Archive for the 'Health & Fitness' Category

Your Eye Health

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

It is so important for a diabetic to maintain your eyes. Making sure you visit your eye doctor at least once a year. Your eye doctor can see things you might not know and that is so important. Early dectection of problems is so much better than suffering something worse down the road.

Diabetic Retinopathy is a condition that can happen. It can be a very serious. My son developed this condition two years ago. That was the worst nightmare for me and my son. Things happened so progressively for him though. We went for many trips to his eye specialist. He had 4 surgeries between both eyes and laser treatments. In the end he ended up losing the vision in his left eye.

There is always a reason why your diabetic health care professionals stress the importance of taking care of your diabetes. Your eyes are one of them.

Taking Care of Your Eyes and Bones

Thursday, March 6th, 2008


Tired eyes and backache are two common health woes of office workers.

These problems normally arise from poor diet. Therefore, to solve the problems, you need to change your diet ie choosing food that can protect your eyes, and provide enough calcium for your body.

To keep eyes healthy, Vitamin A and beta carotene are the two essential nutrients needed. Carrots are an excellent source of both Vitamin A and beta carotene.

Research has shown that high intakes of beta carotene may help to protect against damage caused by free radicals. The body converts beta carotene into vitamin A which is needed for healthy vision as well as the maintenance of mucous membranes.

Other sources of beta carotene include tomato, spinach, apricot and red sweet potatoes which are further analysed below.

The level of Vitamin C in your eyes is much higher than in your bloodstreams. However, this level decreases along with age. Vitamin C protects the eyes by reducing ultra violet damage. It acts to protect the lens from oxidative damage and protect enzymes within the lens by removing oxidation-damaged proteins. As a result, deficiency in Vitamin C may lead to the formation of cataracts.

As your body does not store vitamin C for long, it is important to replenish it by eating lots of vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables.

As a guide, you should include the following foods which are essential for the healthy of your eyes:

1. Carrots contain more sugar than any other vegetables, and as mentioned above, abundant supply of beta-carotene which is good for your eyes as well as your skin.

2. Spinach contains protein, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, beta-carotene, riboflavin etc.

3. Tomatoes are a good source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, potassium and organic acid. Because of their acidic nature, they protect the vitamin C from damage or lost during high heat while cooking, thereby retaining much of the important vitamin C.

4. Wolfberry has high concentration of beta-carotene, vitamins A, B1, B2, C, calcium, iron etc. One very simple but nourishing drink is the wolfberry-chrysanthemums tea which is good for both your vision and liver.

5. Green peppers are rated the highest source of Vitamin C among the vegetables. They are also a rich source of fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron and sugar.

6. Apricots are high in vitamin C, A, B1 & B2, sugar, protein, fats, inorganic salt, thus are considered to be nutritious fruits.

7. Chinese dates contain 14 amino acids that your body needs and the vitamins are higher than that found in apples and bananas.

Slowly but surely

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

Adoption of online services and information technology in medical facilities is a trend, according to Michael Furukawa, an Arizona State University assistant professor in the W. P. Carey School of Business’ School of Health Management and Policy. But he said it’s a slow one in comparison to other industries, such as retail.

“There has been a lot more movement toward adopting it in health care although it’s still relatively slow compared to how policymakers would like it to be,” he said, adding that about 20 percent of physicians use IT for clinical purposes.

When information can be accessed electronically, Furukawa said, it stands the risk of being hacked into and stolen. Also, laptops could be stolen. Problems with reliability can also arise.

“There’s been cases where the computer system crashes, and what do you do during the time when it is down?” he added. “If it’s really critical information that’s necessary, say in an ER situation, then reliability becomes an absolute critical issue.”

But the biggest obstacle, Furukawa said, comes down to money.

“Health care organizations already have thin margins,” he added. “The cost of the new tech is not cheap. IT just gets bumped down the list of priority.”

Fingers of fate

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008


…According to Rita Rubin, USA Today, scientists—yes, with degrees and everything—are looking at the relative length of our index and ring fingers to figure out our characteristics.

…They think the difference between the length of these two fingers signifies the amount of the male hormone testosterone exposure in the womb.

…The longer the ring finger compared with the index finger, the higher the exposure.

…They do a ratio, dividing index finger length by ring finger length.

…Men tend to have longer ring fingers (the testosterone?) than index fingers, and a ratio less than 1.

…Women’s tend to be equal for a ratio of 1.

…Well, HA has a longer ring finger.

..Some doc immediately said that doesn’t matter, that this isn’t that great an indicator of a difference in genders—not like height, for instance.

…One researcher thinks he has linked lower finger ratios with less musicality, in men, that is. Supposedly, heteros have lower ratio than homosexual men. The biggest association is with low ratios affecting endurance, as in long distance running.

…They also think they see a link in osteoarthritis. A lower finger ratio, more common in men and athletes, could be linked to a greater risk of osteoarthritis in later life. Of course, this could be because people with this ratio tend to be more athletic and would stress joints more, leading to traumatic arthritis in later life.

…For women, the strongest link seems to be to osteoarthritis of the knee in women whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers.

…One doc said he didn’t see this as a powerful diagnostic tool. Probably not. And it isn’t even the fun finger anyhow.

Washboard Abs

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

Washboard abdominals require you perform more than just the simple sit up or crunch. You have to target your abs from all directions to get the look. Here are the exercises needed for washboard abs:

1. The upper abs - Crunch. The crunch is a simple exercise, but very effective for developing the upper abs. You can’t rely on the crunch solely, or else you’ll have only have two washboard abs on top and the rest of your stomach will be flabby and undeveloped. Simply lay on your back and with hands behind your head raise your shoulder blades off the ground and look to the sky or ceiling. You should feel your upper abs working when you perform the crunch. There is no need to do a full sit up, only raise to the point where you feel you’ve hit the upper abs, then lower and repeat.

2. The lower abs - Leg Raises. Leg raises are great for developing the lower abs, and the lower abdominal region is essential for washboard abs. It is also sometimes the most frustrating area to target. While laying on your back, with your legs straight, raise up your legs all the way, focusing on the burn in your lower stomach, then slowly lower the legs and repeat. You can also perform this with bent knees as well.

3. The sides (obliques) - Side Crunch. Laying on your side with one hand behind your head, raise up sideways and crunch the side of your stomach. It’s almost like a “side sit up”. This will develop the abdominal muscles on the sides which will make them complete. Focus on crunching your love handle region. After one side, switch and perform the same on the other.

Washboard abs can be obtainable but you need to work them fully. There are complete ab programs available which will provide many other exercises and ways to achieve results in only weeks.

Power of Yoga

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

The word “Yoga” has been derived from the Sanskrit language and originated in ancient India. Yoga is the union of the body, mind and spirit. The moral and mental union leads to good health and longevity of life. The power of Yoga if practiced seriously leads to positive and perennial happiness and peace.

The benefits of yoga are many. It is extremely effective in increasing flexibility. Yoga positions or asanas, work the various joints of the body including those that are never really used or exercised. It also increases lubrication of the joints, ligaments and tendons. Many of the unrelated non-strenuous yoga positions act upon certain parts of the body in an interrelated manner. When the asanas are practiced together, they work in harmony to create a situation where flexibility is attained relatively easily.

Yoga is the only form of activity which massages all the internal glands and organs of the body thoroughly including those such as the prostate that hardly get externally stimulated during our entire lifetime. This stimulation and massage is beneficial in that it protects us form potential diseases, and even forewarns the body of likely attacks.

One very power of yoga or benefit of yoga is the unique sense of awareness that it develops in the practitioner of an impending health disorder or infection which allows one to take corrective action immediately.

The gentle stretching of muscles and joints as well as by massaging the various organs, yoga ensures the optimum blood supply to different parts of the body. It helps to detoxify our body of toxins as well as providing nourishment. The power of yoga is such that it leads to delayed ageing, energy and a great zest for life.

Excellent toning of the muscles – Muscles that have become flaccid, weak are stimulated by Yoga. This leads to excellent toning of the muscles by shedding excess flab.

The above mentioned points can be measured as the physical benefits of the practice of Yoga. The true power of Yoga is the harmony between the mind and the body to achieve good health. Yoga through meditation works remarkably to achieve this harmony and helps the mind work in sync with the body. Stress, which has become the bane of our fast paced existence, can be truly alleviated through Yoga.

In fact yoga equals meditation. Both work together in achieving the common goal of unity of mind, body and spirit – a state of eternal bliss. The meditative practices through yoga help in achieving an emotional balance through detachment, calmness and a positive outlook, which results in tremendous benefits on the physical health of the body.

Make a Beauty Teeth ?

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

White and clean teeth could certainly increase the appearance especially the health. How best guarded teeth and your gums in order to stay healthy?
1 Choose the toothbrush that had the soft hair.Choose the relatively small toothbrush was adapted to the cavity in the mouth so as to be able to cover the teeth whole.
2 Substitutes for the toothbrush every 3 months, to guard gums so that not broken.
3 Consumed true food, avoided too sticky and sweet food, because if being left in the gap of the teeth gap, could cause the damaging bacteria the teeth email.
4 Consumption food food was fibrous, vegetables vegetables and fruits.
Pic from manchesterconfidential.co.uk Article from Astaga.com

Oral health and heart disease doubts

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

A new Medical study found that youth people who lose their teeth due to cavities or gum diseases might face an increased risk of death from heart disease in future.

The results of the study were published in the journal heart, which was an addition to many studies which found a relationship between oral health and heart health. Some Studies found that gum disease may lead to heart problems over time. However it is not completely proved that oral disease causes heart disease.

The study included 12,000 U.K adults. The participants were detected starting from the college up to 57 years. Researchers found that those with a great number of lost teeth in young adulthood (nine or more) were one-third more possible to die of heart disease than the others with fewer than five missing teeth.

Tooth loss is a sign of poor oral health. Scientists say that the bacteria in the mouth which is the reason for cavities and gum disease could enter the bloodstream and moreover damage the blood vessel lining straight and affect the heart health.

Those with the most severe tooth loss were 35 percent more likely to develop a heart disease. Researches noted that it is not proven that bad oral health will lead to heart disease. However, it is still good to have a nice teeth and healthy gum.

HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

HIITHIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is cardio performed at such an intense level that your body will spend the rest of the day expending energy to recover from the ass-kicking you gave it. This is commonly referred to as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) and it means that you consume a great deal more oxygen recovering from the exercise bout than you would have if you’d just done a steady-state workout.

This means that you will be burning up to nine times more fat while sitting on the couch later that night than you would have if you’d spent an hour on the treadmill at a moderate pace.

Obviously, I am talking about intense training. You will need to push yourself out of that comfort zone you have gotten used to and really challenge yourself. If you are willing to do this, however, I can guarantee that you will spend less than half the time you usually do on those machines and get much leaner in the process.

The benefits of HIIT
HIIT training has a number of benefits in addition to the reduction in training time. First of all, this type of training is far superior to steady-state exercises when it comes to increasing your VO2 max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen you can uptake during exercise. This means that you’ll be in much better shape when it comes time to play a game of football with the guys.

Secondly, when you perform long-duration, moderate-intensity exercise, you can actually put yourself in a catabolic state in which you will start losing muscle mass. That’s right: Some of that hard-earned muscle will start degrading itself in your quest to get lean.

The reason is that there are two types of muscle fibers in your body: fast twitch and slow twitch.

HIITSlow twitch fibers are more compatible with endurance training (such as a steady-state one-hour run), whereas fast twitch fibers are more compatible with short, intense bouts of exercise (such as weightlifting or sprinting).

When we train in one of these modes, our muscle tissue has a tendency to take on the appropriate properties. As an illustration, imagine a marathon runner and a sprinter. The sprinter is composed of fast twitch muscles and carries a great deal more muscle mass, whereas the marathoner has a lot of thin, slow twitch muscle fibers so that his body is as light as possible to transport across those great distances.

Reasons for Hair Loss

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

Both men and women lose hair for similar reasons. Hair loss in men is often more dramatic, and follows a specific pattern of loss which has been termed “Male Pattern Baldness”. This loss is caused by dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Factors for male hair loss include: heredity, hormones, and aging.

This may also apply to women but to a lesser degree. Women may experience loss of hair after menopause and 2-3 months after having a baby. Other contributing factors include: poor diet, poor circulation, acute illness, radiation, chemotherapy, high stress, thyroid imbalance, certain drugs, coming off the contraceptive pill, diabetes, high doses of vitamin A (more than 100,000 IU), sudden weight loss, high fever, iron deficiency, ringworm, some fungal infections, chemicals and hair dyes, vitamin deficiencies, and lack of proper nutrition.

Drastic or premature hair loss may be caused by:
1. Stress and bodily weakness from overwork.

2. Dietary imbalances or nutritional deficiency.

3. Using abrasive shampoos, hair lacquers, dyes and bleaching, etc.

4. Endocrine disorder.

5. Genetic factors.

6. Infectious diseases.

7. Hormonal metabolic changes in lactating women.

8. Nutrient and protein deficiencies in the hair cells.



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