Healthy Living Tips, Nutrition And Healthy Living Guide » Miscellaneous

Six Basic Steps to Health and Longevity

irwanlib2063 — Thu, 20 May 2010 10:23:27 +0000

The most basic of activities have a profound influence on our well-being. Yet it is these very basic activities that are often accorded second, third or last place in our daily lives. It is time to take a good hard look at our daily routines and re-learn the basics that are essential for health and longevity.

Breathe!

Breath is essential for survival, and breathing the first and most basic activity we learn. On average, we breathe 22,000 times a day, and how we breathe is crucial to good health and longevity. The deeper, slower and smoother we breathe, the more prana (life-force) we provide to the physiology. Deep breathing forces us to slow down and relax, helping over the long-term to fight the effects of stress.

From the perspective of modern science as well, more oxygen to the blood, brain and mucles helps elevate energy levels and maximize mental performance. But because of sheer lack of attention to this most basic of functions and the multiple stressors we are bombarded with all day long, few of us remember to breathe deeply or correctly. We take quick shallow breaths hurriedly, often through the mouth instead of the nose, as we rush about our daily activities. It’s time to re-learn how to breathe for health and longevity.

Pranayama is a traditional series of breathing exercises often taught with yoga. If you can, find a good yoga instructor to instruct you in this ancient science of breathing for health. Even if you do not learn pranayama, stay attentive to how you breathe, and you will automatically start to breathe deeper and slower. It is also good to set aside some times during the day for aware breathing – as upon awaking, before going to bed, before workouts, before and during meditation etc. Deep breathing before bed can hasten sleep and improve the quality of sleep. Breathing deeper before exercising helps enhance energy levels and increase the output from your workouts. During times of pressure, sit down and breathe deeply before you respond.

Drink water

The elixir of life is the second most important ingredient for well-being, and again, one that is often overlooked by many of us. Water is essential not only for re-hydration but also forms the basis of good blood, dewy skin and healthy body tissues. Every cell in your body, as well as the space between cells, every tissue and every organ needs water.

From the perspective of modern science as well, drinking about one-half of your weight in fluid ounces of water each day is essential for health. While Ayurvedic healers do not specify a blanket quantity, they recommend using your urine as a guide to whether you need to drink more water – if your urine is not clear or it looks too concentrated, you need more water. Inadequate water can cause headaches and grogginess and more severe dehydration has even more serious health repercussions. As we grow older, our body’s thirst signals become weaker, and it is then even more important to remember to drink enough water through the day.

While we need to drink a lot of water through the day, it’s important to sip the water over time rather than gulp down large quantities at a time. Do not drink too much water just before or during a meal. Ayurvedic healers also recommend spice teas – water boiled with therapeutic spices for added health benefit. Also, remember that it’s important to drink water-milk, caffeinated and alcoholic drinks do not count. Fruits and vegetables with high water content, fruit and vegetable juices and clear soups suited to your constitution are helpful, but it is also important to drink just plain pure water each day. Make sure the water you drink is pure; have your drinking water tested for purity and use a good filter.

Eat Right

This is an exhortation Ayurvedic healers never tire of voicing over and over again. The right kind and quantity of food is so important that it is accorded an even higher status than medicine in Ayurveda. ‘Annaha brahmaha’ goes the Ayurvedic saying – Food is divine. Eating inappropriate foods or following poor eating routines and habits not only have short-term repercussions on energy levels, mental clarity and emotional well-being, they also seriously damage health and well-being over the long-term sometimes causing irreversible damage to the physiology and shortening our life-span.

Ayurvedic healers do not have a one-size-fits-all approach to diet and nutrition. Your dietary needs are unique to you, and you have to develop the diet that is ideal for you over time. There are general guidelines for food choices for people with more or less of each of the three doshas – vata, pitta and kapha -in their prakriti (original constitution) and vikriti (current state of the doshas), but within these general guidelines you can choose what works best for you. Listen to your physiology carefully and it will guide you to the foods that enhance not just your physical but also mental and emotional balance. Whatever your food choices, eat pure, fresh, whole, natural foods.

Follow a good eating routine. Do not take short-cuts with your meals, sandwiching them between other activities. Treat mealtimes as sacred. Prepare and cook your food with loving care and attention and eat in silence or in a harmonious atmosphere. Prepared lovingly and eaten with gratitude and reverence, the food will turn to ojas in your system – the substance that Ayurveda defines as the essence of life and the finest product of the eating and digestion process.

Sleep

Another basic for health and longevity, sleep is becoming a rare commodity for many in our frenetic, 24/7 society. According to Ayurveda as well as modern science, sleep is essential for our minds and bodies to recharge and prepare for the next day.

Lack of sleep impairs the digestion, contributes to ama accumulation, clouds the brain and places greater demands on every part of the physiology with each passing day. Modern science has linked sleep deprivation to elevated blood pressure, obesity and depression.

Ayurveda does not prescribe eight hours of sleep each night for everyone. You have to determine the sleep quota that is adequate for you to function at peak levels by monitoring your sleep and activity levels over a period of time. Times of extra pressure need to be compensated with extra sleep time.

The quality of sleep is as important as the quantity of sleep you get. Ayurveda defines the most productive sleep as occurring when the mind, the charioteer of the senses, is completely disengaged from the senses. Sleep obtained in the earlier part of the night is more productive, so go to bed early, definitely before 10 pm, and arise early, before 6 am. Aromatherapy, a soothing cup of herbal tea, deep breathing and a bedtime lower limb massage can all help you fall asleep easier and enjoy a deeper, more restful quality of sleep. Abhyanga, the daily Ayurvedic massage, is also helpful for promoting a better quality of sleep.

Exercise

Just as good quality sleep at night is essential to help the physiology recharge, adequate levels of physical and mental activity during the day are important for well-being and longevity. The Ayurvedic daily routine encompasses both physical exercise and mental activity, and the view of modern science as well is that the admonition – use it or lose it – is equally valid for your muscles as it is for your brain.

As with diet and sleep, Ayurvedic healers recommend structuring an exercise program that is ideal for your needs. If you are trying to balance Kapha dosha, for instance, you would choose more robust forms of exercise such as aerobics, singles tennis or long-distance jogging. If you are trying to keep Pitta in balance, swimming in summer and skiing in winter might be options to investigate. Walking and yoga are universally beneficial because they can be tailored to individual needs, and convenient because they need no special equipment, can be done alone and everyday.

Exercise early in the day for increased energy levels during the day and ease of falling asleep at night. Do not exercise on an empty stomach or just after a meal. Do not exercise to the point of pain or exhaustion. Moderation in exercise is the key to balance.

To stay in shape mentally, make lifelong learning an integral part of life. Travel, enjoy new experiences, read, do puzzles, or take up a new hobby or project to keep the mind sharp and alert. Gardening, music, teaching and volunteering are examples of activities that can be mentally enriching and emotionally and spiritually rewarding. If your work involves intense mental activity, stay recharged by taking frequent short breaks to breathe deeply, stretch or drink some water.

Meditate

Take thirty minutes each day to recharge body, mind, senses, heart and spirit with meditation. Research shows that meditation helps enhance your ability to manage stress, it promotes mental clarity and emotional balance and does wonders for physical health from promoting good sleep to reducing hypertension.

Meditation can be done in the morning or the evening or both morning and evening. Meditate in a silent, serene atmosphere, in a room free of clutter or amid nature. Sit erect, facing east or north, and start with a few minutes of aware breathing before beginning your meditation. After your meditation, take a few minutes to rest quietly before resuming your daily routine. The aroma of pure sandalwood and Ayurvedic herbs such as Brahmi can help enhance the quality of your meditation.

by Shreelata Suresh

Shreelata Suresh is a yoga instructor from the Bay Area, and she writes on yoga and Ayurveda for different publications. To subscribe to free newsletters on Ayurveda, or for more information, please visit http://www.ayurbalance.com.

Disclaimer:
Information provided in this article is for the sole purpose of imparting education on Ayurveda and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you have a medical condition, please consult your physician.

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Are you a Yin or Yang?

irwanlib2063 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:52:18 +0000

We’re constantly told that everything in our life needs balance – play vs. work, exercising vs. relaxing, veggies vs. chocolate and so on. But how important is that balance? As much as we’d all love to indulge in one thing more than another – usually something that’s more pleasurable and doesn’t require much effort – that sadly isn’t the way life works, and indeed it’s also not the way our body works. It all comes down to one thing – balance. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners believe that our body is created with two opposing sides – the Yin and the Yang or rather, the cold and the hot. When both sides are balanced, your body is a happy mix of energy. If that balance is out of whack, your body will be off track.

Where does the balance come from?

It’s thought that food makes the man, and in this case it could be true. Food gives us more than a wonderful culinary experience; it also provides our bodies with the strength to heal and to correct the balance of Yin and Yang. An imbalance in Yin and Yang energies creates a number of problems, including pain, insomnia, tumors, blood loss and a whole host of irritating and often frustrating ailments. But with the right foods (either rich in cooling or heating elements) this imbalance can be corrected preventing illness, lessening pain and giving you a much longer, healthier life. Now, when we’re talking about Yin and Yang foods (or cold and hot foods), it’s not about the temperature of the food, but rather the effect the food has on the body. Cold foods provide less energy, and help to balance the hot foods. Hot foods, on the other hand, are high in calories and energy and can be used to treat general weakness.

How do you balance everything?

When you’re suffering and shivering in cold conditions, you’ll probably be more likely to eat foods that are warm in flavor (and temperature) – think of all those wonderful soupy dishes you crave on a cold day. You’re also more likely to avoid cold and raw foods. So just what will warm you up? Anything with a spice like nutmeg, mustard, peppers, ginger, curry and black peppers are considered hot. Warmer foods are coffee, chicken, cuttlefish, garlic, green onions, guava, organ meats, rosemary, seeds and nuts, and of course, wine. In hot climates, such as in Singapore or during the Shanghai summer, you are likely to want cooler foods to ward off anxiety, hemorrhoids, fever, and even insomnia. Head towards foods like bamboo shoots, clams, crabs, grapefruit, kelp, watermelons, most green leafy vegetables, pears, and generally most fruits, to keep cool when things heat up. There are neutral foods too, that you can eat in any condition and any climate. Just add healthy doses of apricots, beets, black fungus, Chinese cabbage, carp, chicken eggs, corn, figs, lotus and papayas to your diet to keep things varied and interesting.

Knowing Your Yin/Yang Body Type

It’s believed that each person is categorized into different body types. Your body’s metabolism and organ functions will determine how it reacts with the environment.

The Yin or Cold Type: These people tend to be frailer and feel cold easily. They’re the ones you’ll spot drinking hot soups and steaming mugs of coffee or hot chocolate. Notice the quiet, fair-skinned person in the corner? They’re likely to be the Yin type. If you get the chance (although I’m not sure how), you’ll also find that their tongue appears pink and bulky with a whitish coating.
Yang or Hot Type: That hot-tempered insomniac you know; he could be a Yang type. They’re often sturdily built and feel warm. They’ll pick a nice cold drink anytime and have a slightly reddish complexion. If there’s a change in temperatures (usually when it starts getting hot), they’ll be the first to feel it. If you look at their tongues, it’ll appear red with a yellowish coating.
Phlegm or Damp Type: Sweet foods are what attract the damp type the most, and they tend to feel tired and sleepy during the day while snoring down the house at night. Armed with low metabolic rates, they’re more prone to being overweight or bloated due to water retention. They may look fat, but really they’re just lethargic. Their tongue looks moist and bulky, often with a greasy coating.
Dry type: If you’ve got a friend that drinks like there’s no tomorrow because they are always thirsty, they could be the dry type. Watch out for the one who always has a cough, is skinny like a stick and doesn‘t put on weight easily. Because of the dryness they feel, they tend to have itchier skins, nose or eyes and constipation, and will be the first to get affected by low levels of humidity.
Neutral type: There are some lucky ones who are in between – a nice balance of everything. They’re healthy with a normal skin color, get enough food and sleep and don’t feel hot or cold easily. Needless to say, they’ve probably got the best-looking tongue among the lot.

With all of this information, you should know one size doesn’t fit all. Some people can be a mix of a few different types not fit neatly into a category. When you’re planning your diet, consider talking to your doctor or your TCM practitioner for their best advice, so you’ll be able to get the right balance for your health.

Edited by Lisa Rochester, based on an article by By Deborah Giam; The Living Room.

Doctors are turning millions of us INTO addicts

irwanlib2063 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:09:18 +0000

By Jerome Burne

Hooked: It’s thought between three and seven million Britons are addicted to prescription drugs

Gina Loxam was feeling a bit low, so she went to see her GP and was prescribed the anti-depressant, Seroxat.

Ten years later, she is still on the drug because the severe mood swings, headaches, fatigue and weight gain she suffers when she tries to come off are unbearable.

Gina, a 52-year-old finance and quality manager, is one of more than 600 people now suing the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline for damages on the grounds that they were not warned of the possible side-effects, such as personality changes, as well as addiction.

‘The doctor told me it was not addictive and that’s what it said on the information sheet,’ says Gina, who lives near Morecambe in Lancashire.

Seroxat now carries the warning that some patients can have problems coming off it.

However, the Seroxat patients are a tiny proportion of the growing number of people addicted to prescription drugs.

It’s thought that between three and seven million Britons are affected, with antidepressants, tranquillisers, sleeping pills and pain-killers the main culprits.

A recent report by the United Nations’ International Narcotics Control Board predicted that the scale of the problem of addiction to legal drugs will soon overtake addiction to banned substances.

Yet despite this, few patients receive any effective help – meanwhile, millions of pounds are spent helping those addicted to illegal drugs. In fact, the problem of prescription addiction has, for years, been ignored or denied by drug companies and successive governments.

The move to sue GlaxoSmithKline is just one sign of growing pressure for some sort of action. Earlier this year, a House of Commons inquiry into addiction to prescription drugs concluded that action was needed.

Inquiry confirms suspicions

The inquiry, by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Misuse, heard evidence that, despite official warnings, tranquillisers in particular can be addictive, and that GPs were still handing them out on repeat prescriptions without seeing the patients to make sure they weren’t having any problems.

It was in 1988 that the drug watchdog first warned GPs not to give these tranquilliser drugs – own as benzodiazepines – for longer than a few weeks.

The instruction is still being ignored and benzodiazepines (the most widely used is Valium) are still prescribed in large numbers – more than nine million prescriptions in England in 2007 alone.

And as Good Health has discovered, 12 per cent of those prescriptions were for more than 58 days, meaning they were intended for longterm use.

Professor Heather Ashton of Newcastle University is one of the few academics trying to get a sense of the scale of the problem.

‘I estimate that on average there are more than 180 patients in every general practice in the UK who have been taking benzodiazepines for six months or more,’ she says. ‘They are all at high risk of adverse effects caused by the drugs.’

Today, as many as one-and-a-half million people in the UK may be addicted to benzodiazepines.

‘We also heard reports that an increasing number of people were having problems coming off other drugs, particularly sleeping pills, SSRI antidepressants and painkillers,’ says Dr Brian Iddon, the Labour MP chair of the Drug Misuse parliamentary group.

Injustice

Patients who have become addicted to prescription drugs are filled with an all-too understandable sense of injustice.

Withdrawal symptoms: Coming off benzodiazepines can trigger panic attacks

‘We took these medicines in good faith,’ says Barry Haslam, who was addicted to benzodiazepine for ten years after being prescribed it for work-related stress and anxiety. ‘No one ever warned about what might happen,’ he says.

He now runs the Rock Street Resource Centre in Oldham, one of a handful in the country that supports people addicted to prescription drugs.

Professor Ashton has analysed the level of GPs prescribing benzodiazepines in the North-East of England and calculated that 78,000 people in the area had been on benzodiazepines for more than six months. ‘A little over half – 45,000 – are likely to suffer withdrawal symptoms,’ she says.

The number of affected patients in Oldham alone is reckoned to be 5,000. Yet Haslam receives only enough funding for one full-time and one part-time counsellor to visit GPs’ surgeries to offer help.

‘It’s a drop in the ocean. These are dreadful drugs,’ says the former accountant. ‘They took ten years from my life. I missed my daughter growing up.’

Trying to come off benzodiazepines can cause panic attacks, insomnia, nightmares, muscle spasms and hallucinations. And even if you manage it, you may suffer a range of permanent symptoms such as post-traumatic stress and severe stomach upsets; your memory is likely to be poorer.

But staying on them is not a solution either, because you are permanently sedated, more likely to suffer from falls and be wrongly diagnosed with dementia, as well as being depressed or aggressive.

Successfully getting off these drugs takes skill, patience, frequent contact with the doctor – assets and expertise that, according to Professor Ashton, ‘most doctors do not have’.

Absence of support

The almost total absence of support is in stark contrast to the millions spent helping those addicted to banned drugs.

Last year, centres run by the National Treatment Agency helped 195,000 people to come off illegal drugs. In the same period, the Agency reported that it was treating just 132 patients with benzodiazepine addiction.

According to the Department of Health, there are facilities to treat patients addicted to a prescribed drug ‘in a primary care setting or by mental health services’.

But it’s a far cry from the reality experienced by some of those working in the field. Pam Armstrong is a nurse who for the past 20 years has run a charity called CITA (Council Against Tranquilliser Addiction), specialising in helping people come off prescription drugs in Liverpool.

‘Doctors and even psychiatrists are not very good at it,’ she says. ‘If someone has started withdrawing and is having all sorts of side-effects their doctor will often say the original problem is coming back and increase their dose.’

She also says the differences between addiction to prescription and street drugs is rarely understood.

‘Coming off tranquillisers is harder than stopping heroin. You can stop heroin in a few weeks. It can take months or years to come of benzodiazepines.’

A failure to understand the difference played havoc with the life of 47-year-old health and fitness trainer Lynn Parry-Jones. She spiralled into a serious depression two years ago after the death of a close friend and the break-up of a long-term relationship.

It was the beginning of what she describes as a ‘descent into hell’.

She was first put on three drugs – an anti-depressant, lithium and one of the strongest benzodiazepines. But the trouble started when her doctors decided to take her off the benzodiazepine, saying it was addictive.

‘But they did it very quickly over a few weeks, which I now know you should never do. I became hyper anxious, I thought of suicide constantly,’ she says. ‘But doctors said it was merely a sign of how ill I was.’

During the next 18 months, Lynn was in and out of hospital. At one point she was taken off all three drugs within five weeks. ‘That was horrific,’ is all she will say about it.

This was the state she was in when she went to see Pam Armstrong.

‘With my GP she put me back on the drugs to reduce the stress my system was under. Then it took 11 months just to come off the tranquilliser – a little bit less every few days. There is no quick fix.

‘It was still the hardest thing I’ve ever done but now I feel fantastic. But if it hadn’t been for Pam’s understanding, I’d probably be screaming in a locked ward.’

It’s been suggested that one way to pay for greater help would be to impose a levy on pharmaceutical companies for addiction services.

This is the proposal of a parliamentary group that looks specifically at tranquilliser addiction.

‘The gambling and alcohol industries provide services for the victims of their products,’ says Jim Dobbin, the group’s chairman, ‘why not drug companies?’

However, the drug manufacturers believe the responsibility lies firmly with the doctors.

‘When a side-effect becomes established, information is made available to doctors,’ said a spokesperson for The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.

‘It is then down to them to consider the benefits and risks before prescribing.’

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Flu Facts

irwanlib2063 — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:10:25 +0000

By Sarah Wassner Flynn Each winter, the flu epidemic swoops down upon us, infecting more than 25 million Americans with the icky virus. The aches, pains, fever and chills are a sure-fire way to send you straight to bed, and sometimes even to the hospital. Since October is the ideal month to start fighting the flu, here are some tips to stay healthy, happy and flu-free all year long!

Have a flu-free family

The best preventative step you can take to fight the flu? Get a shot. This quick stick in the arm is 70 to 90 percent effective in protecting you from the common influenza viruses that send over 100,000 people to the hospital each year (and, contrary to common belief, a flu shot will not cause you to get the flu). The same goes for your kids, too – though not all parents agree. Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly recommends vaccinations for all children six months to 18 years old, a recent study indicates that 60 percent of parents opted not to get their children a flu shot in the past two years. Your health care provider should offer the shot at your kid’s next check-up. You can also visit the Visiting Nurses Associations of America to find a flu clinic near you.

Signs of the flu

Sometimes, there’s no stopping the flu from creeping into your system. And when it does, you’ll be well aware of its presence by the very sudden onset of aches and pains, chills and extreme lethargy. Other signs? A dry cough, flushed skin and a high fever (up to 104 degrees F.), which may last three to five days. (On the other hand, you may have a cold if you’re congested with a low or mild fever, you don’t have chills, and you aren’t extremely achy).

What to do when you have the flu

Since the flu is highly contagious (you can start infecting other people one day before your symptoms even show up), you’ll want to stay away from work and other social settings for five days after becoming sick. During that time, get plenty of rest, drink fluids to replenish those lost by dehydration due to your fever, and, if necessary, take over-the-counter medication like decongestants, cough medicines, and acetaminophen or ibruprofen to treat your stuffy nose, cough and fever. Since an untreated case of a severe flu can lead to bronchitis, ear and sinus infections, and even pneumonia, see your doctor if your symptoms persist for longer than a week, or you are experiencing shortness of breath, severe pain, persistent vomiting or a consistent lightheaded feeling.

Go germ-free

Stop the spread of the flu virus around your house by following these simple steps, courtesy of Say “Boo!” to the Flu program.

Regularly wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds.
Disinfect the surfaces that you and your family touch most frequently — like doorknobs, light switches, faucets or plastic toys.
Cough and sneeze into your elbow instead of your hands to help prevent the spread of germs from touch.
Eat right, exercise and get plenty of sleep to help boost your body’s ability to fight the effects of colds and the flu.

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Ick! What’s living in your tie Doc?

irwanlib2063 — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:32:26 +0000

By Irwan Lee

Ever wonder if you are given a choice to seek physician advice for your health, which doctor will you prefer to meet? The one who dress casually in open neck shirts? The one who wears sneakers and jeans or rather the one in a white coat and wearing neckties? Most of us prefer the latter obviously. Could this be a right choice?

Unfortunately the answer is NOT, Researchers at New York Medical Center of Queens recently reported interesting findings about neckties at the meeting of the American Society of Microbiology.

Earlier studies have found bacteria on everything from doctors’ stethoscopes, pagers, cell phones, and even pens. Following those finding Doctors are aware and know how to clean those items frequently. Shirts and white lab coats are washed more frequent, sometimes as often as every time they worn. But how often do they clean the tie, do they realize that neckties might carry germs as well?

“Most people don’t clean or wash the tie that every time they wear it ,” told one of the researchers, Steve Nurkin. “You come home and throw the tie on your tie rack and a week or so later, you wear it again. It’s rarely clean.”

Neckties worn by doctors can and do carry dangerous pathogens which means a bedside visit by a well-dressed physician could be hazardous to your health.

Doctors may wash their hands, some more than others, but often adjust and straighten their neckties after they’ve washed their hands. While examining patients, they might lean over, and their neckties would swing and touches the bedding or brushes against patients’ skin during examinations, and they get sneezed on and coughed on by patients, spreading bugs and bacteria around from one patient to another. Each encounter might leave microbes on those strips of fabric .

The study compared the ties of 42 male medical staffs which include physicians, physician assistants and medical students with those of 10 security guards.

The study shows 20 out of 42 ties (47%) worn by medical staffs were infected with a non-pathogenic Alcaligenes faecalis bacteria and seven ties infected by organisms which pose a threat to the elderly or others weakened by illness or medication, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Alcaligenes faecalis, Pantoea agglomerans (which turned up on three ties) and Klebsiella pneumoniae which cause a life threathening pneumonia and toxic shock.

Staphylococcus aureus, five gram-negative bacteria that is often associated with food-poisoning, was found in 33% of neckties (12 ties) worn by medical staff, but only one of the neckties worn by security guards.

”While there is no direct evidence to implicate neckties in the transmission of infection to patients, the link between contaminated necktie and the potential for transmission must be considered,” says Nurkin.

He also said the study was meant to raise awareness of a potential risk and help provide better quality care.

So should doctors stop wearing a necktie and toss away their ties? Well maybe they should. For sure, they certainly need to pay more attention to their hygiene considering about 5 to 10 percent of all hospital patients acquiring an infection in the hospital where they receive treatment!

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Baby Asthma Risk reduced by avoiding C-Section

irwanlib2063 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:53:34 +0000

By Michael Kahn – Reuters

Babies born by Caesarean section are more likely to develop asthma than children delivered naturally, Swiss researchers said on Tuesday.

There has been conflicting evidence on the link between asthma and C-sections but the researchers said the number of children involved in their study and a long monitoring period strengthened their results.

The findings also underscore the potential risks of elective C-sections as more women in Western countries choose to avoid a natural birth, the researchers said in the medical journal, Thorax.

“The increased rate of Caesarean section is partly due to maternal demand without medical reason,” Caroline Roduit of Kinderspital Zurich medical institution and colleagues wrote.

“In this situation the mother should be informed of the risk of asthma for her child, especially when the parents have a history of allergy or asthma.”

Asthma, which affects more than 300 million people worldwide , is the most common pediatric chronic illness. Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing and chest tightness.

Babies born by C-section are not exposed to their mother’s bacteria when they pass through the birth canal — something that helps prime the immune system and could explain the increased risk, the researchers
said.

The Swiss findings are based on nearly 3,000 children whose respiratory health was monitored until age eight. By this time, about 12 percent, or 362 children, had been diagnosed with asthma for which a doctor had prescribed inhaled steroids.

About 9 percent of the children were born by C-section but these babies were nearly 80 percent more likely to develop asthma compared to those born vaginally, the researchers said.

The association was even stronger for the 9 percent of the children with two allergic parents who were already more predisposed to the respiratory condition, they wrote.

The findings follow a Norwegian study in July suggesting babies born by C-section have a moderately increased asthma risk. Other studies have found no link between C-sections and a child’s long-term health, including asthma.

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Preventing SIDS Tragedies: Moving air, from a fan, is all you need to prevent SIDS?

irwanlib2063 — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:21:20 +0000

By Irwan Lee

CUTS RISK 94% – Ventilation could disperse carbon dioxide

SIDS is the leading cause of 2,500 infants death aged 1 month to 1 year old annually , and the third leading cause of overall infant mortality in the United States , and deaths tend to peak in winter months. SIDS isn’t any one illness or disease, it is frightening because it can strike without warning, usually in a seemingly healthy infant.

Although many studies have been performed, yet no one could tell for sure what the cause of SIDS is. Based on studies, the American Academy of Pediatrics has some recommendations to reduce SIDS risks, which include avoiding cigarettes during pregnancy and breastfeeding, avoiding use of soft bedding and putting the baby to sleep on his back instead of tummy sleeping.

One theory says SIDS occurs due to the buildup of carbon dioxide when infants with inadequate sleep arousal responses re-breathe exhaled air trapped by soft bedding or proximity to other sleeping family members. These babies may have brain abnormalities that prevent them from gasping and waking when they don’t get enough oxygen.

It’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s not going to harm the baby, as long as you use a bedroom fan, your baby’s risk of SIDS decreases considerably, according to a new study published in October 6 issue of Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. Could it be this simple? Moving air, from a fan, is all you need to prevent SIDS?

According to a recent study Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California, published in October’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a fan use might be another way to prevent SIDS. The result indicates fan use was linked to a 94 percent decrease in SIDS risks for infants who slept in rooms that exceeded 70 degrees Fahrenheit (above 21 degrees Celcius) and to an 84% decrease for babies who slept in rooms with closed windows . The findings were based on a survey of 185 mothers whose babies died of SIDS and mothers of more than 300 randomly selected babies.

A fan in the room improve air circulation and can help reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome because it preventing the “re-breathing” exhaled air. As the baby breathes exhaled air, the oxygen level in the body drops and carbon dioxide accumulates which could contribute to SIDS.

Sleeping in a room with an open window was found to reduce the risk of SIDS by 36%, while sleeping with a fan in the room was associated with a 72% reduction in risk. The risk reduction with fan use was even greater in babies who were put to bed on their stomachs or had other sleep-related SIDS risk factors.
Parents who worry that their child will be chilled by a fan should know that fans do not cool the air, they simply move air around. However, parents should make sure to take normal safety precautions, keeping cords out of the way and making sure the fan can’t be knocked down by a toddler or pet.

The lead author of the study, De-Kun Li, MD, PhD said although the use of fans and sleeping in a room with an open window was also found to lower the risk by more than 70%, however the fan use should not replace other sleeping strategies for lowering SIDS:

Avoiding soft bedding: pillow, waterbed, sheepskin, or other soft surface in cribs Place your baby on a firm mattress to sleep. To prevent “re-breathing”, do not put blankets, comforters, stuffed toys, or pillows near the baby.
Although babies can be brought into their parents’ bed for nursing or comforting, they should not share the bed when parents are sleeping.
Pacifiers also seem to protect babies, the researchers said, perhaps because the handles prevent a child’s face from becoming pressed against the mattress. A research study in 2005 found that use of a pacifier cut the risk of SIDS by 90%. Sleeping in.
There’s strong evidence that overheating may significantly raise the risk of SIDS. Overheating can result from overheated room, wrapping or covering a baby with too many blankets, particularly when baby has a fever or respiratory infection. Keep the room at a temperature that feels comfortable for an adult in a short-sleeve shirt.
Do not smoke, drink, or use drugs while pregnant. Infants of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are three times more likely to die of SIDS than those whose mothers were smoke-free; exposure to secondhand smoke doubles a baby’s risk of SIDS.
Do not expose your baby to secondhand smoke.
Receive early and regular prenatal care.
Make sure your baby has regular well-baby checkups.
Breastfeed, if possible. There is some evidence that breastfeeding may help decrease the incidence of SIDS.

Growing public awareness of SIDS and the steps to reduce infants’ risk of sudden death hopefully will leave fewer parents searching for answers in the future for protecting their infants from SIDS tragedy.

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SIDS … which babies are most at risk?

irwanlib2063 — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:13:15 +0000

By Irwan Lee

What is SIDS?
SIDS, or a sudden and unexplained death of a baby younger than one year old, kills about 2,500 infants annually and is the leading cause of death in that age group, with 90 percent of cases in infants under 6 months and occurs most frequently during cold-weather months.

SIDS isn’t any one illness or disease, it’s the diagnosis given when an infant under a year old dies suddenly, strike without warning, usually in a seemingly healthy infant

Although SIDS is also known as crib death because it happens most often during sleep, usually between the hours of 10 p.m. and 10 a.m., however night isn’t the only time that SIDS strikes. It’s important to know that 20 percent of SIDS deaths happen in childcare settings (considerably high number if you consider that babies spend much less time sleeping at daycare than they do at home), according to a study published in the journal of Pediatrics in 2000.

What causes SIDS?

Although many research study have been executed, yet no definitive answer of the cause of SIDS are to be found.

Some researchers believe SIDS happens when a baby with an underlying abnormality (for example, a brain defect that affects breathing) sleeps tummy-down or is exposed to an environmental challenge such as secondhand smoke during a critical period of growth. While other research has published studies contradict to this hypothesis.

Numerous studies are continuing to study the brain, the autonomic nervous system, infant care and sleep environments, infection and immunity, and genetics in search of answers.

Which babies are most at risk?

Although the exact cause of SIDS is still unknown, some risk factors have been identified, such as:

Tummy sleeping
Foremost among these risk factors is tummy sleeping. A baby’s risk of SIDS has been found to be 1.7 to 12.9 percent higher if he sleeps on his tummy instead of his back. Numerous studies have found a higher incidence of SIDS among babies placed on their stomachs to sleep than among those sleeping on their backs or sides. Some researchers have hypothesized that stomach sleeping, When a baby sleeps tummy-down he’s more likely to overheat, puts pressure on a baby’s jaw, therefore narrowing the airway and hampering breathing i.e.: pauses in breathing, and re-breathe the air just exhaled. As the baby breathes exhaled air, the oxygen level in the body drops and carbon dioxide accumulates and could contribute to SIDS.

Babies who succumb to SIDS may have an abnormality in the arcuate nucleus, the brain part that control breathing and awakening during sleep. If a baby is breathing stale air and not getting enough oxygen, the brain usually triggers the baby to wake up and cry. However a problem with the arcuate nucleus could deprive the baby of this involuntary reaction and put it at greater risk for SIDS.
Sleeping on soft surface
A soft mattress or with bedding, stuffed toys, quilts, comforters, sofas, waterbeds, beanbags, and other soft surfaces or a pillow near the face are all unsafe for a baby to sleep on and increase a higher risk of SIDS. Similar to tummy sleeping, soft surfaces increase the chance that your baby will encounter problems with breathing or overheating. It creates a small enclosure around the baby’s mouth and trap exhaled air. As the baby breathes exhaled air, the oxygen level in the body drops and carbon dioxide accumulates.
Overheating
There’s strong evidence that overheating may significantly raise the risk of SIDS. Overheating can result from overheated room, wrapping or covering a baby with too many blankets, particularly when baby has a fever or respiratory infection. Keep the room at a temperature that feels comfortable for an adult in a short-sleeve shirt.
Secondhand smoke exposure
Studies indicate a baby’s risk of SIDS increases with the number of and the length of cigarettes smoked exposure around the infant each day.
Drinking alcohol, smoking and drugs use mother
Drinking alcohol, smoking and drugs use during pregnancy can compromise a baby’s healthy development.
Teen Mother
The risk of SIDS increases for baby born to a teen mother.
Low birth weight premature baby
Premature baby has a higher his risk of SIDS. The lower the birth weight, the higher the risk as well.
Being a boy
Boys is more prone having higher risk of SIDS than girls by a ratio of 1.5 to 1.
Ethnic backgrounds
African-American infants are twice as likely and Native American infants are about three times more likely to die of SIDS than Caucasians. Asian, who have a cultural preference placing infants on their back, have had a lower than average risk for SIDS. When they migrate to North America and began placing babies on their tummy, their SIDS rates rose.

The Real Cost of Your Prescription Drugs

irwanlib2063 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:15:58 +0000

With us getting older and the growth of Fast Food industry as well as worsened in air pollution. the baby boomer is more prone to health-related issue…. But do you realize what is the real cost of your prescription Drugs? I ran across a good articles that might be of interest to you….

The Real Cost of Your Prescription Drugs
By Sharon Davis and Mary Palmer

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United State contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America.

The chart below speaks for itself.

Celebrex 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%

Keflex 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%

Lipitor 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%

Paxil 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%

Prilosec 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%

Xanax 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809%

Zoloft 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%

Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone I knew should know about this. Please read the following and pass it on. It pays to shop around. This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen’s on every corner.

On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that’s not a typo … three thousand percent! So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are “saving” $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco, Sam’s Club and other discount volume stores consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs. I went to the discount store’s website, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug, Comparing, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients. I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19..89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at another discount store for $28.08. I would like to mention, that although these are a “membership” type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (This is true, I went there this past Thursday and asked them.)

…. Now you know how costly your drug prescription is!! If we can find good solution that can help us leading a healthier life and free from diseases why not? If you can choose alternative natural nutritional supplement to boost up your immune system to fight any diseases you might have, why not? Click here for alternative of natural nutritional cure.

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Too much drinking water can be fatal

irwanlib2063 — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 07:48:36 +0000

Do you realize that drinking too much water – plain water – can be fatal and caused death?

by Irwan Lee

55 to 70% of the average of human adult body is made of water. It runs through blood, inhabits the cells and in the space between. Water is essential in regulating body temperature through perspiration, which in turn dissipates excess heat and cools our body, maintaining the optimum level of hydration, aiding in the food digestion and absorption, flushing and cleansing the toxins and other wastes out of the body, carrying nutrients, hormones, antibodies and oxygen in the blood stream and lymphatic system, keeping the joints working, as well as protecting organs and tissues including the spinal cord from shock and damage.

Human can live without food for more than 2 months but cannot do without water for a few days. Most of us do not drink enough water. The minimum recommended water intake daily is 2 liters. Fluid lost through sweat, urination, defecation or exhaled breath and other body function must be replaced or otherwise without replenishing lost water, the body goes into dehydration and may cause various illnesses as the body struggles to maintain itself without sufficient water.

Observing the urine’s color can be used as a barometer of dehydration. Clear urine indicates you are well hydrated, but yellow urine indicates you need to drink more water (of course you have to also remember that vitamins and heavily pigmented foods will add color to your urine).

Most people aware that dehydration can cause serious illnesses, BUT rarely do they know that drinking too much water in a short period of time faster than your body can sweat, urinate or breathe it out can be fatal and even deadly.

The kidneys regulate the amount of water, salts and other solutes leaving the body. People assumed that if you drink too much your kidneys will get rid of the excess water. This is not true at all. When one drinks too much water in a short period of time, the kidneys is unable to flush it out fast enough, the blood becomes waterlogged. Excess water leaves the blood and ultimately enters the cells. As cells take more extra water and expand, the cell is swelling like balloons to accommodate it and put stress on organs. Most cells have room to stretch because they are embedded in flexible tissues such as fat and muscle, but this is not the case for the brain, which has no room to expand within the skull and can cause a seizure, respiratory arrest, coma or even death.

This condition is called Water intoxification or in Latin word the terms is, translates as “insufficient salt in the blood.” This condition affects the never impulses and impairs mental processes. The symptoms of Hyponatremia include headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, disorientation, lethargy, agitation, and frequent urination.

One should balance what he/she is drinking with what he/she’s sweating, i.e.: maintaining a proper balance of water and electrolytes such as sodium (salt) intake. However measuring sweat output is not easy. How to determine how much water should be consumed to support your health?

The answer is depending on your diet, exercise habits and environment. If you eat more food rich in water content such as vegetables and fruits, you may not drink too much water. If you sweat regularly due to exercise or warm climate, you might need more water to avoid dehydration. The best indicator would be a thirst barometer, “drink to your thirst.”

When we grow up we were taught to drink at least eight glasses a day, but drinking by fixed volume is unreliable because each individual body is unique and the daily fluid turnover is different.

To help maintain the proper fluid and salt level, it would be advisable to weigh yourself before and after heavy exercise. Each 1 kg loss in weight is equal to 1 liter of water. Take it easy and don’t be rushed drinking water after exercise, make sure that you don’t feel bloated and feeling discomfort. Drink when you feel the need to and DO NOT gulp fluids in large volumes before, during or after a heavy exercise or a race.

Spread the info. Don’t Stop drinking water, you just need balance and DO NOT over-drinking.

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