Posted by admin on April 28, 2009 under Allergies | 
Artificial colors have received a great deal of attention in recent years. Some of them have been removed from the marketplace by the Food and Drug Administration. Most recently, Red Dye No. 2 was removed after tests showed that it caused cancer in experimental animals.2
Long before this, however, starting in the late 1940s, clinical ecologists such as Dr. Stephen D. Lockey warned that artificial colors in drugs were one of the major sources of health problems in adults and children.3
To prove this, I once asked three chemically susceptible patients to take part in an experiment. They were blindfolded and given a glass of spring water to drink. Into each glass had been added the same amount of Red Dye No. 2 that would be found in a large serving of a well-known gelatin dessert. (This was before the link between the dye and cancer had been established.) Two of the three developed severe reactions to this colored water, although they had no reaction to pure spring water.
The practice of coloring fresh foods can also be a source of problems. Oranges, in particular, are frequently dyed, on the theory that consumers will not purchase naturally colored oranges, which are occasionally specked with green. It is difficult to detect a reaction to this dye, because fresh citrus fruits are often packed in crates which have been liberally treated with fungicides, and thus it is difficult to tell if the reaction is to the dye or to the fungicide.
Sweet potatoes are also commonly dyed. But dyed sweet potatoes can usually be eaten if they are carefully peeled. As a practical note, you can generally spot a dyed sweet potato by noting the presence of the dye on the broken ends of the tubers. Increasingly, in recent years, food wholesalers have begun dyeing white potatoes red.
*18\110\2*
Posted by admin on under General health |
Croup is an inflammation and swelling of the larynx (voice box), usually caused by an infection. Croup is common and is passed on in the same manner as a common cold-by airborne droplets or by direct contact with an infected person.
Croup causes a tight, dry, barking cough and hoarseness. Difficult breathing develops quickly, with more trouble breathing in than breathing out. Efforts to breathe in cause the crowing sound that is typical with croup. (This is the opposite of the breathing difficulty that is seen with asthma. A child with asthma has more difficulty breathing out, and a wheezing sound is heard when the child breathes out.) Croup can be serious, but milder cases, especially repeated ones, can usually be safely handled at home.
There is a form of croup-epiglottitis- that is a life-threatening illness, a true emergency in which minutes count. It is an infection of the epiglottis (covering of the larynx) and surrounding tissues, caused by bacteria. It is most common in children between three and nine years of age. There is a rising fever to 39.4°Ñ and up to 40°C. Difficulty with breathing quickly becomes severe. The child drools and may have trouble swallowing, preferring to sit with the head forward, mouth open, and tongue partially out. The condition rapidly progresses to choking and convulsions; treat immediately.
Signs and symptoms
The key symptoms of croup are a barking cough, hoarseness, difficult breathing, and a crowing sound heard when the child breathes in. There may be no fever or a low-grade fever (38.3°C).
It is important always to consider the possibility of epiglottitis when any of these symptoms are present.
Choking on a foreign object may resemble croup, since both share the same symptom of frantic efforts to breathe. However, it is easy to tell choking from croup by one key sign. A choking child cannot speak or cry out; a child with croup can talk or cry. Fever may be another clue, since a child with croup may have a fever but a choking child does not.
Home care
If a child is having serious difficulty breathing, do not try to care for the child at home. Notify your doctor, and head for the nearest hospital emergency room.
Mild, repeated attacks of croup can often be cared for at home (if there is no serious difficulty breathing). However, it is best to call your doctor the first time you suspect your child has croup.
The basic home care for mild attacks is adding moisture to the air to relieve the cough and help the child breathe more easily.
Use steam from a vaporizer or humidifier. Steam also may be generated quickly and temporarily by running a hot shower in a closed bathroom. Sit in the room with your child for a short while. If the symptoms are not relieved, call your doctor.
Precautions
• If your child has a high fever, difficulty breathing and swallowing, is drooling, or sits with the head forward, mouth open, and tongue hanging out, get medical help immediately.
• Never give any type of cough medicine to a child with croup or any difficulty breathing.
• Do not give ipecac as a home treatment for croup; ipecac may make breathing even more difficult.
Medical treatment
For croup, your doctor’s treatment will be the same as your home treatment. However, the doctor may hospitalize your child and use a croup tent with high humidity. The doctor may also order X rays, cultures, and a blood count. If the condition becomes severe, your child may be intubated (have a tube inserted in the airway).
Epiglottitis is always treated as an emergency. Your child will be intubated. If necessary, the doctor may perform a tracheotomy (opening the windpipe surgically through the neck). Intravenous fluids and antibiotics will be given, and the child’s condition will be carefully watched.
*44/84/5*
Posted by admin on April 23, 2009 under General health |
Doctors tracked 11,000 health-conscious people for 17 years, watching, you might say, every bite they put into their mouths.
These researchers at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in Oxford, England, and the Department of Public Health and Policy in London and the University of Wales in Cardiff recorded each person’s diet, illnesses, and deaths, when they occurred over the 17 years.
Two groups of people turned out to be the healthiest-that is, they had the lowest rates of debilitating diseases and were the least likely to die young. The winners were the apple-a-day folks-those who ate some fruit daily-and the garden-grazers-those who ate fresh salad daily. Salad-eating in particular was linked to a 26 percent lower rate of death from heart disease.
While this study was conducted in Great Britain, its findings apply to those of us here in the colonies as well. Want to spend more time on the planet? Then spend more time thinking about what you put on your plate.
Take control
We have more control over the grub we grab than about any other aspect of our lives. How we stuff our faces controls, to a great extent, the quality of our lives. It significantly influences our health, vitality, and longevity, notes Carla Wolper, R.D., a nutritionist at the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital and the Center for Women’s Health at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, both in
New York City. Every cell in our bodies depends upon the proper supply of nutrients. We get our nutrients from the foods we eat.
Of course, you already know that. You know that you should eat right.
You know that experts recommend eating from five to nine servings a day of fruits and vegetables. But we know that if you’re a typical guy, you aren’t getting five to nine servings a day of fruits and vegetables.
We’re not here to yell at you about that (well, not too much, anyway). But we would like to reason with you or, at least, to give you some reasons to make sure that you’re eating a balanced diet-one that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables.
For starters, the doctors and scientists we spoke with emphasized over and over that plant life contains a whole arsenal of goodies that are known, without a doubt, to guard against all sorts of nasties – from premature aging to cancer. Among the most powerful weapons are:
• Plant pigments: The stuff that causes plants to have color turns out to be chock-full of a veritable rainbow of beneficial vitamins and enzymes that our bodies crave.
• Phytochemicals: These chemicals act as a plant’s natural defense system-its natural pesticides and disease-fighters. Some of these chemicals help us ward off the scourges that attack us, too.
• Plant estrogens: These are plant hormones, sometimes referred to as phytogens that seem to enhance and balance hormonal activity in our own bodies. Estrogen? you ask. Aren’t we getting a bit girlish here? Not really. See, we need some of these so-called female hormones to cool down some of the male hormones-like the one that causes prostate cancer, for instance.
• Flavonoids: The tasty stuff that gives fruits and vegetables their flavors turns out to be medicine in our bodies.
Then there’s the other stuff, like the assorted enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and fibers that we get from regularly eating a wholesome variety of vegetables and fruits. Many of these plant constituents act as antioxidants. That is, they help protect our cells from getting burned and deteriorated from too much oxygen and other destructive atoms showing up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Antioxidants slow the aging and dying process at the cellular level.
While it is certain that the healing compounds in plants work together when we eat a variety of them, often it is less clear how well they work alone. The research is still young. So the recommendation for now, Wolper says, is to mix it up. Go for variety. Still, there are at least a few super-foods for which the evidence is so strong that it would be foolish to ignore.
*50/36/5*
Posted by admin on April 22, 2009 under Cancer |
A house surgeon or senior house officer will visit you on the ward before your operation to take details of your medical history – including any allergies you may have and any drugs you are taking – and to examine you. Your GP may have already filled in a form giving the names and dosages of any drugs you have been prescribed, and you should have been told what to do about these. Do not forget to tell the hospital doctor of any other drugs you have been taking which your GP may not be aware of, such as vitamin supplements, cough medicines, aspirins etc., which are available from the chemist without the need for prescription.
If you normally take a contraceptive pill or hormone replacement tablets, you may have been told to stop these for a time before your operation. If you are still taking them when you enter hospital, for example if you have been called for your operation at short notice, you should tell the doctor. Contraceptive pills used to contain much larger amounts of hormones than do the more modern ones, and these were sometimes associated with complications from blood clots. The newer pills are almost entirely free from these risks, but some surgeons still prefer their patients to stop taking them for at least a month before surgery.
A medical examination is carried out to identify any illness or infection you may have which could complicate the use of a general anesthetic. If you are over 50 years of age or a heavy smoker, you will probably have to have a chest X-ray and an electrocardiogram so that any potential anesthetic complications due to breathing or heart problems can be picked up.
If you are having a lump removed from your breast, the doctor will try to locate it and will mark the appropriate area on the surface of your breast with an indelible felt-tip pen. If the entire breast is to be removed, the appropriate one will be identified in the same way.
Consent forms
The house surgeon will probably also ask you to sign a consent form. Although it can be assumed that your consent to the operation is implied by the fact that you have entered hospital willingly, consent forms are widely used. By signing this form you are declaring that your operation has been explained to you and that you understand what it entails and have agreed to it taking place. You are also giving your permission for the doctors to take whatever action they feel to be appropriate should some emergency occur during your operation, and for any necessary anesthetic to be given to you. Do read this form carefully, and ask the doctor to explain anything you do not understand.
*30/39/5*
Posted by admin on under Women's Health |
Dysmenorrhoea
Dysmenorrhoea means painful periods. It is the most common symptom of endometriosis. In a recent survey of women with endometriosis by the Endometriosis Association, 81% of the women had experienced dysmenorrhoea.
According to medical textbooks there are two types of dysmenorrhoea: primary and secondary.
Primary dysmenorrhoea is said to be the ‘cramping’ type of dysmenorrhoea that typically affects teenagers. It usually begins a year or two after the onset of menstruation and tends to lessen by the age of 25, or after childbirth. The pain usually begins with the menstrual flow and lasts for only one or two days. It is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness and fainting. This type of dysmenorrhoea is generally believed by the medical profession to have no relationship to endometriosis.
Secondary dysmenorrhoea is the ‘grinding’ or ‘boring’ type of menstrual pain which is usually due to an underlying condition of the reproductive organs. According to the medical profession it typically appears in women who are in their 20s and 30s. This is the type of dysmenorrhoea that is generally believed to be associated with conditions such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), fibroids and endometriosis.
The pain of dysmenorrhoea due to endometriosis may be mild, moderate or severe and may be described as constant, deep inside, sharp, stabbing, knife-like, nagging, aching, burning, throbbing, dull, boring or cramping. It may be located in the centre or on one or both sides of the abdomen. The pain may radiate into the vulva, pubic bone, lower back, rectum, buttocks, groin or thighs. It may be more severe when using the bowels or passing urine, and may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea and/or constipation.
The pain may begin one to several days before the start of the period, gradually becoming more severe, particularly once the menstrual flow begins. The pain may last for the first one to two days or continue throughout the entire period. Usually the pain is most severe on the first or second day. It has been reported that the pain worsens and peaks at the end of the period although this pattern is not common.
It is not known precisely what causes the dysmenorrhoea associated with endometriosis but it is probably due to several reasons. One is that the bleeding from the endometrial implants causes irritation to the surrounding tissues. Another possibility is that the pressure resulting from the swelling of the implants and cysts causes pain in the immediate area in much the same way that a boil causes pain. It is also possible that the release by the endometrial implants of chemicals known as prostaglandins causes pain. Irritation to neighboring organs, such as the bowel or bladder, by the implants of endometriosis can also lead to pain in those organs.
Dyspareunia
Dyspareunia means painful sexual intercourse. It is another common, but often unacknowledged, symptom of endometriosis. In the survey conducted by the Endometriosis Association nearly half (48%) of the women with endometriosis had experienced dyspareunia.
Dyspareunia often causes much heartache for women with endometriosis and it can have devastating effects on their self-esteem and their sexual relationships.
Dyspareunia due to endometriosis may be felt during or after intercourse and may be so severe as to make intercourse impossible. The pain maybe described as sharp, stabbing, jabbing, or a deep aching. Intercourse may always cause pain or only when intercourse occurs at certain times of the month – for example, during menstruation or at ovulation. The pain may be felt only during deep penetration but it may also be felt during any form of intercourse, particularly if the uterus is rigidly fixed by adhesions in a retroverted position.
Dyspareunia is usually associated with endometriosis in the Pouch of Douglas, the utero-sacral ligaments and the rectovaginal septum. It may also be associated with cysts or implants on the ovaries, vagina or cervix.
If the endometriosis is located in the Pouch of Douglas, the utero-sacral ligaments or the recto-vaginal septum the pain may be due to stretching or jarring of the endometriosis on those tissues.
If cysts are located on the ovary the pain may be due to compression of those cysts, particularly if the ovary is rigidly held in position by adhesions. In addition, penetration may cause some implants to bleed slightly and this may cause pain for some time after intercourse.
*6/41/5*
Posted by admin on under General health |
Breathing is an activity to which most of us give little thought yet we are aware that when we are tense we breathe shallowly or sigh a lot. When a person is relaxed and happy his or her breathing is slow and rhythmic and healthy breathing involves the whole ribcage. When we are tense breathing becomes rigid, shallow and only the uppermost part of the chest will move. Many relaxation and meditation programmes involve breathing manoeuvres, mainly because thousands of years of experience have shown that breathing control can alter a person’s state of mind and vice versa. Learning to breathe properly can be a valuable part of stress control. This works because stretch receptors in the lungs feed back information to the brain and alter central functioning in a way which tunes up the rest of the brain. Teachers of the Alexander Technique claim to be able to abolish all kinds of physical and even some emotional complaints solely by altering body postures and improving breathing techniques.
Breathing is one vital function of the body over which we have conscious control, and because it can be so easily mastered to our benefit it is worth learning how to breathe more healthily. The main purpose of learning breathing exercises is to be able to use them in stressful and painful situations. You can also use them to help you to get to sleep. If you doubt that breathing exercises can be of help in tense and stressful situations just watch tense people and see how they sigh a lot, catch their breath, gasp or show laboured breathing. Panicky people over-breathe and can get tingling in their fingers and toes as a result.
There are many good breathing exercises and the reader should refer to a specialized book on the subject, but here I will just outline one-three-stage breathing.
• Start by lying down on your back with your lower back touching the floor. You may have to bend your knees to achieve this.
• Rest the palms of your hands on the upper part of your chest and breathe gently. Breathe out slowly and completely and repeat this cycle ten times. Your hands are simply registering the movement of this part of your chest.
• Place your hands on your lower ribs on either side of the breast bone so that the fingertips almost touch when you breathe out. Watch and feel your fingertips being parted-one hand from the other-as you breathe in. Breathe in and try to separate your finger-tips as far as you can. Breathe out and try to get them to touch in the midline. Close your eyes, relax and repeat this ten times.
• Place your hands on your tummy at the level of the navel. Repeat the slow breathing and see if you can make your tummy expand as you breathe in. This shows that the diaphragm is working fully. Your fingertips will move back and forth as they did on your chest but probably more so. Repeat this ten times.
• With your hands on the floor breathe out completely and then expand your abdomen with your breathing. Then fill your lower chest-then your upper chest until all three areas seem ‘full of air’ (of course there is really no air in your tummy but it expands because of the diaphragm pushing down from the expanded lungs). Carry on until your whole respiratory system is full of air. This should take about 10-15 seconds.
• Reverse the process to exhale. Expel air first from your upper chest, then your lower chest, then your abdomen. Expel the last of the air by contracting your abdominal muscles slightly. Pause for 2-3 seconds and then restart the whole cycle.
• Repeat the cycle ten times.
The benefits of learning to breathe more deeply and fully include:
• You will feel more relaxed while you do the exercises
• You will be able to call on the: at times of stress and tension
• You can use them to get to sleep
• You can use them as a prelude t meditation or other relaxation exercises.
*45/72/5*
Posted by admin on under Weight Loss |
Teresa Tomeo grew up in a traditional Italian family that loves traditional Italian meals. Huge plates of spaghetti, bowls of meatballs, and thickly buttered bread are staples at family gatherings. And it shows: Many of Teresa’s relatives are overweight.
But not Teresa—not anymore. Her secret? She learned to make slimmer versions of her favorite Italian dishes.
Teresa’s weight-loss odyssey began in 1985. Then age 25 and a successful news reporter for a Detroit radio station, she was trying hard to break into television news, with no success. Finally, a friend laid it on the line: At 190 pounds, Teresa was too fat for TV.
The remark stung, but Teresa knew that her friend was right.
She wasn’t about to let her weight stop her from realizing her career | goals. So she enrolled in a medically supervised weight-loss pro- ^ gram that included a written eating plan and weekly weigh-ins. j ^ Within 7 months, she lost 60 pounds.
Teresa was thrilled with her new, trim figure, and she vowed ! ^ not to let those pounds come back. So, armed with the nutrition knowledge that she had gleaned from her weight-loss program, she 1 “* began experimenting with her favorite Italian recipes, looking for ways to lighten them. She reduced the amount of olive oil in her tomato sauce to just a drizzle. And she took out the meat completely, replacing it with vegetables. She used vegetable purees to thicken sauces as well as soups. She topped salads with a squeeze of lemon.
By turning her kitchen into a laboratory and reinventing her recipe collection, Teresa has managed to maintain her weight at a healthy 130 pounds for 14 years. Along the way, she realized her dream of working in television news, landing a job with a Detroit TV station. She stayed there for 10 years before returning to radio, which she calls her real love, in 1998.
WINNING ACTION
Create low-fat versions of your favorite foods. As Teresa discovered, you don’t have to give up your favorite dishes when trying to slim down. Just look for ways to make them slimmer. There are many excellent cookbooks on the market that will show you how to take the fat out of traditional recipes. One of my favorites is Healthy Homestyle Cooking by Evelyn Tribole, which is available in paperback in bookstores. Her Deep-Dish Turkey Pot Pie is fabulous!
*38\89\8*
Posted by admin on April 20, 2009 under Allergies |
An emollient is a substance that soothes the skin and restores water to it, thus damping down the symptoms of eczema. White soft paraffin, glycerin and lanolin are commonly used. Most emollients and similar preparations contain several different ingredients. Urea is sometimes added to the cream or ointment because it helps the skin to bind water, but it may sting slightly and has a urine-like smell. Emollients may be applied directly to the skin or added to the bath, and some can be used instead of soap.
Crepe bandages soaked in calamine lotion, or bandages soaked in saline, are also used in eczema, to relieve the itching and prevent scratching.
Drugs which reduce itching (antipruritics) such as crotamiton (Eurax) or antazoline (R.B.C.) may also be used. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (see Section 7) such as bufexamac (Parfenac) are sometimes helpful.
Soothing treatments of this type are generally tried as a first step, where the eczema is not severe. They are free of side-effects, although a small minority of patients may become sensitized to lanolin, so that lanolin-containing creams cannot be used thereafter.
Trade names of emollients and other soothing treatments used for eczema
Alcoderm
Alpha Ken
Aquadrate
Aveeno
Balneum
Calmurid
Diprobase
Eczederm
Emulsiderm
Epogam
Eurax
Humiderm
Hydromol
Keri
Lacticare Lipobase Locobase Miol
Nutraplus
Oilatum Emollient
Parfenac
R.B.C.
Siopel
Sprilon
Sudocrem
Thovaline
Uitrabase
Unguentum
*433\180\8*
Posted by admin on under Allergies |
Foods that may release sulphur dioxide
Sulphur (or sulfur) dioxide is a gas that can irritate the airways of asthmatics and provoke an asthma attack. Some preservatives give off this gas in small amounts, and it is inhaled during eating. There is no need to avoid these preservatives unless you are sure tfiey trigger off attacks.
Most dried fruits are treated with sulphur dioxide and give off the gas when chewed. This treatment does not have to be declared on the label. Dried fruit that has not been treated will usually be labelled ‘unsulphured’.
The following preservatives give off sulphur dioxide:
Sodium sulphite;
sodium hydrogen sulphite;
sodium metabisulphite;
potassium metabisulphite;
calcium sulphite.
These preservatives are widely used in wine, beer and cider, and, like other additives used in alcoholic drinks, do not have to be declared on the label. Homemade wine is no exception: Campden tablets, sold to wine-makers, contain potassium metabisulphite.
Fresh sausages may also contain these additives. Cod can be treated with sodium hydrogen sulphite to bleach and preserve it. Although sulphites are not allowed on meat, unscrupulous butchers occasionally add them to old meat to give it a ‘fresh’ red colour. In all these cases, the greater part of the sulphur dioxide will be driven off by the high temperatures used in cooking.
A fourth ‘hidden source’ of sulphur dioxide is restaurant, take-away and cafeteria food. French fries used in the catering trade have usually been dipped in a metabisulphite solution and give off significant amounts of sulphur dioxide. Prepared salads, avocado dip, shrimps, prawns and lobster are also likely to have been treated with these preservatives, and sometimes cause problems.
Fruit salad, glace cherries, fruit juices, fruit pie fillings, dried vegetables and soup, fruit squash, pickled onions, jam, fruit jellies and custard are other possible sources of sulphur dioxide in the catering trade. It is not worthwhile avoiding these foods unless you know they trigger off your asthma attacks.
Packaged foods often contain sulphites and metabisulphites, but these are easier to avoid as they are declared on the label. Look for the names given above, or for the appropriate ‘E numbers’. These are E220-E227.
*386\180\8*
Posted by admin on under Allergies |
The first, and most essential step, is to see your doctor, describe your symptoms fully, and ask for a medical check-up. As explained in Chapter Seven, many of the symptoms of food intolerance can be due to other causes, and some of these may be serious – your doctor can examine you for such problems. Should there be nothing obviously wrong, then the next logical step is to try an elimination diet. Explain to the doctor you want to do, and ask for advice. He or she may well have reservations about elimination diets, and you will be better prepared if you have read all or most of the book, and understand what is involved. If the doctor feels that you should not alter your diet for medical reasons, you must take this advice.
*339\180\8*
