk and its products vegetarians was found less at 10years old. it is also assumed that vegetarians are placed on good jobs on being young. According to research Dr.Katherine Geel there is many reasons of it. It can be that intelligent persons doesn’t use meet because of sympathy for animals. It is also caused that persons like this thought vegetables more beneficial, according to Dr.Geel it is right according to health that blood pressure of vegetarian’s remains low. They remain safe from heart diseases. according to them although from our research it is proved that more intelligent children’s remains vegetarians on being young by which on further research positive results found, means one is that animals remains covered second it lefts good effects on atmosphere.

I would like to give reference of Arnold Schwarzenegger An Austrian Body Builder world 9 Times MR Olympia, He is Current Governor of California. And Mr Olympia Competition is the world biggest body building competition.

In his prime age when he was building his muscles, He was unable to afford heavy dite which is necessary for Body building. He use to drink the juice of Vegetables instead of Eating Meat. And what the result of that Vegetable Juice everybody know in the world how powerful and big muscles Mr. Schwarzenegger.

Copyright by http://health-news-newyork.blogspot.com/

Tomato diet and medicine 2 in one

2009-05-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

Tomato has different shapes and colors given to it by nature. It can be oval or circle shape. It also has a shape which totally resemble in apple. Modern Science says it’s a medication against many diseases.

Tomato is a delicious diet and a beautiful fruit. Yes its not a vegetable it’s a fruit. Mostly in

USA

and Europe it is used as a fruit. In Asian countries such as India Pakistan its considered a vegetable. There are many kinds of tomatoes found in the world.

Some of its species are below.

White tomato
Purple tomato
Red tomato
Pink tomato
Yellow tomato.

In the whole world it is being used, some where its used as salad, and some where its used as fruit and some peoples uses it to get tomato ketchup. In liquid form ketchup is served all over the world with nuddgets and fries.

1 and half century before tomato was considered a poisonous Fruit/vegetable, because peoples use to think it so because it use to cause problems in digestion, but modern science discovered that it is a remedy against germs in our blood and also increase red blood cells in our body. Tomato is also use to whiten and freshen your skin,

In Chicago there is a institute where tomato is tested on small kids, and it came to know that it is such a wonderful natural remedy against diseases, Its juice increase the appetite and it boosts the functions of our intestines.

According to latest scientific research purple tomato can be amazing medicine against the deadly disease of cancer. It has antioxidant pigment which is also call anthocyanin. And that component is vital against cancer disease that’s why tomato especially purple tomato has qualities to fight against cancer virus. John Inns team’s day and night research and hard work produced a new species of tomato. It is prepared by snapdragon flower which possess a lot of anthocyanin’s quantity in itself. Tomato is also good for heart patients.

In short as we get a lot of protein from other diets we can get much higher protein from tomatoes.

Cancer ,Symptom ,Treatments

2009-05-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

Cancer is malignate neoplasm according medical terminology. It’s a a type of disease which a group of our blood cells display uncontrolled growth (dividing beyond the normal limits), Metastasis, spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood). And sometimes invasion (intrusion on and destruction of adjacent tissues)

Latest studies tell that cancer is found in great numbers in feminine then masculine.
If compare with male’s cancer ratio is greater in females, its symptoms are same in male
Or female, it can be in all organs of human body. But mostly it’s found in the breasts.
As we discussed Mostly it appears in the feminine organs, it is very deadly when it reaches its last stages, and Its last stages are not after many years as other diseases but it take some days to appear and some days to completely effect the body and destroy not only the immunity system but the whole body system.

Symptom:
It appears as swelling abnormal lump or mass . the word tumor is synonymous with neoplasm, specifically solid neoplasm So it is actually starts in the shape of tumor. And it can be anywhere in our body, mostly as it learn by studies that cancer transfers in body from one place to another. This disease happens due to a lot of depression, and lake of natural environment. One cause of cancer is access of salt
Every symptom in the above list can be caused by a variety of conditions, Cancer may be a common or uncommon cause of each item. Mesothelioma is also a type of cancer which happens due to asbestos

Treatments:
There is no treatment, still peoples say this fiction, But its not true because today's medical science is more advance and the witness of this truth is that In very early times of medical science in 1020s a Muslim Scientist name ibne-Sina described in his book of “The Canyoon of Medicine” In Western World this name is called as Avicenna. So ibne-Sina Says in his book that excision should be radical tissue of disease should be removed, it must be included the removal of veins running the direction to the tumour. But this was very hard in those days and not in this Modern world. He also writes in his book about and recommends the use of cauterization for the area being treated for the patience if necessary

Latest Treatments
Angiogenesis inhibitors
Hormonal therapy
Targeted therapies
Chemotherapy

Insomnia or sleeplessness reasons & causes

2009-05-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

It is well kwon truth that millions of peoples in the world don’t enjoy the sweetness of a comfortable and long sleep and face insomnia, According to a survey in Asian continent wakefulness like a disease increasing. It was told that in western world the invention of electronic bulb was the reason of insomnia. And the same bulk now causing insomnia.

in eastern world A famous person said that night is made for rest and work is made for work, technology changed life cycle i.e. peoples mostly wake up till late at night and sleep till day.

In today’s world insomnia is said a result of many problems, from high blood pressure to increase of weight all are reasons of insomnia, if we face insomnia our health also face serious risks. To have a better sleep kids use to love the amazing faire tales and stories from grandma, But now even kids don’t sleep by stories, It shows our new generations mental attitudes are changed, Tea, Coffee take away our sleeps, Same like that use of tobaco,nokitine are also enemies of sleep,

It is also said to stop thinking before you go to bed, otherwise if you don’t stop thinking your all day will be passed on the bed with the ideas, thoughts, which are enemy of a sweet sleep.

acute insomnia is the unavialbility of consistent sleep well for a period of between 3 weeks to 6 months

Chronic insomnia lasts for years at a time. It can be caused by another problem, or it can be a primary issue. Its effects can vary according to its causes. They might include mental fatigue ,muscular fatigue ,sleepiness, hallucinations,

Intensity of ideas go more deep in night because of loneliness, So this cause us insomnia also, American health think thank also tells, that a great cure of insomnia is that, you keep thinking and thinking about the things you have in your life, so find a pen and start writing all of your mind on a paper, there will be a strange when you stop writing because there are nothing in your mind to write about, at that point easily go to bed and we bet you sleep.

lols ...this is not my idea but i only gave reference to a unknowing writer,

Some peoples love to sleep while watching TV, they must always adjust the timer of the TV to automatically switch off after 10 or 20 minutes, cold room cause you comfort rather then a hot room so your sleep place must be 20 to 20 centre grade, darkness in the room also invites good chances of good sleep.

if you go for sleep on bed and can’t sleep for 20 minutes, don’t waste more time on sleep it would not let you sleep, just leave the bed and go study some material, the material must not be interesting one but boring one, hehehe yup that would probably cause you sleep, Never listen news before sleeping, because they keep your mind upset, and especially very sensitive peoples can have bad impressions of bad news in night, this is also learnt by a study. I hope my this small article helped my many readers to understand basic reasons why we can’t sleep and how we can have a better sleep.

Please do write me your ideas at drfostes@gmil.com
Sophia
http://health-news-newyork.blogspot.com/