Health Care, Osteoporosis, Acne, Drugs, Stress, Beauty

The perfect recipe for the natural

2011-09-14T04:45:00.000-07:00

The perfect recipe for the natural

(Health Center) - Krill Oil comes from the clearest and coldest waters of Antarctica. Krill oil that gives enormous power that it takes to survive in this environment not only can, but it is still around to feel good. Strong health, youthful freshness and inner peace are the target of many human lives. Krill oil is helping to achieve this goal - quickly and directly.

Krill Oil - The partner at your side

Do you suffer from PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and have your monthly depression had enough?
Would you like to finally have a painless and uncomplicated menstruation - and to rely on hormonal and risky without aids such as the pill have?
Do you want balanced cholesterol levels to protect your heart?
Would you be relieved if there was a natural anti-inflammatory drug that could relieve your joint pain or other chronic inflammatory health problems?
Or are you even looking for a way you could protect your skin, your brain, so your entire body in front of those aging processes that afflict so many people today?

Then use krill oil. Krill oil is the partner for you - a whole healthy and happy life.
Krill Oil - and ecologically safe

Krill oil is extracted from a small crustacean called Euphausia superba. This cancer forms in the Antarctic Ocean, the largest biomass on Earth. It is estimated that krill mass unimaginable several thousand million tons.

The catch is it only about 0.03 percent annually. This quota was set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic habitats (CCAMLR) and ensures the conservation of Antarctic krill.

High-quality krill oil is also tested for heavy metals, PCBs, pesticides and other pollutants. The measurements of krill oil are all below the limits.
Krill Oil Omega-3 fatty acids gives a unique quality

Omega-3 fatty acids are now fairly well known. On every corner you can hear from them and ultimately hardly anyone knows how their needs can be met best. It would be ideal if the body the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids like omega-6 fatty acids were available.
( Acne and Health )
A ratio of 1:4 or 1:5 Omega-3/Omega-6-Verhältnis would be advantageous. Today, however, be up to 20 times more omega-6 fatty acids consumed as omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are found in meat, eggs, milk and grain products and most vegetable oils. (Source)

Omega-3 fatty acids, however, are found only in those foods that are now no longer be eaten so much, such as in green leafy vegetables, walnuts, in flaxseed, in linseed oil and hemp oil, in some fish species - and especially high quality in the Antarctic krill.

The Antarctic krill provide omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids in the fabled ratio of 15:1. So he blessed the people with the fifteen times the amount of omega-3 fatty acids.
Krill oil or fish oil? Which is better?

Many people take to meet their omega-3 fatty acid requirement a previously fish oil capsules. The problem here is that the fatty acids in fish oil in the form of triglycerides.

The krill oil, however, are the important omega-3 fatty acids bound to phospholipids and are therefore known as absorbed by the body much better and used as the fish oil fatty acids. That should be one of the main reasons why krill oil performed better in the below-mentioned studies so much as fish oil.

The cell membranes of our 100 trillion cells consist of phospholipids. These molecules in association with certain proteins protect the cell against all odds, which could collapse on them from outside, such as toxins, acids, pathogens, and particularly free radicals.

In our brain cell membranes are particularly phospholipidreich. The phospholipids in krill oil are similar to our body's own phospholipids, very strong and can therefore be particularly well absorbed and processed.
Delete the "smoldering" in your body - with krill oil!

Meanwhile, we strongly suspected that many of today's so prevalent chronic health problems with "smoldering", ie, with chronic, but for those affected often unnoticed or inflammation related to this maybe caused by primary.

The flooding our bodies with omega-6 fatty acids in combination with a lack of omega-3 fatty acids is one of the causes of these inflammatory processes. To the resulting chronic health problems include the following:

Atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease
Cancer
Diabetes mellitus
Rheumatic diseases like arthritis and osteoarthritis
chronic inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis)
Stomach ulcers
Nervous diseases such as depression and Alzheimer's disease

As rheumatism

Joint pain due to chronic arthritis can lead to life is no fun anymore. To suppress the pain with no side effects ranging from drugs is no solution and can not really return the joy of life.

The cause still persists and soon, the pain medication dose can be increased. The krill oil is in the context of a comprehensive arthritis or arthritis therapy may be a wonderful ingredient that gives it even more rapid success.

A series of tests showed, however, even that joint pain - even without additional measures - after only 7 days of krill-oil revenue was less, and that (according to the patient) by up to 24 percent .*

* Sampalis T. Evaluation of the Effect of NKO on Biomarkers of Chronic Inflammation in vivo. JSS Medical Research, June 9, 2004, unpublished.
As arteriosclerosis

The dreaded arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries called) is officially pushed the "poor" cholesterol in your shoes. The cause of the abnormal deposits in the blood vessel walls is probably not the cholesterol.

Chronic inflammation - is probably explained by some experts - would lead to tiny cracks and breaches in the blood vessel walls that were then with the help of cholesterol from the body "on sticks".

Cholesterol is also used by the organism in an emergency situation only as an aid. Nevertheless, cholesterol can become a problem. Namely, when the cracks are already cemented and yet more and more cholesterol attaches to existing deposits.

But why are glued over the cracks in the walls of blood vessels and not - what would be a lot more sense - repaired? The body of the people would love to repair the blood vessel walls. He can not because it lacks the necessary materials to do so.

Various nutrients (eg vitamin C and vitamin E) are necessary for collagen - the main building material of the vessel walls - are formed and assembled into new blood vessel walls can.

With today's diet, but often provides little nutrients, while the modern lifestyle consumed (stress, social drugs, drugs, drugs, environmental toxins, etc.) is a multiple of vital nutrients, so that for "little things" such as the repair of blood vessel walls any more remains.
Three measures in arteriosclerosis

Atherosclerosis must be taken so in a very different way than with a cholesterol-lowering drug in attack:

Measure 1 is: Stop the inflammation caused by fatty acid balance (ie reduce omega-6 in the diet and increase omega-3, the latter including krill oil)
Measure 2 means that vital material amount of increase (with a healthy, nutrient-rich, natural diet, which may possibly be supplemented with high quality food supplements)
Measure 3 words: cholesterol

However, an unfavorable cholesterol levels are already quite automatically stabilize at a healthy level, as one measure - if conducted with krill oil - may also reduce unhealthy cholesterol levels, which indicates the next chapter in the study described.

Atherosclerosis not only speaks well on measures 1 and 2. And all of the other "smoldering" should be "erased" with these two basic measures.
Surprise your physician with optimal levels of cholesterol

In a clinical study, in 2004, Canadian researchers at the University of Montreal, McGill University and the Riverview Medical Center in Montreal, the effectiveness of Neptune Krill Oil on elevated cholesterol levels. The study was published in the medical journal Alternative Medicine Review (Volume 9, Number 4). An interesting feature of this study was also that the action of fish oil compared to krill oil was investigated.

The researchers divided 120 patients with a hyperlipidemia (elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels) in four groups:

Group A received daily 2-3 g krill oil (participants with a BMI of less than 30 received 2 g, were participants with a BMI of more than 30 3 g)
Group B received daily 1 - 1.5 g (again depending on BMI)
Group C received 3 g of fish oil
Group D received a placebo

The study duration was 3 months. Both krill oil and fish oil could reduce the total cholesterol, LDL ("bad" cholesterol) and triglycerides also, while both the HDL-cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) increased. However, the outcome was in those participants taking krill oil significantly better than in the fish oil subjects.

The LDL blood fat levels, for example, fell within 90 days in group A by 37 percent in group B by 32 percent and in the fish oil to people close to 5 percent. The higher-dose krill oil was also slightly better but was still lower than the dose of fish oil, which brought only a fraction of success .*

* Bunea R, El Farrah K, German L. Evaluation of the effects of Neptune Krill Oil on the clinical course of hyperlipidemia. Aging Med Rev. 2004 Dec; 9 (4) :420-8
Start a new life without PMS - with Krill Oil

For many years, Marie-France was suffering from Quebec / Canada under a severe premenstrual syndrome. Their complaints were often so bad that they had to limit your daily activities. Her doctor prescribed a drug that, however, brought so many side effects that Marie is independently again deposed.

Marie made an attempt with krill oil, because they hoped to have a natural means finally found a side effect free solution for themselves and their bodies. Within days, she felt the effects of krill oil. Marie was more than amazed at how her body responded positively to the valuable ingredients of the krill oil. Both her physical and emotional symptoms in their almost 100 percent seemed to dissolve into thin air. Marie-France is miraculously not a single case.
( Women Beauty )
In 2002, researchers at the University of Montreal, McGill University and other medical centers in Quebec, a randomized double-blind study on the use of krill oil for the relief of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) by. It was 2003 in the Alternative Medicine Review (Volume 8, Number 2). After 90 days it was found that krill oil reduce both the physical and emotional symptoms of PMS and may also improve just as a painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea) dramatically.

The girls experienced almost immediately with the use of krill oil less abdominal cramps during menstruation, they were less tired, suffered less from flatulence, had barely had significantly fewer headaches and capricious. Furthermore, the krill oil cravings eased during the period, decreased painful breast tenderness and helped with PMS-related depression and anxiety .*

* Sampalis F, Bunea R, Pelland MF, Kowalski O, Duguet N, Dupuis S. Evaluation of the effects of Neptune Krill Oil on the management of premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea. Aging Med Rev. 2003 May; 8 (2) :171-9
They are young and carefree again - with Krill Oil

Krill oil naturally supplies not only omega-3 fatty acids, but also an interesting blend of very potent antioxidants. Thus, the krill oil a significant proportion of natural astaxanthin entält.

Antioxidants inactivate free radicals and limit their harmful effects. Organism in the absence of antioxidants, free radicals can then lead to cell damage, which - after a certain extent - not cause "only" (chronic) diseases, but contribute equally to the formation of wrinkles.

They make the skin gray and tired, they rob their elasticity and make the hair become dull and stringy. Cell damage in the brain can shrink the mental capacity and are probably - along with chronic inflammation and a lack of vital substances - instrumental in the development of dementia.

The supply of adequate antioxidants is therefore the lifeblood of all activities whose goal is a successful anti-aging. A clear mind, a beautiful skin and healthy hair are only possible if free radicals have no chance.

The potential of antioxidants to eliminate free radicals, is given with the so-called ORAC (ORAC = Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity). The ORAC value of vitamin E - a very powerful antioxidant - is 1.25. The ORAC value of fish oil is 8 and in those of krill oil 378th

Krill oil contains the antioxidant vitamins A and vitamin E also the superstar among the antioxidants: Astaxanthin - The stuff for winners. The high-ORAC value of krill oil is most probably caused by a synergetic effect of the krill-oil-antioxidant mixture, since each of these antioxidants alone has a significantly lower ORAC value than the krill oil.
How much krill oil daily?

Begin in the first two weeks with a starting dose of 2 to 4 capsules (500 mg) per day (preferably with breakfast or another meal). From the third week you can reduce the dose and only take another 1 to 2 capsules per day. However, some people stay for two months at the higher dose, before reducing it to 1 to 2 capsules. Even higher doses are not harmful. You could be at most as an energy boost after feeling something is up.

Krill oil produced no burping fish taste as the conventional fish oils is often the case.

Krill oil will not work for everyone immediately. PMS or even with high cholesterol in some people it may take several months until a clear improvement in results.
Krill oil has side effects
( Osteoporose Bones )
Of course there are side effects when taking krill oil. If you take krill oil, for example, to relieve your joint pain or PMS problems can arise at the same time the following:

Your skin becomes smoother
Her hair is full of
Your nails are an integral
Your mind is clear
Your allergies get better and
Your well-being grows

Enjoy life with krill oil!

Appearance of a woman and REALLY perceive

2011-09-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Many women believe it is mainly the look, intrigued men to women.

Well, so they are not totally wrong - we just LOOK like men. Beautiful women are and will remain that, according to which men turn themselves.

Merely - what EXACTLY is this really ominous "beauty"? What do men as "beautiful" right?

I have asked myself repeatedly in recent years:

What it actually is, we like men in a woman's appearance? What we actually create value?

I can tell you one for sure: the many models that try to fool us every day of posters and in television, most of them did not correspond to the tastes of most men. I do not know what the advertising industry thinks, emaciated women to explain beauties ... Through my many conversations with men of all ages and educational levels, and above all by the fact that I am a man, I have the following found:

There is a single property to a woman who finds a man attractive IMMEDIATELY:

It is your HEALTH.

Whether you believe it or not, men perceive women in a matter of seconds, as it is with your physical health. Mother Nature has provided us with this keen eye for the health of a woman, so that our children are as healthy and vital. They are attracted to women who are healthy - and radiate the same.

You may already have some little longer, "innocent" suffering?

Sudden headache? Stomach pain? Skin problems? Maybe you feel on a day full of energy and zest for life, the next day without any reason, depressed and sad?

Maybe you take these little things have become "normal" is true, simply because it no longer even know differently?

The fact is that men judge a woman's beauty NOT on your weight, the exclusivity of your dress, the length of your legs or your breasts. (So all the things that worry every day about which women's head). A man judged the appearance of a woman mainly on how it is with their health.

I know some women who have a mad-figure and a really pretty face - but with their unhealthy skin and permanent mood Do not just look attractive ...

What do you do to be healthy?

How it looks in your diet?

As it is with your physical activity?

Do you smoke?

"Treat" yourself regularly to any toxins such as alcohol, greasy fast food or a similar disease-causing things?

I will therefore now really do not like a health freak "preach" and, but the fact is that men have a fine view of how it is with your health. Regardless of your age, your weight or your clothing style.

It's about one thing:

Men are to women who are GOOD DEAL WITH ITSELF. Women who look after themselves.

If a woman pays attention to themselves and their health, then it radiates a mysterious way also. Because it feels good in your skin every day ... Do something, do it good for your health, and you will feel, how men perceive you in a completely different light. Believe me, your health is an extremely important factor, the men immediately notice.

Do you eat things that do your body good and avoid all the disease-causing toxins such as nicotine, excessive alcohol consumption and cancer-causing substances, which are in fast food. Take regular exercise - a sport that you enjoy. It does not matter if you have to force yourself to sports. For example if you hate jogging, you should devote a lot of swimming or cycling. It should make you especially JOY.

I wish you a beautiful - beauty and above all healthy day!

Women and their beauty ideal

2011-08-24T04:54:00.000-07:00

The women and their world are for men too often do not understand just where the man himself is often to blame, especially since these often prefer to take care of the dog and his car more than his own wife. Women are a unique and indispensable above all a creature. Women place great value on beauty, appearance, styling and the perfect dress. Their ideal of beauty is divided into several subcategories, several processes are important here for it.

Clothes and the perfect look

Women must be slim. This is a widespread ideal among the females. Only those who are slim, can be beautiful and also the battle for the man a say a word. Primarily plays the woman of today, besides the appearance, maintaining a large role. So it is not just dismiss it, if you have the ideal body weight but also the perfect face, the right tan or beautiful jewelry. In clothing and fashion, most women prefer jeans or skirts. When tops are the most popular fashion items blouses and tops. Gladly bare midriff and short. One might even eventually show something of the bare skin and gain so its recognition. In terms of care women are very vain. So it is for 83% of all women is very important that the make-up when leaving the house is properly seated and the hair does not lie in the wrong direction. In this respect, many women place great value on jewelry and embellished the your body, and also attracts the attention of men on this. So often earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings are worn. Also plays a role in many of the tan, so that 29% of all women attend at least 2 times a week, the tanning salon to tan your body to get.

In men, play clothes and the "perfect look" much less of a role, more important, the freshly washed and polished the car and it is sufficient money in his pocket.

The perfect ideal of beauty! - Is there such a thing?

The perfect ideal of beauty a woman has shown in polls among women, an image. Here's the perfect woman from the dream of all men's. (Beautify-me.Org)

You must be tall and weigh between 43-50 kg 170-172 centimeters. She should have blonde or dark blonde hair, this should be long to the shoulder blade. They should have white teeth, which can be seen in a very good laugh. Furthermore, they all agree that a tanned body as this one, as the beautification of jewelry on the ears, neck and arms. You should wear the latest fashion show here to also be open to a lot of skin. And was also mentioned as important to the breast size of women. This should be somewhere at 85c.

On the one hand, women complain about what our men and women like about ourselves, but on the other side when they asked themselves, is almost the same ideal of beauty out there. What now? Innocent

Women who have come closer to the ideal figure is certainly easier in their professional lives. You set skillfully, get your beauty ideals to one with all power to the target. One is definitely more secure. The woman is difficult, it ticks in one second as the other and in seconds you want something else entirely. But all want to be beautiful, and many are willing to do so much for that.

This content is about beauty for you to beautify.

Melon: Healthy Vitamin bomb

2011-08-18T00:57:00.000-07:00

Whether cantaloupe, watermelon, cantaloupe or Galia melon - the selection of different types melon in the supermarket is great. The melon is easily recognized by their bright yellow color and is especially on hot summer days perfectly refreshing for a snack: Due to their high water content, this melon variety low in calories (kcal), but has nevertheless a fruity aroma and a sweetish taste. Although their fruit sugar content can be up to ten percent, melons are healthy because they have many vitamins and minerals.

Melons are rich in vitamin A

The high water content of about 85 to 90 percent provides the juicy taste of honeydew melon. He makes them especially during the summer in a welcome refreshment and a delicious thirst quencher. And because of their high water content, melons are low in calories, 100 grams contain only 50 calories. Note, however, the high fruit sugar content of sweet melon: This means that the melon has a lot more calories than, say, the watermelon. Watermelons bring it just about 24 kcal per 100 grams Despite the yellow watermelon is healthy, because one of the ingredients of honey melon include numerous vitamins: in addition to vitamin B1, B2 and C, it includes mainly pro-vitamin A. The provitamin is in the body Vitamin A plays and converted to cell growth and play an important role for the visual process. 150 grams of honey melon cover the daily requirement of vitamin A is already completely, the same portion of the melon corresponds to half the daily requirement of vitamin C. In addition, the honeydew melon and a variety of minerals, in addition to potassium, especially more calcium, iron, sodium, magnesium and phosphorus.

Origin and relationship

The melon is in addition to the cantaloupe melons and musk-melon is one of the three major subgroups of the cantaloupe. The cantaloupe belongs to the gourd family and is thus purely botanically not a fruit. The melon is used as a closer with the cucumber with the watermelon, which, however, belongs to the family of Cucurbitaceae. Melons are native to the tropical and subtropical West Africa, in Egypt were already 4,000 years ago the first melons grown and consumed. Later, the melon spread to Asia and finally reached by Spanish sailors to America. Due to the large distribution area in Germany we can enjoy throughout the year on healthy melon: During the summer months, our melons are mainly from Spain, in winter they are mainly imported from Brazil and Costa Rica.

Melon: Ready or not ready?

Honeydew melons can weigh up to four kilograms and will be easily recognizable by their yellow color. The striking color of the melon and the name, Yellow Canary given '. However, the exterior does not permit a conclusion on the ripeness of the melon. This can often be difficult to detect: A smooth, not too hard skin that yields slightly to pressure, indicates a ripe melon. In addition, it can be seen a ripe honeydew melon and at its slightly sweet smell. Once purchased, the melon can be stored at room temperature, after cutting but packaged in plastic wrap removed in the refrigerator.

Delicious recipes with honey melon

Who is looking for a refreshing snack is a recipe with honey melon will find it quickly: whether honey melon with Parma ham as a tasty appetizer, with fruits other than low-calorie fruit salad for dessert, or served as a sorbet - the melon can be in various forms as enjoy a refreshing snack. Before eating, you cut the melon in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. It is then cut into wedges, depending on the intended use, the shell can be removed subsequently. Who wants to use this melon in a different way, can pull out of his flesh, a face mask. For that moisturizes the cantaloupe Vitamin E to our skin. Simply the flesh of the melon puree and let it soak for about 20 minutes.

Heat rash

2011-08-17T00:26:00.000-07:00

Heat rash is an inflammatory disease of the sweat glands, in the jargon they are called miliaria. Other synonyms for heat rash in the language or even colloquially are: heat-pox, and dermatitis Hidrotica Hidroa to clear pimples and lichen tropicus or Red Dog for the already inflamed red pimples form of heat. Heat rash occurs when the ducts of sweat glands become clogged. This happens most frequently when prevailing warm ambient temperature and high humidity in the tropics.

Heat rash in children, babies and toddlers

Unusual often occur on the itchy heat rash in infants and babies. The reason for this is usually too hot and air-tight clothes. Many parents think it is good to pack with their children and this bold, not only in cool weather one. Especially the little kids can tell just bad that they are too warm. Although they occasionally whine or cry, but this is a non-specific signal. Thus, their overheating is frequently wrong. Therefore, the body easily by young children and babies accumulate heat and heat, so that clog the sweat glands and are still barely ventilated. In addition, in this warm, moist environment for the skin bacteria to colonize. Heat rash can be the result.

Heat rash in adults

Also can occur in adults heat rash. They are often pronounced the same in both sexes. Although the cause is usually a stay in tropical areas, but not just a holiday in hot climates may be the trigger for the heat rash. Loosen tight clothing, which prevents the sweat evaporates on the skin causes, even in our temperate latitudes heat to build up the body, which can cause heat rash.

What are heat rash?

There are two different types of prickly heat. Depending on the exact location of the blockage of the sweat glands Heat rash can look different. The typical miliaria cristal lina filled water clear and firm. The individual bubbles are rarely larger than a pinhead and usually grouped close together. These groups in turn heat pimples are usually spread over a larger area. You are on the trunk, particularly at the weld paths, such as the underarms, between the shoulders, back and neckline. This crystalline form of heat rash is usually no inflammation vonstatten why the bubbles show no redness. Wipe it firmly on the bubble, it burst on the clogged sweat gland is in contact to the body surface and clear liquid comes out - like a drop of sweat. The inflammatory form of heat rash, miliaria rubra, is conspicuous by the red color and often scrape generally by reddened skin. There, where they occur, the skin is swollen and itchy or painful. This form of heat rash can not be removed by pushing or scraping and treating.

Causes and Origin of heat rash

In contrast to the heat rash sun allergy are based not on an inflammatory reaction to UV rays, but to a blockage of the sweat glands caused by an accumulation of heat. Therefore, even in winter, heat rash is not impossible. The crystalline form of heat rash occurs spontaneously in the event of overheating. They usually passes after a few hours and not itchy. For as soon as the heat buildup is completed, the sweat glands are free again. It is different however, with the red hot spots. They usually occur only after several days of visits to tropical areas. Here is the blockage of the gland is located already serious and deeper into the skin. The sweat produced in the glands can therefore no longer appear on the body surface and spreads out instead of inside the skin. This congestion can lead to either inflammation or tearing the course of sweat glands by the overpressure, which finally merges into an inflammation. To seal the gland occurs primarily through the tropical, humid air, allowing the skin to swell. Together with the salt in the sweat and bacteria, which multiply magnificently between skin and clothing, is so provokes an inflammation of the sweat glands. Heat rash can arise.

What to do about heat rash?

Against heat rash, there are different forms of treatment that are applied depending on the type of heat rash. In the crystalline prickly heat usually no medical treatment is necessary, even in children or babies. What is important is a symptomatic therapy by eliminating the heat build-up and a general rethinking about the nature and amount of clothing. Onion-wide look and airy clothes are the best prevention. If the crystalline heat rash in rare cases do not go away by itself, a Zinkschüttelmixtur (Lotio zinci spirituous liquors) are applied. Even with the red hot spots, drug therapy is usually not necessary. Soothing powder or can affect the already mentioned Zinkmixtur, because they keep the skin dry. If bacterial infection and itching to be strong, you can also help a local antibiotics against heat rash, which is applied in the form of creams.

Antioxidants protect our cells

2011-08-15T03:58:00.000-07:00

(Health Centre) - Free radicals are at the beginning of many health complaints. They attack our cells and can make inoperable. The more cells of an organ can be damaged in this way, the worse it goes to the institution. Diseases occur. The cell damage caused by free radicals can also lead to degeneration of the cell. Cancer is the result. Antioxidants may protect cells against free radicals. What are antioxidants and protect the most reliable in which foods containing them, you are now reading!

Free radicals attack cells

Free radicals are oxygen containing molecules that are dangerously unstable because they lack one electron in their chemical structure. They are incomplete. So they are looking for a suitable electron to be complete again. In this search for a suitable binding partner, do free radicals very ruthless and, above all in a hurry. When a free radical is formed, it takes a record 10-11 seconds (0.00000000001 seconds) before it will attack any victim. Aggressively takes it from the nearest intact molecule (eg, molecules of the cell membrane, proteins or DNA) that he requires electron. This electron theft is called oxidation. Since oxidation - as soon as they exceed the tolerable level - stress the body, it is called oxidative stress.

Free radicals and their consequences for the organism

The molecule has been robbed of his hand is now missing an electron. It is now also a free radical itself and embarks on a search for a victim, which it could rob an electron. In this way, a dangerous chain reaction will set in motion. High concentrations of free radicals can thus trigger chain reactions countless, which can ultimately lead to a high degree of oxidative stress and thus to the following massive damage in the body:

    Impaired cell functions or cell death by membrane damage
    DNA damage, resulting in uncontrolled cell division (cancer formation)
    Inactivation of enzymes
    Reduced formation of endogenous proteins
    Destruction of receptors on the cell surface: receptors are specific proteins on the cell surface, in which - can dock right hormones, enzymes or other substances - for the key-lock principle. With this docking, a specific signal is transmitted to the cell. For example, cells have receptors for the hormone insulin. When insulin binds to these receptors, the cell gets the signal for glucose uptake. The lock and key principle here is like a kind of code to ensure that only certain substances can bind to the corresponding receptor and only "authorized" are transported into the cells. Substances (eg toxins), which do not have a "key" is denied admittance into the cells. Free radicals can destroy receptors and thus prevent the signal transmission. For example, the receptors for insulin are destroyed, not received by that cell, glucose, is no more fuel and dies.

Damage caused by free radicals
Tired skin, varicose veins and high blood pressure

Specifically, the damage caused by free radicals, for example, expressed in a gray and wrinkled skin that lacks any tension in venous insufficiency and varicose veins, as well as free radicals damage blood vessels. The latter may also manifest themselves in high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems.
Eye problems

The fine vessels of the affected eye, there it comes to degeneration and reduced vision.
Stroke and dementia

Attack the free radicals in the vessels of the brain may lead sooner or later a stroke. Are the nerves in the brain target of attacks, then this worsens the mental alertness and can promote disease.
Joint pain

Free radicals can attack the collagen in cartilage tissue and impair its molecular structure, which can lead to joint problems like arthritis.
Cancer

If the DNA of cells damaged by free radicals, which then can lead to so-called degeneration of the cell. Now, when the body's own mechanisms should consider these misguided cell from the road, fail to reproduce this cell and a tumor develops: Cancer.

This small selection of the possible destructive effects of free radicals shows that there will be no single clinical picture involving the creation of free radicals were NOT.
Antioxidants - helpers in distress

Only an antioxidant (also known as free radical scavengers) may interrupt the chain reactions of free radicals and thereby to avoid cell damage. Before the free radicals so tear an electron out of a cell membrane or from an important body protein itself, the jump in antioxidants and free radical voluntarily give off one of its electrons. Antioxidants give off their electrons so much easier than that does a cell membrane or DNA. In this way, the body cells are protected, if sufficient antioxidants are available.

An antioxidant provides two ways to commit to keeping the body's cells against free radical attack spared:

    Antioxidants voluntarily give up electrons in order to protect cells.
    Antioxidants are never even to a free radical or will be - after they have submitted an electron - immediately returned to its antioxidant form and thus provide for an abrupt end to the dangerous chain reaction. For example, if the antioxidant vitamin E has inactivated a radical, he is even in the short term to the free radical, the so-called vitamin E radical. However, this may never have a negative impact as it is immediately brought back from vitamin C in its original form so that it can once again act as an antioxidant. This regeneration of vitamin E radical is one of the most important tasks of vitamin C.

Free radicals in the primeval

Free radicals have a bad reputation and it seems we need to focus on nothing more than to eradicate them. In reality, however, there are free radicals so long (or longer) as there is life on Earth. Animals and plants had already developed a lot of scavenging strategies, when our ancestors still roaring swinging from branch to branch. At that time there was still no need to worry about actively and consciously to free radicals.

    First, existed at the time not nearly as many risk factors that could give rise to a cause such undue amount of free radicals as they are today (to the risk factors, see below),
    Second, the lifestyle was significantly healthier (fewer long-term stress, balanced movement, more sunlight, etc.) and
    Third, provided the diet is a very large number of antioxidants, so that was a possible free radical excess done in no time.

Free radicals in modern times

Today the situation is quite different. People smoke, drink alcohol, eat junk food, live in metropolitan areas with high traffic volume and correspondingly high exhaust emissions, are - as it seems - every 25 years, exposed to a radioactive meltdown and take one for every little tweet drugs. According to conservative estimates, each of our 100 trillion cells of the body each day is now being attacked by thousands of free radicals. So there are large amounts of antioxidants needed to refer to the "radical" army in his place.

Unfortunately we are today, however, not only exposed more and more free radicals, but at the same time indulge in a diet that contains more antioxidants and less strain on the body due to their toxicity even with additional free radicals.
Antioxidants in the diet

While the modern diet provides on the basis of grain, milk and meat, the nutrients, proteins, carbohydrates and fats in abundance, where antioxidants are few and far between. People will always plump, while also getting sicker. What is lacking is a rich selection of many different vegetables and seedlings, fruits and wild plants on natural oils and fats as well as seeds and nuts. All these foods are optimal and abundant sources of valuable antioxidants. A diet based on these foods, therefore, protects against disease and premature aging.
Free radicals can also be helpful

Free radicals are not always and necessarily bad. As is so often the case, makes the amount of the difference between good and evil.

Thus, our body produces namely everyday actions themselves very many free radicals:
During cellular respiration:

Our cells need constant oxygen to produce energy. As a by-product also generates free radicals - the more, the higher the energy production in the body. The energy production is changing as needed. For example, it rises in stressful situations in sport or disease. Consequently, these three factors can include the number of free radicals grow naturally.
In immune responses:

Free radicals are formed, moreover, not only as a byproduct of some bodily functions. They are from our organism - more precisely by our immune system - to produce a very specific purpose. Free radicals can attack that is not only healthy body structures, but are able to specifically destroy pathogens such as bacteria or viruses or curb aggressive acute inflammation. Here, free radicals are so desirable and useful.
What external influences may occur in the body, free radicals?

The following factors, however, increase the number of free radicals in the body to a multiple of the desired and useful amount, so the human body is affected in modern times under a constant attack by free radicals:

    Chemicals and solvents
    Air pollution from traffic, industry and households
    Harmful foods such as industrially processed fats or sugar
    Food additives such as preservatives, colorings, flavorings, etc.
    Residues of plant protection products (herbicides, fungicides and pesticides) in food
    Radioactive and electromagnetic radiation
    Excessive sun exposure
    Cigarette smoke: Up to 1,000,000,000,000,000 (= 1000 trillion), free radicals are formed in a single train in the body of the smoker.
    Alcohol
    Drugs and drug
    Body care products made from synthetic materials and more.

Protect yourself with antioxidants

For the modern man who is constantly surrounded by all these influences, there is consequently an urgent need to actively protect against free radicals, by ensuring a consistently high level of antioxidant status.
Antioxidant rich food groups

In part, the organism can establish itself in the form of antioxidant enzymes. The vast majority of antioxidants, however, taken with food. Next up were mentioned the most antioxidant-rich food groups. Here again is an overview:

    Vegetables
    Salads
    Herbs
    Fruits
    Sprouts, lentil sprouts, for example, sunflower sprouts, broccoli sprouts, Spelt Sprouts, etc.
    Wild plants such as dandelion, chickweed, reporting, etc. Giersch
    Oilseeds and nuts
    Natural oils and fats

What are antioxidants it?

What comes at the word "antioxidants" as the first in your mind? Vitamin C? Vitamin C is an antioxidant. That's right. However, its antioxidant effect is not nearly as overwhelming as one might think due to his reputation.

An apple contains about 10 milligrams of vitamin C, but its antioxidant effect is greater by a multiple. She is so great that in it - would the antioxidant effect of vitamin C alone - 2,250 milligrams of vitamin C would be included, but this is not the case. So are the Apple obviously still a lot of other substances, which have much stronger antioxidant activity than vitamin C. This highly effective force include, for example, the enzymes belonging to the polyphenols, phytochemicals (eg flavonoids, anthocyanins, isoflavones, etc.)

The five major groups of the most effective antioxidants are:

    Vitamins
    Minerals
    Trace elements
    Enzymes
    Phytochemicals (bioactive plant compounds or phytochemicals also called), which were originally formed by reason of a plant or fruit to protect this plant or fruit from fungal infestation of insects or from UV radiation. Other antioxidant phytochemicals are the color dyes of plant, the flowers, leaves or fruit. In the human body, these herbal antioxidants help to stay healthy and happy.

The TOP TEN of the Antioxidants

The following are the known and / or powerful antioxidants:

    Vitamin E: The vitamin E family are in addition to the known alpha-tocopherol (in vegetable oils such as wheat germ oil), also known as tocotrienols that one should have up to 40 times stronger antioxidant activity than alpha-tocopherol (at least in vitro). Tocotrienols, especially in red palm oil, coconut oil, but also in front.
    Vitamin C
    Trace elements such as selenium, iron and zinc: they act only antioxidant, if they can act as components of enzymes. The selenium-containing enzyme glutathione peroxidase, for example, is a key component of the body's defense system against free radicals and protects the cell walls in particular.
    From OPC (OPC is the abbreviation for proanthocyanidin oligomers) such as grape seeds or the skin and the skins of fruits: OPC are secondary plant compounds from the large group of flavonoids. The antioxidant potential of OPC is nearly 20 times greater than that of vitamin E and 50 times greater than that of vitamin C. OPC also reinforce the antioxidant power of vitamins and vice versa. Both - and OPC Vitamins - thus act synergistically to heat and each other in the fight against free radicals to new heights.
    Glutathione: Glutathione is a tripeptide known (ie it consists of three amino acids) and is considered one of the strongest known antioxidants and as a popular anti-aging agent. Apart from the fact that it off free radicals and initiate DNA repair processes may have the task of glutathione, vitamin C - if this has already inactivated a free radical and can no longer act as an antioxidant - back to its antioxidative active form, and thus to . transform
    Allicin (in garlic, leeks, onions) is a sulfur-containing phytochemicals, called sulfides and is known for its vascular protective effects to atherosclerosis and thus prevent heart attack and stroke.
    Carotenoids: Carotenoids describe red or orange vegetable dyes but may also occur in green vegetables. Among the carotenoids:
        Beta-carotene: Beta-carotene protects the cell membranes and the blood vessels so that it can not come there to atherosclerotic cholesterol buildup. Leader in terms of beta-carotene is the green cabbage, closely followed by carrots, cabbage, dill and lettuce
        Lutein and zeaxanthin: These two carotenoids occur in the human body especially in the retina of the eye and the yellow spot. The yellow spot is the point in the center of the retina where the highest visual acuity is achieved. Both carotenoids in the eye including work as antioxidants and neutralize free radicals that are generated by the incoming light. Lutein and zeaxanthin can not be synthesized by the body, so they must be eaten in the form of fruits and vegetables. The more lutein and zeaxanthin are present in the diet, the better the eyes seem to be protected against age-related eye diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts. Even the visual acuity depends on the supply from these two carotenoids. The more lutein and zeaxanthin consumed, the better it looks. The two carotenoids are present especially in spinach and cabbage, but also in many other vegetables and fruits.
        Lycopene (particularly in tomatoes, pink grapefruit and papaya): Lycopene is an antioxidant that the protective and healing properties are said in prostate cancer.
        Astaxanthin: Did you know that you can more safely for longer stay in the sun, the better you are supplied with antioxidants? Sunscreens contain in most cases, harmful chemicals and raw materials that contaminate the skin more than you use. In addition, they prevent the vitamin D production in the skin - and that, where a large proportion of the population from chronic vitamin D deficiency is suffering, increase susceptibility to the extremely serious diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis significantly can. A much better solution to protect the skin against sunburn and skin cancer is, however, the adequate supply of the body with an antioxidant-rich diet. For if the body's cells to be protected by an army of antioxidants, free radicals are caused by solar radiation, damaging any chance, the cells. It comes - the slow habituation of the skin to the sun for granted - neither sunburn nor skin cancer. So the sun is not the villain here, but junk food in conjunction with "stay-" and then a sudden and unprepared sun exposure. This in particular algae or in some (pink) fish and seafood occurring antioxidant astaxanthin has a particularly protective effect on the skin and is considered a "natural sunscreen," if taken in time (at least four weeks) before the summer or holidays.
    Other secondary plant compounds that also act as antioxidants for us are the following:
        Flavones, flavonols, flavanols and flavanones: These substances belong to the flavonoids and are found in virtually all types of vegetables and fruit. In large amounts, however they are found in citrus fruits, prickly pears (the fruit of the Indian fig), in parsley, onions, celery, bell peppers, but also in green tea and cocoa (the latter in, for example, dairy-free organic chocolate or a chocolate almond milk recipe here.)
        Anthocyanins: They also belong to the flavonoids and present here is the subgroup of the blue or violet-colored natural dyes in plants, such as berries, in many flowers, etc. in the bowl of eggplant, purple grapes, cherries
        Phytoestrogens (eg isoflavones): They also belong to the large group of flavonoids. They are found especially in flaxseed and soy products, but also in lentils, oatmeal and hemp.
        Phenolic acids: Especially effective proved to be the ellagic acid in pomegranate, also significant amounts of phenolic acids are found in Zistrosentee or berries, cherries, grapes, cabbages, leeks, lettuce, pineapple, bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, lentils, barley and nuts. (For more information on the effects of pomegranates, particular fungal infections can be found here: http://www.zentrum-der-gesundheit.de/candida-albicans-ia.html)
    Sulforaphane: sulforaphane has been shown effective in trials for cancer and arthritis. He comes in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli (especially in the seedlings), in cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, radishes, cabbage, red cabbage, kohlrabi, radish, arugula, watercress and mustard and gives these vegetables their characteristic sharp flavor. Sulforaphane is an effective antioxidant substance that emits electrons and not even this would be inactivated, but instead activates the body's own detoxifying enzymes in the liver. Neutralize these enzymes (including carcinogenic) free radicals, so that they do not cause cell damage anymore. Learn more about "broccoli against cancer."
    Superoxide dismutase (SOD): SOD is an enzyme that is - is at the core of the body's immune and detoxification system and an extremely powerful antioxidant is - together with the glutathione peroxidase (see above). SOD can be found eg in barley grass.

Foods rich in antioxidants

Antioxidant-rich foods are especially the following:

    Berries such as blueberries, black currants, sea buckthorn, Goji berries, cranberries (dried better than purchased juice)
    Nucleated grapes
    Citrus fruits, especially grapefruit and lemon
    Pomegranates
    Acerola
    Tropical fruits
    Barley grass and other grasses such as Spelt grass, wheat grass, etc. Kamutgras
    All brassicas such as broccoli, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, red cabbage, etc.
    Sprouts such as broccoli sprouts, lentil sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, etc.
    Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, corn salad, and all leaves of many vegetables such as radish leaves, turnip leaves, broccoli leaves, etc.
    Herbs such as chervil, parsley, rosemary, mint and basil
    Licorice
    Ginger
    Turmeric (preferably in a mixture with pepper, as the pepper increases the bioavailability of the antioxidant substance (curcumin) in turmeric by more than a thousand times!
    Zistrosentee
    Flax and hemp
    Sunflower seeds
    Almonds
    Nuts such as hazelnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts (Selen!), walnuts, etc.
    Garlic and onions
    Cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes
    All edible wild plants and flowers such as dandelions, ground elder, mallow, stinging nettle (nettle seeds also) etc.
    Spirulina, chlorella and AFA-Algae
    Maca (South American root vegetable)

What are antioxidants must be taken when eating

    Why you should eat only antioxidants in their natural form
    As some antioxidants work only in the presence of other antioxidants and increase the various antioxidants against each other in a food or supplement, it should preferably not be taken as individual specimens, but in the form of fresh, organically grown food or in the form of high quality and holistic nutritional supplements. Only then can they protect the body perfectly and strengthen the body's own defense effectively.
    Bad combination: Milk and antioxidants
    Milk prevents many antioxidants (especially flavonoids) to it to perform its antioxidant function and thus makes destroy their health benefits. Why does the consumption of antioxidant rich teas nothing, if you enjoy it with milk or milk-based tea cakes, cookies, etc. to eat. Also, the antioxidants in cocoa hardly benefit more if it is milk chocolate. The situation is similar when fruits are eaten with yogurt or cottage cheese or milk shakes, if cereal is eaten with milk, if given a yogurt dressing salads, vegetables, fresh cream poured over when or if vegetables are baked with cheese.
    Fresh and processed more gently
    So if you want to benefit from the protective effects of antioxidants, then dairy products should not be consumed together with those foods on the antioxidant capacities you value. Apart from that, the amount of antioxidants present in foods and their bioavailability to a greater extent, the longer the food is stored, the more it is processed, the higher it is heated and the longer it is exposed to oxygen. Not least is the impact of weather conditions, soil conditions, variety selection and cultivation methods on the antioxidant content of the corresponding food.
    Better Bio
    Fruits and vegetables, for example, are regularly treated with pesticides and fungicides are less antioxidants than fruits and vegetables organically grown. The latter must eventually set themselves against fungi, bacteria or insects and make defense against these threats, antioxidants, plants must be sprayed while hardly active in this regard, failing which the entire work is detached from the chemicals.
    Antioxidants are sitting in the shell
    Often, the antioxidants found in or immediately under the skin of a fruit or a vegetable. So if we peel each cucumber, eggplant every, every apple, etc. always neatly, so we throw the bowl and valuable antioxidants in the compost. (Sprayed fruits and vegetables from conventional crops should be peeled, but better.)

Conclusion: Will you benefit from the antioxidants in your daily diet as possible, then the following
Antioxidant consumption rules:

    Milk consumption does not reduce or eat dairy products together with antioxidant-rich foods
    Get fresh food as possible from the farm and freshly prepared
    Food must be stored only briefly
    Food processing as little as possible and only gentle heat
    Food does not cut or crushed leave
    Buy food as possible from organic production
    Fruits and vegetables (if organic) food as possible with the shell

The antioxidant-rich diet - practical tips

How could you make your diet rich in antioxidants or those of your clients?

    Prepare cereal instead of cow's milk with almond milk (recipe can be found here)
    Enjoy fruit instead of cheese or fruit yogurt with fruit yogurt prefer almond milk or rice milk.
    Access to the old apple varieties. Select lie Goldparmäne example, Brettacher, Alcmene, rennet, etc. and let apples like Granny Smith or Golden Delicious.
    They prefer fruits from the above list, so instead of oranges grapefruits, strawberries, currants instead, goji berries instead of raisins, etc.
    Make vegetables to your staple food and heat this as gently as possible.
    Access to natural nuts, sunflower seeds or hemp instead of traditional snacks.
    Learn about green smoothies! (More information can be found here)
    Drink (add a pinch of turmeric in warm (not hot) water) Zistrosentee, Kurkumatee, Süßholztee and ginger tea. Ginger can also be mixed into smoothies or green spice rubbed Asian vegetable dishes.
    Spice up your vegetable dishes with a mixture of turmeric and pepper.
    Do you prefer green food! In addition to green leafy vegetables, green salads and smoothies are very good drinks made from barley grass, wheat grass, etc. are

With all these foods and tips to take naturally to not only antioxidants, but also those substances that can specifically inhibit tumor spread and metastasis, substances that are toxic to cancer cells, substances that can reduce inflammation, substances that prevent blood clotting can, substances that have antibacterial, etc., etc. It is therefore a holistic diet, can accomplish the Great, which prevents, protects and heals.

Causes of Cystitis

2011-08-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

Cystitis
Usually a bladder infection begins with a burning sensation during urination and frequent urge to go to the toilet. A bladder infection is very unpleasant and painful. Luckily, you can do something about it. Mostly women are affected by bladder: One in two women suffer at least one time in my life at the so-called cystitis. But men can be affected by a bladder infection.

Causes of Cystitis

"The causes may be different," says Dr. Ulrike Hohenfellner, specialist in urology. "Usually, a bladder infection is caused by intestinal bacteria." The so-called Escherichia coli bacteria may belong to the normal human intestinal flora, but are responsible for 80 percent of all bacterial infections of the urinary bladder. There are also other pathogens: Staphylococci, Proteus mirabilis, or fungi such as yeast fungus Candida albicans. In rare cases, can also irritate the bladder, viruses or parasites. "Often, it is also for bladder infection when the immune system is attacked, for example too much stress," explains Hohenfellner. "Does a patient with hormone deficiency, also fueled the cystitis." It makes women so often because they have a much shorter urethra than men. It has struck sits near the anus. The result, bacteria from this region can easily be dragged into the urethra, because of the short path to ascend to the bladder, where it can easily cause an infection.

Sexually active women often suffer the way to a bacterial bladder infection. Reason is that it can come during intercourse to a contact infection. Also during pregnancy increases the risk of infection. The reason is that the hormonal changes: The urinary system-wide, and germs can easily penetrate into the urethra. Is different for men: you get before the 50th Age rather rare bacterial urinary tract infections. Unfortunately, this will change with age, as many men suffer from prostate enlargement. This narrows the urethra and the urine flow worse. May accumulate pathogens in bladder and urethra.

Symptoms of a bladder infection

If the urine is burning and stinging at the same time you have pain, are the first symptoms of a bladder infection. Interested parties have the feeling that your bladder is constantly full. If the urine is still clouded to smell different, or even contains blood, advises Hohenfellner: "Then go absolutely to the doctor," Using a Harnstreifentests the urine is examined for white blood cells (leukocytes), they are increased, this may indicate an inflammation . Will also be tested for nitrite, a metabolic product of bacteria. It indicates that there are germs in the urinary tract. Especially for pregnant women should take seriously a bladder infection: untreated, it can lead to premature birth or miscarriage. Go to the doctor for safety's sake, if you notice any of these signs of a bladder infection:

Burning during urination
Constant urge to urinate small amounts of urine with
Cramping pain

Do you have frequent urinary tract infections, an ultrasound examination of the urinary tract is useful. It can be observed anatomical changes in kidney and urinary tract. The correct specialist for the urologist is - for both men and women. He can tell if the prostate is enlarged, if it changes or stones in the bladder and whether the kidneys are also inflamed. "Against a bacterial bladder infection antibiotics are most helpful," said Hohenfellner. "Beneficial are also warm, moist compresses or sitz baths in the bladder area. They relax the bladder muscles and relieve the pain. "The best thing is, of course, only to get no bladder infection.
Preventing cystitis

Fortunately there are ways to prevent bladder infections: It is advisable to wear cotton underwear and wash them at least 60 degrees Celsius. This kills most germs. In addition, you should always wipe the toilet from front to rear and forgo intimate lotions because they can weaken the natural acid mantle of the skin, as well as panty liners, because it can breed bacteria. Thus the kidney area is not cold, in winter you should wear a vest or wool vest. And make absolutely sure that you do not get cold feet. So bear in the house always warm slippers and heavy boots outside. It is important to empty the bladder as frequently as possible. Drink plenty of fluids, preferably on day two liters of water or tea. So the seeds are rinsed out quickly. Are well suited Bladder and Kidney. These teas contain, among other things, bearberry leaves, which have an antibacterial effect. Preparations are also advisable with cranberry extract. The ingredients that prevent bacteria from forming a biofilm, they found no support to the bladder wall and are flushed out in urine. Warm socks and a hot water bottle to help relieve the symptoms of a bladder infection.

Do not skimp on insurance

2011-07-25T03:05:00.000-07:00

Do not skimp on insurance
Wen, an accident or a virus counts out the vacation that is out of luck. Who has to pay the resulting bill itself must, which was stupid. Because even for just 18 euros, the equivalent of a McDonald's visit, a family can quite afford one year of additional health insurance, which assumes such costs.

How the mighty can fail to appreciate, many: Four hundred euros for a folded-over foot in Spain, 1000 U.S. dollars per day in hospital, 75 000 € € on one ambulance flight from Thailand to Germany.
Costs for medications, Klink and repatriation.

Members of the public health insurance (SHI) are insured within the EU, but only to the force there for the local conditions. The disease can have on small putative be well below the power spectrum of a German fund. German are spoiled by our health care system that's most just do not know.

Foreign travel medical insurance usually cover the costs - necessary - Treatments, medications. Hospital stays and return transports. Nevertheless, the issues or parts of it are often stretched. It is therefore advisable to have set the limit of their own credit card in doubt, the card company later.
Current Ranking

The Stiftung Warentest has taken until March for the latest offers and their small print under the microscope. The result: Seven offers were rated "very good", 24 sections of "good" - including the ADAC, which is widespread in Germany. Importantly, just complete the tested rate, not of any party - whose bids may differ in important points. More on that later.

Medical self-diagnostic kits

2011-07-06T01:34:00.001-07:00

More and more Canadians are using self-test medical kits to monitor their health. Considered medical devices, these kits can provide benefits, but they can also be risky.
Context

Technological advances, Canadians can make their own tests to include:

* Diagnose a physical condition: the home pregnancy test is a good example;
* Monitor disease: this type of test used to monitor various health and whether treatment should be rectified, for example, the blood glucose test allows people with diabetes monitor their blood sugar;
* Identify a disease or health problem: these kits can detect various health problems or illnesses in people who appear healthy. For example, one can use this type of test to measure cholesterol or triglyceride. The results can then make choices that reduce the risk of heart disease.

Couple looking at the results of a pregnancy test

Some benefits of medical self-diagnosis kits are obvious. They can help you to play an active role in monitoring or improving your health. They are in the privacy of your home. Often they can get quick results, even in minutes.

However, health and disease are complex issues. It is important to remember that medical self-diagnosis kit is no substitute for a health care professional. The self-test medical kits are useful when used as part of an integrated treatment under the supervision of a healthcare professional.
Safety and effectiveness of medical self-diagnostic kits

The kits are self-diagnostic medical devices and, as such, must be approved by Health Canada before being offered in Canada. The approval from Health Canada ensures that the product is safe and effective when used as directed. It is important to ensure that Health Canada has approved the product. See More ... for information on how to proceed.
Risks associated with self-test medical kits

Some companies market and sell self-test medical kits on the Internet or by mail. In some cases, it is possible that the product offered is not registered in Canada. If you send money to a company that is not trustworthy, you may receive a faulty product or receive nothing. A defective test may indicate a health problem does not exist or, worse, it could fail to detect an existing problem.

Pharmacists taking drugs

Legitimate companies use legal channels to distribute their products. It is likely that a kit unapproved (whether purchased from a foreign or domestic) is not in conformity with Canadian safety and effectiveness.

While the kit is approved by Health Canada, the results may not be 100% accurate. The results can be misleading if the user did not follow the storage instructions and use. Sometimes, for reasons of economy, people cut in two test strips in order to double the time or they combine some parts from different kits. If you alter the contents of a package, it is possible that the results are erroneous.

Also, if you do not see a qualified health care professional, you may misinterpret the results and change your treatment or lifestyle without good reason. Interpretation of results should always be part of a complete medical check.
Reducing risks

The following steps will help you reduce the risks associated with self-diagnostic kits:

Remember that medical self-diagnosis kit can replace a qualified health. It is best to use these tests as part of an integrated approach to health, under the supervision of a qualified health care.

With the purchase of a kit:

* Buy the kit from a reliable source. If you are unsure, ask a health professional.
* Make sure the product is approved by Health Canada (see Further information below). Remember, if you use a kit unapproved, it is possible that the test is not reliable because it is not subject to Canadian standards.
* Check for an expiration date on the package.

Be sure to read and follow the storage instructions, otherwise the result may be wrong.

Before using the test:

* Read the label and instructions carefully. ¬ Make sure you understand what you need to do and follow the instructions exactly.
* Make sure you know the limitations of the test, the meaning of warnings and error messages. Make sure you know what if it fails.

After the test:

Label of a bottle of pills

* Remember that the results are not 100% accurate. They should always be assessed in the context of your overall health, along with a qualified health professional.
* Do not take any decision and do not make radical changes to your treatment before you talk with your healthcare professional.
* Consult your doctor if you feel ill or worried, or if the test instructions recommend.
* Report any problem with a self-test medical kits to medical devices Inspectorate of Health Canada, 1 800 267-9675 (toll free in Canada). Health Canada monitors reported problems, your call will help ensure that medical devices sold in Canada are safe and effective.

Health Canada's Role

Medical devices, including medical self-diagnostic tests, must be approved by Health Canada before being imported and sold in Canada. The Medical Devices Regulations require that all medical devices imported and sold in Canada are safe, effective and manufactured to quality standards. This requires an appraisal of medical devices (before approval) and a post-marketing surveillance of adverse events (after approval).
For more information ...

You can report a problem with medical device at the site of the Branch Inspectorate Health Products and Food

For more information, visit the following web pages:

* Medical
* To find out if a medical test Class II, III or IV is approved by Health Canada, search the database of the Ministry medical intruments. If the instrument you are looking for is not on the list, check if a similar instrument was approved by typing the generic name (eg blood pressure) in the name field of the instrument. If there are similar instruments approved, the approval requirement also applies to the one you are looking for. You can also send questions by email at homologation_instruments@hc-sc.gc.ca or by fax at 613 957-6345
* Notice, warnings and recalls for medical devices
* Your Health - Purchase of medical equipment on the Internet
* Problem Reporting for Medical Devices by health facilities, the medical professionals and other users
* Your Health, drug list

Acne treatment with alternative medicine

2011-06-02T03:55:00.000-07:00

Experts disagree as to the subject of acne. It is believed that acne can be viewed as a reaction to an overdose of carbohydrates and sugar. The basis for this assertion lies in the fact that acne is a disease that occurs mainly in the western world. The experts, representing those views, but is also clear that the reasons for the outbreak of acne to seek in life and to find are. Thus, collectively, to appoint as reasons for the occurrence of acne by poor diet and a wrong way of life.

In the alternative medicine treatments for acne are called differently. In this area, has now built up a large collection of literature. The main clause of the literature is in any case, that means a balanced, low calorie and vegetarian diet and the acne will get cured in the handle can.

As part of the comprehensive approach concept of alternative medicine, in addition to the changes in diet and prescribed from time to psychological treatment or some kind of motivation techniques for dealing with acne and its effect on the patients and their environment.
To return to the current methods of alternative medicine back when it comes to the appearance of acne, the sole recommendation of the diet from the perspective of alternative medicine is regarded as insufficient. There are methods that are similar to the methods of traditional medicine and go beyond national frontiers in the field of traditional medicine. These treatment methods are recognized by doctors as viable methods.

Let us have a closer look at the toss, what alternative medicine has to offer: It is clear that this medicine in the first place calls that the body is seen together with his psyche and analyzed, so that treatment can be extremely that the human organism can be holistically healthy again. This is possible, also be effected by treatments that cure in its effect from within. Thus, a carefully employed, fed vitamin eliminate the slow digestion. In addition, it is to maintain a suitable and agreed timetable. All of these actions for the sufferers are part of the treatment. In addition to the diet remedies are prescribed based on plants.
The hype and the aura surrounding alternative medicine, form a new dimension. Some politicians have worried faces in this regard. There is a new development in the market of medicine where doctors and patients are now seen as customers. This means that doctors are nothing more than to sellers. The truth is that companies have no interest in the pharmaceutical industry studies on preventive measures. These companies would be bankrupt sooner or later when you can have the job and dissemination of preventive advice their customers not by their medical products healthy because fewer are sick. What is sold by the alternative medicine is ultimately not only the plant-based medications, but also a lifestyle that usually leads to long-term recovery.

Osteoporosis Low Mineral Smoking

2011-05-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Osteoporosis
Definition: go beyond the normal level of bone fragility caused by a reduction in bone mass and destruction of the bone structure. This can break the so damaged bone at the slightest stress or simple falls.
Frequency: According to WHO, one of the 10 most common diseases. It suffer now about 40% of women and 13% of men over 50 years of osteoporosis-related bone fracture. As life expectancy increases, more and more, the incidence of osteoporosis-related fractures in the future will continue to increase significantly.
Formation: The bone is living tissue and is in a constant steady state (continuous assembly and disassembly process). this balance is disturbed, the degraded bone can not be completely replaced. This is lost bone mass.
Causes: Chronic hereditary. Diseases such as for example Overactive parathyroid gland, diabetes mellitus, type 1, chronic hyperthyroidism. inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid diseases, cortisone, kidney damage, underweight (body mass index under 20, see DXA whole-body BMD), calcium and vitamin D deficiency (see Ernähungstherapie), smoking, alcoholism, lack of sex hormones, physical activity (see DAVID therapy), gravity (see vibration therapy)
Prevention: adequate supply of calcium (1000-1500 mg / day) and vitamin D (daily outdoor exercise, Vit D-containing foods), avoidance of smoking and lower weight, regular physical activity, hormone therapy in menopause.

High levels of risk factors that can be seen in combination with a bone density test is particularly hazardous even in bone-healthy lifestyle:
- Body size decrease> 4cm
- Suddenly and lasting for weeks and frequently recurring back pain
- Bone fracture in lower violence after 50th Age
- Falls in the last year without any external forces (> 2x in 6 months)
- Body Mass Index (BMI) <20 - Unintentional weight loss in recent years,> 10%

Diagnosis:

Doctor-patient interview (family history, pain, fractures, risk factors)
Clinical examination (height, weight, hunched back, muscle tension Hart, disabilities, fall hazard)
WS-X: in V.a. Vertebral fractures, if size decrease> 4cm, back pain
Bone density measurement:
As the gold standard DXA measurements at the lumbar spine and / or hip is recommended. Thus, the bone mineral content by X-ray technology at a very low radiation dose is determined.
Ultrasound measurements of bone collect certain aspects of bone quality, namely, the physical strength, which determine the bone mass independently of the breaking strength of the bone.
We use in our practice, both a whole-body DXA equipment from the Lunar Company (GE) and a Sahara ultrasound device made by Hologic.
Is not a DXA scan in patients with hip replacements and severe degenerative changes in the Lendnwirbelsäule feasible, we direct the patient to a Qantitativen computed tomography (QCT) on.
Tests to bone metabolism can be seen with increased bone fracture risk, in addition to exclude secondary osteoporosis (see chronic diseases among causes of the above)

- Normal bone

- Osteopenia (bone poverty, precursor)

- Osteoporosis (bone loss)

Therapy:
Is described according to the guidelines osteopenia or osteoporosis, consequently it significantly increased bone fracture risk and should therefore consider the above mentioned preventive measures are observed.
A single treatment with calcium and vitamin D is sufficient in most cases for the treatment of osteoporosis is not present. In addition other drugs to prevent fractures are required.
Osteoporosis Treatment is a long-term therapy, which should normally be made over several years.
According to the latest findings are wissenschtlichen bisphosphonates and SERMs (selective estrogen receptor modulators) in the best proven their effectiveness and therefore in the osteological treatment of first choice. Both groups of compounds inhibit the bone resorbing cells (osteoclasts) and thus bone resorption.

- Bisphosphonates:
e.g. Alendronate (Fosamax) and risedronate (Actonel)
For both preparations is shown that they can reduce vertebral and hip fractures and other bone fractures in women after the menopause. Both products are available as tablets in a daily and a once weekly dosage form. In men with osteoporosis is alendronate (Fosamax) are admitted.
When taking medication, note the following: alendronate actonel and should be at least 30 minutes before breakfast with 200 ml of tap water taken in the upright posture. Then you should not lie down again and make any other beverage, food or drugs. Side effects of bisphosphonates can be gastrointestinal intolerance and esophageal inflammation (with correct medication, but very rarely).
- SERMs (selective estrogen receptor modulators)
e.g. Raloxifene (Evista)

Ulnar fracture - Ulna

2011-05-18T06:49:00.001-07:00

Ulnar fracture

Affected regions of the Ulnarisrinnen syndrome

The Ulnarisrinnensyndrom is an entrapment of the ulnar nerve at the elbow.
Contents

* 1 ulnar nerve
* 2 causes
* 3 symptoms
* 4 treatments
* 5 Weblinks

Ulnar nerve

The ulnar nerve is located in the elbow. He can even locate by touch easily, since it is relatively unprotected under the skin on contact and a weak electrical pulse in the hand sent, which is manifested by tingling. Thus, this region is also in light bumping very sensitive to pain, what it the name funny bone Given.
Causes

As the nerve is exposed, the more easily prone to injury or strangulation. By frequently repeated movements or continuous exposure, it can happen that the nerve is stimulated to such an extent that he is permanently trapped between the tissues.
Symptoms

The entrapment makes itself by numbness in his little finger, the outer side of the ring finger and the adjacent palm area of the arm felt. Consequence can be a muscle in that hand. If after some time this muscle that is necessary for the spreading of the fingers, completely paralyzed and transmits the nerve signals, no more, this leads to a partial loss of movement of the hands. Above all, it is impossible to stretch out a then the finger of the complete (or claw-claw hand).
Treatment options

A diagnosis, a neurologist for the most part already do because of the symptom description, but clinical studies, such as the measurement of nerve conduction are essential.

The syndrome is still at an early stage, you can try with cushions or splinting the strangulation by a discharge of the elbow to reverse. A physio therapeutic treatment is indicated. Does the syndrome but in some time, passes in an operation no way. In the range of the elbow is removed unimportant tissue, causing the nerve again more freedom of movement is replaced. convert any alternative, except in acute cases is now no longer made method, the nerve from its original path of travel to a different, less stressful path.

Both surgical techniques are primarily designed to stop the further course of the syndrome, which is 90% of cases. But the chances of recovery of the nerve are good. The acute symptoms, such as for example an unpleasant tingling in the hand can be decreased rapidly, severe sensory limitations can disappear depending on the seriousness of strangulation after a year, and one can proceed as a rule of thumb assumes that the nerve regenerated in a month by 3-4 cm.

Calcium strengthens bones

2011-05-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

Order in childhood build strong bones and keep them for life, the body requires an adequate supply of calcium. Studies show that many people take too little calcium in order to ensure the sustainability of the bone.
Food
A sufficient (re-) supplying the body with calcium is important for bone and thus the basis of every treatment of osteoporosis. Besides helping in osteoporosis therapy are the calcium, but further, vital functions for the human body: Because calcium makes up together with phosphate the major component of bones and teeth, is a sufficient supply of the body with calcium, essential for dental health.

Calcium is also involved in blood clotting and plays a central role in the functioning of the immune system: It controls enzyme reactions in the maintenance of the acid-base equilibrium involved and regulates the transmission of impulses from nerves to muscles and hormones to corresponding regions of the body. Calcium is therefore suitable for the function of the muscles as well as "nerves" of great importance.
How much calcium your body needs varies depending on age and health. Recommendations assume that healthy adults (men and women) to 1,000 mg of calcium a day should eat. This is equivalent to 800 ml of milk. Pregnant women need 1200-1500 mg of calcium per day, post-menopausal women also 1,500 mg daily.
Calcium content in foods
A balanced diet can ensure adequate supply of calcium. Therefore, it is important to know the calcium content to approximately individual foods.

Malaria

2011-05-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

Malaria (from Italian mala aria or mal'aria "bad air" rising especially from the swamps) - also called swamp fever or ague - is not specifically notifiable tropical disease that is of single-celled parasites of the genus Plasmodium caused. The disease is now mainly transmitted in the tropics and subtropics by the bite of a female mosquito (mosquito) of the genus Anopheles. Outside these areas, come away by air travelers entrained mosquitoes, the so-called "airport malaria" from. In this case, all persons in the immediate vicinity of airports are at risk, such as airport staff or residents. Except for a transfer by blood transfusion, laboratory accidents and human-to-human transmission is possible only occasionally from mother to unborn child when the placenta is injured (especially during the birth). Man and Anopheles mosquitoes are the only significant reservoir of human pathogenic pathogen Plasmodium dar.

Previously, only four agents as human pathogens: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malariae. Recent research results indicate, however, that another strain, which previously was considered primarily as for monkeys dangerous, and in greater numbers than previously thought to infect humans can: Plasmodium knowlesi [1] In terms of their disease history and geographical distribution, they differ significantly. Plasmodium falciparum is clinically significant and most threatening pathogens.

The symptoms of malaria are high, recurring to periodic fever, chills, discomfort of the gastrointestinal tract and cramps. Especially in children, the disease can rapidly lead to coma and death.

When hormones go haywire

2011-05-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

Only for women
When hormones go haywire ...

Physical discomfort, migraines, headaches, irritability, depression, mood lability, and other physical and psychological symptoms are often hormonal. Menopausal depression and thyroid disease are often associated with severe emotional crises. We want to bring these pages a little light on the hormonal and clarify the thinking. To give you an idea of how terrible fate of the hormone may be, we would like only the elite selection of over 150 ways to present with symptoms. Not that you could choose which one would rather not, we will have to sent by the one symptom to another. The range of variation here sine the limit.

PMS (premenstrual syndrome)

Occurs generally 1-2 weeks before period bleeding. There are rare cases where these symptoms can begin immediately but even after the period. Here we speak of a general lack of progesterone. In all cases of PMS is imperative that a hormonal status are made. That you can check with us in practice.

Estrogen dominance (too much estrogen)

Usually occurs years before the so-called menopause on. Since the body produces fewer ovulations the body is missing thus the balance hormone progesterone. In this case, the whole cycle there is a so-called estrogen or estrogen dominance overlay.

Signs of estrogen dominance:

*

Water retention, edema
* Painful swelling of the breasts
* PMS
* Mood to depression relapses to
* Reduced sexual interest
* Uterine fibroids
* Strong candy hunger
* Weight gain by padding on hips and thighs
* Headache and Migraine
* Mental sensitivity
* Depression

Progesterone deficiency

The forgotten hormone progesterone. In contrast to various estrogens in the body, there is only one progesterone. No ovulation takes place, the female body is not enough progesterone (progesterone) is available. Progesterone but has a very important task, it keeps the estrogen in check and thus inhibits the estrogen dominance.

Effect of progesterone:

*

Producing the hormonal balance
* Progesterone protects against the undesirable estrogen side effects
* Protects against cysts in the breast
* Helps to convert fat into energy
* Natural promote water excretion
* Natural remedy for depression
* Promotes the use of thyroid hormones
* Metabolic inertia improves
* Normalizes blood clotting
* Normalizes zinc and copper household
* Make normal oxygen levels
* Prevents Cervical Cancer
* Protects against breast cancer
* Protection against osteoporosis
* Relief from allergies
* Raise the mood
* You just feel good

Possible physical symptoms of hormonal crises: (PM = progesterone deficiency)

* Headache and migraine (PM)
* Dizziness (PM)
* Amblyopia (PM)
* Conjunctivitis
* Sensitivity
* Tinnitus
* Hair loss (PM)
* Thyroid problems (PM)
* Allergies (PM)
* Acne, pimples, boils
* Palpitations, arrhythmias
* Difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath (PM)
* Masthopathie (swelling of the breast) (PM)
* Nausea, vomiting (PM)
* Circulation problems of all kinds (PM)
* Swelling of the limb (PM)
* Water retention of the hip, thigh, abdomen (PM)
* Rapid weight gain (PM)
* Shaky hands
* Flatulence (PM)
* Bleeding between periods (PM)

PM = means that the symptoms are more pronounced among progesterone deficiency. These symptoms can also be associated with other hormonal crises. Therefore provide more blood tests and no self-diagnosis.

Possible psychological symptoms of hormonal crises:

*

Depression
* Impaired concentration, ineffective way of working
* Focusing screen, long line, front head board
* Forgetfulness, memory impairment, suspected Alzheimer's or dementia
* Clumsiness, clumsiness
* Indecision
* Poor decision-making and discernment
* Confusion and orientation problems
* Tendency to tears and outbursts of weeping (without reason)
* Extreme mood
* Angry outbursts, unexpected shouting, verbal abuse
* Aggression (including the extreme violence)
* Jealousy, mistrust
* Nervousness and anxiety
* Insomnia
* Phobias, fears of specific animals, environment, tightness, etc.
* Anxiety, panic attacks, fear of life, death fears
* Aversion to community and social events (parties, celebrations, community)

Osteoporose Bones need vitamin D

2011-05-11T05:26:00.000-07:00

Every other osteoporosis patient is undersupplied with vitamin D.
Regardless of age and no matter whether they live in little sun or sun-rich areas: About 50 percent of all patients with osteoporosis have too little vitamin D.

The vitamin, which can form the body by using sunlight itself has central importance for bone metabolism. Only if adequate vitamin D is present (the daily requirement varies from two to ten micrograms) of calcium can be optimally absorbed by the intestines and then incorporated into the bone. Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D can be found only in some foods, such as in fish, butter, egg yolks and mushrooms.

Vitamin deficiency of independent lifestyle

Vitamin D deficiency in many women noted a recent study of over 1500 people who have been treated with medication for osteoporosis. About half were provided with insufficient vitamin D. The study presented their authors at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Two other smaller studies found a similar result. Example, a study of 78 women had bone fractures at the Hospital of Minnesota, was that the vitamin D levels in almost all patients (97 percent) that recommended.

Recommendation: In addition to swallow vitamin D

A study of 252 women in mind in turn, shows that increased sun exposure is not protect against vitamin D deficiency: Even in sunny areas such as southern California is a large part of osteoporotic patients under vitamin D supply. Regardless of age and ethnicity also more than half of all women (53 percent) were affected.

The studies show that patients with osteoporosis should definitely take vitamin D supplementation to improve their bone metabolism. For this, a supply of daily 400 to 800 IU (10 to 20 micrograms) vitamin D recommended.

Ten foods for strong bones

2011-05-09T09:03:00.001-07:00

"Drinking milk, so you can get strong bones", is a nutritional wisdom that have yet to hear many more children from their mothers. It has long been proven that not only affect calcium absorption, but many different factors, bone density and thus protect against osteoporosis, ie bone loss in old age. This mainly includes regular exercise, adequate sunlight and various vitamins and minerals. We give you ten foods that make your bones strong:

Movement creates strong bones

Our skeleton is made mostly of calcium. Here are the bones of his dead tissue, bone, the rest of your life up and degraded. How hard are the pillars of our body depends on several factors. So regular exercise is considered the most important measure for preventing bone loss. The reason: The loads stimulate bone metabolism.

Dairy products and green vegetables as sources of calcium

In the case of food calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K as the most important nutrients for bone metabolism. Only those who at a young age to take enough calcium can build strong bones. "Dairy products, especially cheese, are excellent sources of calcium," says nutritionist Dr. Gisela Olias by the German Institute of Food Research (DIfE) in Potsdam-Rehbrücke.

Liquid milk and yogurt to influence bone density

According to a recent study to increase milk products in childhood, bone density, so that we as adults have benefited from it. Pediatricians advise small milk supplements such as liquid milk or yogurt. "This diet, however, should prevail during childhood in order to really achieve a long-term effect. A few years are not enough there," says the children and young physician Dr. Monika Niehaus. But also bring bottled water with more than 150 mg of calcium per liter, green vegetables like kale and spinach and nuts and sesame seeds rich in calcium to the plate. Calcium supplements in pill form however, seem hardly to strengthen the bones, was recently an Australian study.

Sunlight strengthens bones

"Vitamin D plays for the absorption of calcium in the bones play an important role," says nutritionist Olias. Since vitamin D is formed by sunlight in the skin, it is enough, according to the expert to go in the summer half an hour a day on the air in the winter about one hour. Elderly people or those who have no opportunity to do should take vitamin D through food. The best suppliers for this are fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel or tuna and chicken eggs. Infants and the elderly are often prescribed vitamin D supplements.

Salt and caffeine as a calcium robbers

While vitamins D and K promote the absorption of calcium in the bones, can slow the absorption of certain dietary fibers, salt or caffeine on bone structure. Spice up your food at best only sparingly with salt and instead use plenty of herbs. Black tea and coffee contain several ingredients that slow down the bone structure and therefore should be eaten sparingly.

Ginkgo - Herbal Medicines with amazing effect

2011-05-06T06:57:00.001-07:00

Ginkgo - Herbal Medicines with amazing effect
Some hearing by signs at an early stage and prevent, is not as easy as it might think. The causes of sudden hearing loss are unexplained to this day and the body is sent just before the actual hearing loss warning signs. One speculation is that a lack of blood flow provides the inner ear that the hair cells that are responsible for listening, not adequately supplied with oxygen and nutrients and therefore do not send, inaccurate or corrupted information to the brain. The symptoms of hearing loss is mainly the partial or complete hearing loss, who can log a short time before by a tinnitus or a feeling of pressure in the ear. In some cases, also occurs after the sudden loss of hearing or tinnitus, also causes dizziness, headaches, and the so-called Doppeltonhören in which one ear perceives a sound different than the other.

Because it can happen even without treatment for a cure for sudden hearing loss, most treatment options are still very controversial, but treatment is the solution to the problem of lack of blood flow to the inner ear. But Ginkgo promotes not only the transport of nutrients and oxygen to the cells, but also protects existing neurons from degradation and strengthens them. The Ginkgo application is relatively simple because the ginkgo extract in tablet or drop form is available. These are available in any pharmacy without a prescription and should be taken over a period of eight weeks. Those who are not sure about the dosage or efficacy of Ginkgo is who can talk with others interested in Docjones about side effects and success stories, and thereby find the right medication with the proper concentration of Ginkgo extracts.

The Femidom

2011-05-05T07:47:00.001-07:00

The Femidom
The female condom female condoms is also known in Germany is not on the market. However, it can be ordered under different names in the pharmacy.

The Femidom is as regular condoms too, without a prescription.

The action / Application:

The female condoms made of plastic and has flexible rings at both ends of casing. One ring protects the cervix from where he lies like a diaphragm between pubic bone and the posterior vaginal vault.

The second ring is located on the labia majora so that it can not slip into the vagina. Through this office produces a tube that prevents the semen enters the cervix into the uterus.

The female condoms should be accessible from inside and outside coated with lubricant.

Safety:

The Femidom is used correctly as safe as the condom for the man advantages: The contraceptive provides protection against sexually transmitted diseases and allows the woman to protect herself, even though a man use a condom.

The Femidom may already be in place before intercourse and is the only contraceptive the next one condom protection against infection.

Disadvantages:

The use of female condoms is proving extremely difficult. The placement of the rings is extremely inconvenient for many women. Like the male condom, the female condoms for single use is appropriate.

The acquisition often turns out to be very expensive and the costs are rather high. These are reasons why it has not been widespread in Germany.

The condom

2011-05-05T07:46:00.001-07:00

The condom is probably the oldest contraceptive on the market. Already, before taking the pill and the coil was applied most often the condom as a contraceptive. Today, the condom is in second place, because it primarily offers protection against HIV infection.

The condom is next to the female condoms, the only contraceptive that protects in addition to unwanted pregnancy and from infection by sexually transmitted diseases.

For those who have sex with should have new or multiple partners, the condom be used in addition to reducing the risk of infection and to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy.

The action / Application:

The use of a condom is simple and easy to understand. A condom, the penis must be rigid so that the closed-end "rubber hose" can be rolled. The semen is collected in the reservoir and can not get into the woman's vagina.

By the condom, the penis does not come into direct contact with the vagina and fertilization can be excluded if used correctly. In addition, the condom prevents transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

Safety:

The safety of the condom is dependent on the correct handling. This should be used before the first practice in any case, as this can quickly lead to errors. If the condom is used correctly it is very safe.

Should it happen, that slip off the condom, the woman should immediately go to their gynecologist to determine whether fertilization may have taken place.

Application Error:

* The condom will be damaged when the package is opened by scissors or fingernails.

* The condom is pulled on too strong, rather than rolled

* The condom is placed upside down and then used again

* The condom is put on without pressing out the air

* The condom slipped off during withdrawal of the penis from the vagina

* Concomitant use with grease or oily substances to improve the lubricity

Notes:

* Use only approved branded products with a seal of

* Check the expiry date

* In the holiday pack condoms always sufficient, as is the quality in other countries does not necessarily equal

Condoms never exposed to the sun

* Do not store where it could be damaged

* Never use condoms more than once

Advantages:

The advantage of the condom is the dual protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The application is easy and the condom is available without prescription.

In addition, there are no side effects since it does not interfere with the body. Rarely, it may cause allergies to latex. But even here there are condoms in pharmacies that are latex free.

A major advantage of women's perspective is that men can actively participate in prevention.

Disadvantages:

Many are embarrassed with a new partner on the use of a condom to speak. Who tends to forget the prevention of sex, why should prevent rather different. And everyone should remember that there is no proof of love to give up a protection against infection.

The mini pill

2011-05-05T07:45:00.001-07:00

The action / Application:

The special feature of the mini-pill is that it only contains the hormone progestin. By this hormone, the endometrium is inadequately developed and solidified the mucus in the cervix. Ovulation is inhibited in many women by the mini-pill.

There is a drug that inhibits ovulation completely. This mini pill containing the progestin desogestrel.

The mini pill must be taken every day at the same time and not more than 2 hours to take too late. If the two hours exceeded the protection against pregnancy is no longer given already. By up to 12 hours, may delay taking in the above preparation with desogestrel. This is an exception!

Safety:

Since the mini-pill no triple effect as other types of pill has, ovulation is not prevented in general. For this reason, the safety of the mini-pill is not as great as with combination pills.

Advantages:

Since the mini-pill is a lower dose, therefore also occur less side effects than the combination pills. However, the reliability is lower because ovulation is not prevented in general.

Especially breast-feeding women the mini pill is recommended if they want to prevent hormonally. For normal combination pills inhibit the production of milk and the baby would react to large amounts of hormones through breast milk.

Disadvantages:

Through the mini pill are very often caused bleeding between periods and the cycle can be very irregular. For this reason, the mini pill is prescribed only rarely, eg estrogen intolerance.

Many women feel affected by the exact time of intake, because it belongs to a lot of discipline and respect in everyday life is difficult.

The pill

2011-05-05T07:20:00.001-07:00

The pill is still the safest contraceptive and is therefore most often used to prevent pregnancy. Especially for girls and young women is the pill that contraceptive of choice.

There are many different types of pill. Almost all contain two female hormones estrogen and progestin. There are only a pill - the mini-pill - which contains only progestin. Because of this property will be discussed later in this way more accurate.

Nowadays, the pill low hormone concentrations and other combinations. This is one reason that the side effects and side effects occur less often. Nevertheless, the pill, no matter which product, a drug and should not be taken without medical consultation and without hesitation.

The action / Application:

The pill has three different effects.

1. ovulation is prevented, by which the oocyte maturation is inhibited. The cycle thus consists only of infertile days and it can not come to a conception.
2. the mucus in the cervical canal is changing so much that no more sperm from entering the uterus
3. a fertilized egg can implant themselves no longer as only inadequate uterine lining is built.

The different preparations:
health articles
The different preparations vary in their composition and the nature of the income scale.

* Einphasenpillen: In this type of pill pills contain all the same amount of hormones estrogen and progestin. You take a pill daily for 21 days and then makes a seven-day break. In this phase, usually enters the menstrual period.

* Zwei-/Dreiphasenpillen: With these preparations, the hormone pills in the 1st and 2 Half of the cycle doses vary. Due to the different composition is trying to orient themselves as possible to the natural cycle. In this Pillenart is taking prescribed carefully and must be taken in strict order. Otherwise, the safety of the pill be affected.

Safety:

It is common for the pill from the very first day of the cycle to take. It prevents from the first day of use, and also in the one-week break, she protect. If you're planning a tablet has been forgotten, is still protected if the revenue will start within 12 hours. With frequent forgetfulness, the next seven days will be prevented in addition to a reliable protection is guaranteed.
health
Medications (eg antibiotics, laxatives, sedatives) may affect the action of the pill. Similarly, this applies to gastrointestinal problems. For these reasons also should be a week otherwise prevented.

When holidays or major shifts in time pending, the administration time should be discussed with the gynecologist.

Break a pill in which one looks to whether the natural cycle is still running today uncommon. This brings the hormonal balance is upset and just not necessary. After stopping the pill can occur without another pregnancy. However, this may take some women up to half a year, as set again until a natural rhythm, so that ovulation occurs.

Advantages:

Contraception with the pill is considered very safe and the handling is pretty simple. Especially for girls and young women who want to become pregnant in any case, the pill is the best method. The menstrual period usually occurs only weakly and is shorter than the natural circulation. It also has a positive effect on problem skin, and, according to scientific studies to protect against certain cancers.

The cost of the pill are up to the age of 20 Age by the statutory health insurance accepted. Even for women over 35 taking the pill is safe, provided they are healthy, do not smoke and take as low-dose preparations.

Disadvantages:

Like all drugs, there is also the pill a number of side effects and unwanted side effects. These include inter alia Nausea, weight gain, sexual pain, irregular bleeding, mood swings or feeling of tightness in the breasts. More serious risks e.g. with early and / or long pill. This increases the risk of breast cancer and also may also affect the heart and circulation have. For this reason, the pill will always be prescribed by a doctor.

In certain diseases of the liver, thrombosis or embolism after contraception is the pill out of the question. Individual needs to take in people with diabetes be tested. In addition, women who smoke the pill under any circumstances.

The pill is prescribed only after a thorough screening and semi-annual check up at the gynecologist must be observed.

Human senses

2011-05-03T08:36:00.001-07:00

Human senses

The man has many senses, which at different times and in very different situations sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously, are used.

The human skin is the largest sensory organ of the body. Through them we perceive different temperatures, feel pain and are able to recognize everyday objects by touch. Numerous sensory cells in the skin allow us to feel things and feel.

Millions of light-sensitive cells of the eye forward important information to the central brain and visual process where all the data. This allows us that we can see. For many people, seeing the most vital sense of the people and they would rather be deaf, as she had no sight.

Hearing is another sense of the people. About 30,000 hair cells found in human inner ear where the eardrum and work together, the three auditory ossicles anvil, hammer and stirrup and move the sound pressure coming from outside to inside. The only way we can hear.
human health articles
Even the smell is a sense of the people. Although it is not aware of us, man can distinguish up to 5,000 different odors and flavors.

Although the tongue has to be only about 50 taste buds, they can distinguish countless different flavors. Whether sweet, sour, salty or bitter-our sense of taste often leaves us in the lurch and with the sense of smell is even stronger.
human healths
We go up and people move us, we need a sense of balance. This is a tiny organ in the ear.
Dinleyin
Fonetik olarak okuyun

Pregnancy and Family Planning

2011-04-28T02:37:00.000-07:00

Sooner or later almost everyone is faced with the decision to look like the personal family planning. Especially with the advance of the emancipation and self-determination of women is a child no longer dependent solely on the physical conditions, but also by desires and lifestyles of the parents. Thanks to modern methods of contraception individual family planning is possible.

Pregnancy and Family Planning
But not only the prevention should be an important part of active family planning. Especially important is the right timing when trying to get pregnant. Also, partners should take pleasure in sex, because without this fun and engaging, was raised no more of a success.
Unfulfilled desire for children are not uncommon. Our own idea of parenthood and fertility falls rapidly from the concept here.

At the start of each family should therefore first be found to a natural body feeling. It is largely unknown, that a woman's egg only a maximum of 24 hours is capable of being fertilized. The sperm of the husband survive only up to three days in the uterus and fallopian tubes. The time window in which a woman can become pregnant, is limited therefore to two to five days a month.
Family Planning

The probability of becoming pregnant is greatest in the days around ovulation greatest. To determine this reliably, measures are used which are known as natural family planning. In a regular cycle can using the calendar method of ovulation, which takes place two weeks before the onset of bleeding can be determined. However, it is more reliable to determine ovulation using the temperature method. Also, hormone determinations in the urine are possible, but requires profound knowledge of medicine.
Pregnancy
If it still does not work out with the family planning, the reasons may be complex. Life change, stress and environmental factors affect fertility. Modern medicine has a number of treatments that make a desire to have children in most cases possible.

About Acne and Health

2011-04-26T04:40:00.001-07:00

Acne is a skin disease that can occur in various stages of life, but is usually perceived as a side effect during puberty. This form of acne called acne vulgaris, and as is most common in parts of the body with skin sebaceous glands such as the face, neck, chest or back. The severity of acne can vary widely, from barely perceived blackheads, known as comedones, to purulent, inflamed pustules and papules (acne papulopustulosa), which can also terminate in abscesses and fistulas. Such a severe form known as acne conglobata.

Acne vulgaris is created by the hormonal changes during puberty, with a corresponding increase in sebaceous glands and keratinization of the skin. It is genetically and occurs more often vordisponiert in men. Bacterial infections often happen, the worse the skin on. Worst forms of acne must be treated by a dermatologist, so no permanent skin changes such as scars. As therapy keratolytic substances called keratolytic, such as benzoyl peroxide or used (iso) tretinoin and in bacterial colonization and antibiotic therapy with erythromycin or clindamycin.

Another form of acne is the Acne Cosmetica, which occurs especially in women. Here is a triggering factor, excessive use of greasy cosmetics, which leads to blockage of the sebaceous glands. Usually ranges from a restriction of the cosmetic use to treat this acne. A similar form is the Acne venenata caused by skin contact with halogenated hydrocarbons (chloracne), or lubricating oils, tar and pitch (oil acne). Here again, contact with the triggering substances are avoided in order to allow healing.

Acne aestivalis is also known under the name of Mallorca acne. It occurs in UV-irradiation and concurrent application of sun creams and can cause a rash that should be treated by a dermatologist.

Symptoms of COPD (Epoc)

2010-07-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

After seeing this health blog which is the time, plays in a little in order to analyze the early stages of the disease. Thus we seek what are the symptoms of COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

There are times when the symptoms are very obvious, and can be seen very easily, while at other times barely visible, or do not appear.

Basically, the period is characterized by inflammation of the bronchi, so that symptoms arising therefrom pass through breathing difficulties, something that usually does the patient. This is compounded by the lack of breath or wheezing, as most characteristic symptoms.

Similarly we can add another symptom cough as, but a cough that is usually accompanied by mucus (called sputum) from the lungs.

This makes the feeling of fatigue is a constant and other symptoms of COPD. This feeling of fatigue is compounded even when the physical is not very pronounced, ie, for example, climbing stairs or walking a little faster than normal and can appear moments of fatigue and tiredness, which may be symptomatic insist, for Epoc.

Continuing with the problems caused by difficulty breathing, another symptom of COPD is difficulty sleeping, which is invaded because the patient suffering Epoc wakes breathless and sometimes coughing.

Finally, it should be noted that COPD is a chronic and progressive, so that the patient must be patient suffers and which is also poorly reversible. Take life more calmly is one of the few things you can do.

What’s Behind the New APA Conflict of Interest Code

2010-06-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

The APA today released its new code of conduct for working with the pharmaceutical industry. The principles and guidelines don’t provide a lot of specifics and reflect a lot of what the APA has already said it would do, focusing on transparency and the need to be clear about what is education and what is marketing.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the guidelines was the organization’s purpose in putting them out — not to eliminate a relationship with Big Pharma, but rather to develop a “collaborative relationship” with industry, APA immediate past president Alan Schatzberg, who convened the task force to develop the guidelines, tells the Health Blog. “It really is not in anyone’s best interest to shut out an industry voice.”

Schatzberg, also the chairman of the psychiatry department at Stanford University, has faced past criticism for his ties with drug makers.

James Scully, CEO of the APA, agrees. “We want a good relationship with the pharmaceutical industry,” he tells the Health Blog. “They have a role to play in developing new drugs.” The APA cares less about whether doctors accept pens from drug sales reps than about larger issues, Scully says. “What we wanted to clear about is that our educational programs were free of bias.”
( A article: Fiber in your Diet )
The American Psychiatric Association is a member of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, which recently announced its own code covering conflicts of interest, financial disclosure, independent program development and independent leadership. The APA wasn’t among the original 13 adopters of the code.

Special thanks: WSJ.com's Health

Obesity in the pregnancy

2010-06-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

An pregnant one to that one woman who begins her pregnancy with an excess of weight average of the 20% or for her ideal theoretical weight is considered more obese. In order to consider an obese pregnant woman it is taken as parameter an increase of more than 15 kilograms at the end of the gestation.

Being one of them the case, both have majors probabilities of undergoing complications during their pregnancy. For example:

a) It has seven times more possibilities of undergoing hypertension.
b) It has many more possibilities of undergoing hemorrhages in the childbirth.
c) It has more possibilities of undergoing edemas, swelling, etc.
d) It has more probabilities of suffering várices.
e) Work of prolonged childbirth (in a percentage of 25%).
f) Caesarean with complications (in a percentage of 33%).
g) Diabetes after the pregnancy in a percentage of until 40%.
h) Weight of new born more stop from the normal thing.

The control of weight of the pregnant woman with obesity problems must be under a strict medical checkup, since any deficiency or upheaval in the calories of the diet, can influence negatively in the baby and she herself. The pregnant woman does not have to lower of weight, but to increase between 9 and 11 kilograms.

In this sense, she must be indicated that a hypocaloric diet does not have to contain an amount inferior to the 1,600 daily calories, since otherwise an inadequate advantage of proteins of the diet would be determined, even though their contribution is greater of the habitual thing. During the lactancia, the same conduct must be observed, with an increase of calories until the 1,800 daily ones.

It must consider whenever its problem of obesity is solved in the future, after the gestation and to the childbirth of his baby; in addition it is advised to consider the diet of the appendix, and to observe it if it is possible before being pregnant.

Between 30% and 40% of the weight acquired during the pregnancy are conserved after the childbirth (between 3 and 4 kilograms in a normal pregnancy). The kilos of due to a hypercaloric feeding are more difficult to lose later and, often, the same problem of excess of weight is repeated in the later pregnancies. What must consider so that the pregnancy does not completely transform the body of the woman it is the feeding and the desire of which that change means upheavals neither in the health of the pregnant woman nor in the one of the baby.

It is necessary to exclude any type from medicines to cut the tiroideas appetite, as well as diuréticos and hormones; drugs dangerous of in case, and prohibited completely during the period of the pregnancy due to the injurious effects for the fetus.

But too obese being is also a risk for the pregnant one. The increase of weight implies an increase of work of the liver, the kidneys and the circulatory apparatus; what would mean to add to the efforts of the body to ahead take to the pregnancy own problems of the obesity (hypertension, diabetes, edemas, swelling, etc.). The ideal would be to begin with the ideal weight and in good form, so that later the control of the weight is transformed into an obsession neither for the doctor nor for the pregnant woman.

Treatment of the fibromialgia

2010-06-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Easy to detect, difficult to define. This disease affects to the population of quiet form with chronic pain, as much in muscles as joints. A new medicine promises to alleviate the symptoms and to do of this more bearable evil one.

Associated to the syndrome of chronic fatigue, it is a disease classified like reumatológica. The clinical picture includes diverse symptoms that are not exclusive of pain, reason why cause confusion. A good amount of patients with fibromialgia suffers depressive symptoms, for that reason it is important to be kind to the chronic symptoms, that are those that differentiates to this disease.

The pain points usually are focused and they are different from the muscular tension when not taking off with analgesic or desinflamantes. ( breast cancer ) Who suffers of fibromialgia usually presents/displays problems of dream and concentration, symptoms depressive, fatigue and fatigue. The present advance is that the fibromialgia is a real disease. Suffer who it they are very sensible to the pain and in its majority they are women.

If you suffer of pains throughout the body of constant form and she does not find a specific explanation them, perhaps she is fibromialgia. For being a disease that affects different areas, the treatment will be integral, an integrated suitable pharmacological handling to physical therapy, ( solution of better skin ) therapy in swimming pool, and a psychological therapy will bring benefits to the patient. Previous to it the examinations must be made pertinent to discard problems of another type, like arthritis, lupus or hipotiroidismo.

Now, to the approved salary a specific medicine, is occurring more relevance him to the disease. Lyrica is the first treatment approved by the Administration of Drugs and Foods of the United States (FDA) for the Fibromialgia. In the studies presented/displayed in the last Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, fibromialgia patients who received treatment improved in a 50 percent.

Medicine for the liver cancer

2010-06-06T05:24:00.000-07:00

The FDA approved for the first time in 30 years the indication of the anti-tumour Nexavar for the treatment of the liver cancer. Also, the medicine received approval of the European authorities.

The authorization of the FDA was based on the obtained positive results in the international study of phase III, controlled by placebo, SHARP (Sofafenib HCC Assessment Randomized Protocol; “Protocol randomized for the evaluation of sorafenib in CHC”) ( Aloe Vera ) that demonstrated that Nexavar prolongs in a 44% the global sobrelife of the patients of cancer of liver compared with placebo.

Two Nexavar years ago one became the first new medicine against the advanced renal cancer, the drug was developed jointly by Bayer HealthCare Ag and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The hepatocellular carcinoma is the most frequent type of hepatic cancer, and is the person in charge of around 90% of primary the malignant tumors of the liver in adults. ( Protein in diet ) It is the sixth more frequent type of tumor anywhere in the world and the third type of cancer that more deaths causes. Annually they are diagnosed more than 600 thousand new cases anywhere in the world and the incidence increases.

The radioactive globe - cancer

2010-06-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

It is a treatment form that uses x-ray to very short distances. Direct radiation in the cancer is administered through implants radioactive, generally when placing removable radioactive seeds within the surgical site. He is able to administer radiation to the exact area where the tumor has been extracted, with minimum impact in the rest of mammary weaves.

The therapy is carried out through placing a catheter in the surgical cavity, after the lumpectomía or surgery of conservation. This it contains in his end a small globe that is inflated inside.
By means of this catheter a small radiation source in the interior and the center of the globe is placed thus giving uniform radiation in the weave that is near the surface of the globe.

The radiation is only limited the area of the lumpectomía, where there is always a recurrence possibility. This treatment lasts five days, twice for day for a total of ten therapies. ( skin type )

When the therapy finishes, the globe is deflated and the catheter is removed easily. And although until now it requires hospitalization, in a moment will be possible like traveling therapy.

It cannot be applied to all the women, but only in cases in that internal radiation and local can be applied, in which the cancerous tumors have been small and they have not extended to the nodules. ( hair care ) Also the patients do not have to be majors of 45 years. The concentrated and direct radiation has its opponents in the specialists who fear that other cancerous cells outside the area, are without trying; nevertheless, in ten years of use, it has demonstrated to be effective.

Placebo effect in Allergy and Asthma

2010-06-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

In Japan, to allergic people to a poisonous ivy an arm with the plant rubbed to them saying that she was innocuous and the other arm with an inoffensive ivy assuring that was poisonous. The 13 patients had sarpullidos in the arm rubbed with the inoffensive plant and only two presented/displayed reactions to the poisonous ivy. Far from to reframe their attitude towards the patient, those in favor of the pro-government medicine find in these results a confirmation on their accusations to the natural or alternative medicine of benefitting from the effect placebo.
Nevertheless, the studies realised with Acupuncture, medicinal Homeopathy and plants, among others, have demonstrated that it is not thus, at least not more than with the pharmacological treatments.

The allergy and the asthma are two of the diseases whose evolution is more tie to the psychological factors that arise with placebo. An experiment with asthmatic children verified that if were made them smell vanilla at the same time as a rough dilatador was administered to them, when retiring the drug vanilla secured the same results to them that the drug in one of each three cases. ( Homemade Facial Mask ) The allergies are a clear example of disease due to etiológicos factors of different type. In the allergy, an antigen produces a reaction of the immune system, that also is altered by the emotions. Both factors influence although we do not know to what extent it does one of them. The same happens, when pupa leaves one to us. The virus causes that it is there, we have all, but the negative emotions debilitate the defenses and make possible the development of the virus. Emotions as stress and the anxiety depress our immune system, like the depression. A recent study of the University of Ohio is developing that the depressed people are exhibited to a greater risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases and, in the case of the men, increases the risk of death by any disease. On the contrary, the confidence in the treatment increases the perspective of treatment. A work of the University of Texas realised a peculiar experiment with patients with inflamed and painful knees. ( Homemade Facial Cleanser ) The doctors anaesthetised to the patients, they realised three small cuts to them and they pretended that they operated. Two years later, those that had been put under a false surgery felt the same lightening of the pain and the swelling that those that really had been operated.

The problem of stress

2010-06-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

What in appropriate situations it can save the life to us, becomes a mortal enemy when it extends in the time. For many, the economic conditions of overcrowding, pressures, the overload of work, the competitive atmosphere, etc., are circumstances that perceive as threats unconsciously in Psychopathology.

This takes to them to react mainly to the defensive, becoming irritable and undergoing injurious consequences the organism:

* Elevation of the sanguineous pressure (arterial hypertension)
* Gastritis and ulcers in the stomach and the intestine
* Diminution of the renal function
* Problems of the dream
* Exhaustion
* Alterations of the appetite
( health beauty )

DESCRIPTION

Stress produces chemical changes in the body. In a stress situation, the brain sends chemical signals that they activate the secretion of hormones (catecholamines and among them, the adrenalin) in the adrenal gland. Hormones initiate a chain reaction in the organism: the heart annoys more express and the arterial pressure raises; the blood is turned aside of the internal to muscles to flee from the danger; and the insulin level increases to allow that the body metabolice more energy.

These reactions allow to avoid the danger. In the short term, they are not harmful. But the situation persists, the resulting fatigue will be injurious for the general health of the individual. Stress can stimulate an excess of stomach acid, which will give to origin an ulcer. Or it can contract damaged arteries or, increasing the pressure and precipitating an angina or cardiac unemployment. Also, stress can cause a loss or an increase of the appetite with the consequent variation of weight in the person.

CONSIDERATIONS

The brief episodes of stress upset the operation of the organism; nevertheless the symptoms disappear when the episode yields.
( eye care )
This happens with greater facility if the person owns effective tactics to face stress and if it express its feelings normally.

CAUSES

Any event that generates an answer emotional, can cause stress. This includes as much positive situations (the birth of a son, marriage) like refusals (loss of the use, death of a relative). Stress also arises by smaller irritations, like waiting for too much in a tail or traffic. Situations that bring about stress in a person can be insignificant for another one.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Stress affects organs and functions of all the organism. The most common symptoms are

* Depression or anxiety
* Dolores of head
* Insomnia
* Indigestión
* Sarpullidos
* Sexual dysfunction
* Fast palpitations
* Nervousness

Martial Arts Training May Save Seniors’ Hips

2010-06-03T04:54:00.000-07:00

Martial arts training appears to be a safe way to teach osteoporosis patients how to reduce the risk of injury when they fall, a new study suggests.

Researchers in the Netherlands studied the potential benefits of fall training in six healthy people.

“For obvious safety reasons, this could not be directly assessed using persons with osteoporosis.
Therefore, we measured the hip impact forces during the martial arts fall exercises in a group of young adults,” researcher Brenda Groen said in a news release.
Women and Obesity
“Based on our results … we believe that fall training would be safe for persons with osteoporosis if they wear hip protectors during the training, perform fall exercises on a thick mattress, and avoid forward fall exercises from a standing position,” she said.

The volunteers in this study were taught how to turn a fall into a rolling movement by bending and twisting the torso and neck. These types of moves can be taught to older people, the researchers said.

“Since martial arts techniques reduce hip impact forces and can be learned by older persons, martial arts fall training may prevent hip fractures among persons with osteoporosis,” Groen concluded.
Reasons for hair loss
The study was published April 21 in the journal BMC Research Notes.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about falls and older adults.

— Robert Preidt

SOURCE: BioMed Central, news release, April 21, 2010

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

About Ulna Fracture

2010-06-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

What is an ulna fracture?
The ulna is one of two bones of the forearm. The two bones of the forearm, the radius and the ulna, both span the distance from the elbow to the wrist joints.

How does an ulna fracture occur?
An isolated ulna fracture most commonly occurs by the forearm being struck by an object (or an the forearm striking an object).
The common eponym for an isolated ulna fracture is a "nightstick fracture," although there are many other common mechanisms of this injury including falls, car accidents, and others.
(About Lime)
What are the symptoms of an ulna fracture?
By far the most common symptom of an ulna fracture is pain. Other common symptoms include swelling and deformity of the forearm. When you suspect a forearm fracture, you should be seen by a physician and obtain x-rays to determine if there is an ulna fracture present, and if there are any associated injuries. In addition, the elbow must also be carefully examined to determine if there is a dislocation within the elbow causing an injury pattern known as a Monteggia fracture.

What is the treatment of an ulna fracture?
Isolated ulna fractures can most often be treated with a cast or fracture brace. Usually a period of immobilization will allow the bone to heal adequately.

If there is a significant amount of displacement of the ulna fracture, the fracture is considered 'unstable.' In these cases, the patient may benefit from surgical stabilization of the fracture. The usual treatment is to use a plate and screws to secure the fractured bone.

What are the complications of surgical treatment of ulna fractures?
The most common complications include:

o Painful Implants
Occasionally, the metal plate and screws can be tender and painful and require removal. This is usually done at least a year after surgery. Refracture of the bone is possible after plate removal.
(About Women and Obesity)
o Infection
Infection is an unusual complication, but possible after any surgical procedure. If infection is a problem, the metal implant will likely have to be removed.

o Non-Healing Fracture
Non-healing, called a nonunion, occurs in about 5% of patients with ulna fractures. These patients may require another surgical procedure for bone grafting to obtain healing of the ulna fracture.

Heal Broken Bones Faster

2010-06-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

(HealthDay News) — Stanford researchers have found a way to significantly speed up the healing of broken bones in mice, a feat which, if replicated in humans, could mean people with fractures would be free of their casts a lot sooner.
“This has huge implications,” said Dr. Victor Khabie, co-director of the Orthopedic and Spine Institute at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, N.Y. “Broken bones is a big problem, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

The technique could help in fusing bones as well, and many other surgeries that rely on bone growth and bone healing to succeed, he added.
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“A lot of the surgeries we do rely on bone growth and bone healing, and a lot of the failures of surgery have to do with the fact that the bone never heals or the fusion never [takes],” Khabie explained.

And this might have applications beyond bones.

“It isn’t limited to bone injuries,” said Dr. Jill Helms, senior author of the study published in the April 28 issue of Science Translational Medicine. “There’s a lot of interest in the role that [the protein used in these experiments] plays in tissue repair and tissue regeneration.”

That also includes blood, neural and cardiac cells, added Helms, who is a professor of surgery and of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.

The research borrowed a chapter from the lives of animals that can regenerate on their own, such as zebrafish and flat worms.

Scientists already knew that this capability was partly due to a class of proteins called Wnt proteins.

Although mammals don’t have the same innate ability to regenerate, the researchers speculated that, with a little help from Wnt proteins, maybe they could.
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The researchers actually conducted two experiments, both testing the idea that tissues might heal faster if the Wnt signal was ramped up.

The first used a genetic approach, involving mice that had been genetically engineered to respond better to a Wnt signal, then administering purified Wnt via fat particles known as liposomes.

The second strategy involved raising levels of the Wnt protein in normal mice. Both groups of mice had sustained bone injuries.

“Both experiments showed us the same thing, that when Wnt signals were prolonged in an injury site then healing was much more robust,” Helms reported. “When we delivered this form of the protein in a little lipid [fat] particle to an injury site, we accelerated the healing quite dramatically.”

In fact, within the first three days, those mice had 3.5 times more new bone than the mice in the other groups, according to background information about the study.

Helms and her colleagues believe Wnt causes bone stem cells to divide more and turn into bone-forming cells much sooner.

J. Edward Puzas, a professor of orthopedics and senior associate dean for basic research at the University of Rochester Medical Center, added that the idea might also benefit people who sustain potentially life-threatening fractures as a result of osteoporosis.
immune deficiency syndrome
In separate ongoing studies, Puzas is finding that the osteoporosis drug Forteo is also useful in healing bones.

The Stanford group is now expanding its work to speed tissue regeneration after skin wounds, heart attacks and stroke.

Prevention Program Spares Seniors More Falls

2010-06-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

WEDNESDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) — Elderly individuals who had fallen and then taken part in an intensive program to prevent falls were much less likely to fall again, a new study shows.

But proving something works is often a far cry from actually seeing it implemented, one expert noted.

“People have been proposing intervention programs like this for a long time,” said S. Jay Olshansky, a professor of public health and senior research scientist at the Center on Aging at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “We know that they work. The question is how much all of this costs,” he added.

“The bottom line is it’s sort of an elite intervention program that’s likely to be very expensive,” Olshansky said. “The entire older population is at risk for falls, so how would you implement a program like this? Having said that, it is very interesting they suggested it also improved activities of daily living, which is a good sign. Other normal functioning of these individuals improved as a result of the intervention.”

The study authors, from the University of Nottingham in England, noted that this type of intervention is already provided in many places in the United Kingdom.

“The cost implications of our research are speculative as we have not yet completed an economic evaluation . . . but we would hope that a reduction in falls could lead to maintenance of independence in activities of daily living, and therefore people not needing extra home care costs,” said study author Philippa Logan, postdoctoral researcher and occupational therapist at the School of Community Health Sciences at Nottingham. “We need to complete a larger study to see if there is an effect on the numbers of fractures, so we cannot say at this time that the intervention will reduce hospital days or surgery time.”

“It would be wonderful if we could implement this, but I’m afraid in the U.S. we spend a lot of money on things so if someone falls and calls an ambulance, the person goes to the emergency room, [and] the emergency room charges the government for the fee,” said Dr. Bernard Roos, director of geriatric research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Miami VA Hospital. “Nobody in the emergency room sends a person to evaluate the risk of falling so the patient keeps coming back. This is a wonderful model for what we should be doing.”

“Studies like this support the need for evidence-based education classes for community-dwelling seniors,” said Matthew Lee Smith, an assistant professor with Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health in College Station, Texas.

According to background information in the study, which was published online May 12 in BMJ, 25 percent of people aged 70 and over and 50 percent of those aged 80 and over fall every year. And these people will frequently fall again, leading to life-threatening injuries.

Although ambulances are often called, many individuals who have fallen aren’t actually taken to a hospital, the study authors stated.

For this study, 204 adults who were over 60 and who had called an ambulance after a fall but had not been taken to the hospital were randomly assigned to one of two groups.

The first group had access to specialists who helped them build strength and balance, and who offered suggestions for making their homes safer.

The second group of people “were advised by letter to use existing social and medical services as usual,” the authors wrote.

According to diaries kept by the participants and follow-up contact over one year, “the incidence rates of falls per year were 3.46 in the intervention group and 7.68 in the control group,” the study authors reported.

This amounted to a 55 percent decline in the rate of falls in the support group, a larger effect than seen in previous research, the authors stated.

People receiving the extra care and support also improved on measures of daily living (such as bathing, dressing and eating) and were less anxious about falling again.

Not surprisingly, people who fell less often were also less likely to call an ambulance and less likely to suffer fractures.

One question not addressed by the study authors was the extremely high mortality rate in both groups — about 15 percent, Olshansky pointed out.

The probability of an average 80-year-old dying in the United Kingdom is about 5.5 percent for a single year, said Olshansky, citing data from a national life table for the United Kingdom. For an average 70-year-old, it is about 1.9 percent.

“Why are at least three times more people dying than expected? That’s very odd,” he said.

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

Bone Drugs Not Linked to Rare Fractures

2010-05-31T08:31:00.000-07:00

WEDNESDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) — A new study finds no association between the use of a popular class of osteoporosis medications known as bisphosphonates and an unusual type of thigh bone fracture.

Bisphosphonates include blockbuster drugs such as alendronate (Fosamax), risedronate (Actonel) and ibandronate (Boniva).

The conclusions, appearing as a letter-to-the-editor in the May 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, do little to settle an ongoing debate about whether or not these drugs cause this type of rare fracture.

A pharmaceutical-company sponsored study published in March in the same journal concluded that bisphosphonates did not boost people’s risk for this type of fracture, although prior studies had suggested they did.

That “very large study,” said Dr. Kenneth A. Egol, chief of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases, “certainly can allay some fears regarding the drug.”

And the current study, which is much smaller, should not raise fears or affect how bisphosphonates are used, experts said.
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“We believe these are good drugs in the right patient, and there’s no reason they should not be used,” Egol said.

“We cannot conclude that there’s major enough of a side effect that we should be telling patients not to take the medications, and that’s consistent with what the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] is saying,” agreed Yuen Ting (Cathy) Lau, an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Texas A&M Health Science Center Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy in Houston. “There’s no conclusive evidence saying that atypical bone fractures are associated with bisphosphonates and, given the benefits, patients should not stop taking them just because of this concern.”

Having said that, Egol did point out that “those who take care of patients with fractures have definitely been seeing this atypical type of femur [thigh] fracture in a subset of, but not all, patients who have been on medication for a long period of time.”

The next step, he said, would be to figure out which subset of patients may be at heightened risk for the breaks.
Drugs For Treating
The authors of the study, from the University of Sydney in Australia, reviewed records on 152 femoral fractures in 152 patients between 2003 and 2008. Most of the patients were women, with a mean age of 78.

Seventeen of 20 patients who had one of these unusual fractures were taking bisphosphonates (15 were taking Fosamax for an average of five years and two were taking Actonel for about three years).

Two patients who had not had such fractures were taking Fosamax and one was taking Actonel.

There were also other risk factors associated with the type of fracture, such as steroid treatment for more than six months or having rheumatoid arthritis.
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

Osteoporosis Prevention

2010-05-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Prevention

After the age of about 30, bone thinning is a natural process and cannot be stopped completely. Whether you develop osteoporosis depends not only on the thickness of your bones early in life but also on your health, diet, and physical activity later in life. The thicker your bones, the less likely the bones are to become thin enough to break. Young women in particular need to be aware of their risk for developing osteoporosis and take steps early to slow its progress and prevent complications. Plentiful physical activity during the preteen and teen years increases bone mass and greatly reduces the risk of osteoporosis in adulthood. If you eat a diet adequate in calcium and vitamin D and exercise regularly early in life and then continue with these healthy habits, you may be able to delay or avoid osteoporosis.

* Eat a nutritious diet that includes adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D. Both are necessary for building healthy, strong bones. Risk of Osteoporosis The recommended daily calcium intake for adults up to age 50 is 1,000 mg a day. Men and women age 50 and older need 1,200 mg of calcium each day. The recommended daily intake for vitamin D is 400 to 800 IU a day for adults up to age 50. If you are age 50 or older, the recommended amount is 800 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D a day. The best source of vitamin D is exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D is vital for calcium absorption in bones and to improve muscle strength. One study showed that vitamin D may reduce an older person's risk of falling by 22.
* Take supplements if you are not getting enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet. Most doctors suggest daily vitamin D supplements for children and teens, starting by age 2 months. Talk with your doctor about how much and what sources of vitamin D are right for you and your child.
* Get regular exercise. Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing, or weight lifting, keep bones healthy by working the muscles and bones against gravity.
* Don't drink more than 2 alcohol drinks a day if you are a man, or 1 alcohol drink a day if you are a woman. Drinking more than this puts you at higher risk for osteoporosis.
* Don't smoke. Smoking puts you at a higher risk for developing osteoporosis and increases the rate of bone thinning after it starts.

After osteoporosis develops, getting enough calcium and vitamin D, along with other healthy habits, can slow the process and reduce the chances of bones breaking. It's common for a person's diet to supply only half the calcium the bones need, so you probably need to take supplements. Your bones need vitamin D to absorb calcium. One study showed that vitamin D may reduce an older person's risk of falling by 22%.9

Research studies do not agree about whether calcium plus vitamin D supplements can prevent fractures. Some studies show that calcium and vitamin D supplements reduce the risk of fracture.
What is osteoporosis
10 But other studies show little effect of supplements on fracture risk.11 The greatest benefit of supplements appears to be for people who have osteoporosis. Calcium and vitamin D supplements are recommended if you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis.

What Increases Your Risk of Osteoporosis

2010-05-29T03:25:00.000-07:00

The risk of osteoporosis increases with age as bones naturally become thinner. After age 30, the rate at which your bone dissolves and is absorbed by the body slowly increases, while the rate of bone building decreases. Both men and women lose a small amount (approximately 0.4%) of bone each year after age 30.4
In women, more rapid bone loss usually begins after monthly menstrual periods stop, when a woman's production of the hormone estrogen slows down (usually between the ages of 45 and 55). A man's bone thinning starts to develop gradually when production of the hormone testosterone slows down, at about 45 to 50 years of age. Women typically have smaller and lighter bones than men. As a result, women develop osteoporosis far more often than men. Osteoporosis usually does not have an effect on people until they are 60 or older.

Whether a person develops osteoporosis depends on the thickness of the bones (bone density) in early life, as well as health, diet, and physical activity later in life. Factors that increase the risk of osteoporosis in both men and women include:

* Having a family history of osteoporosis. If your mother, father, or a sibling has been diagnosed with osteoporosis or has experienced broken bones from a minor injury, you are more likely to develop osteoporosis.
* Lifestyle factors. These include:
o Smoking. People who smoke lose bone thickness faster than nonsmokers.
o Alcohol use. Heavy alcohol use can decrease bone growth and increase the risk of falling. But moderate alcohol use (no more than 2 drinks a day for men and 1 drink a day for women) is linked to higher bone thickness. Most doctors recommend limiting, but not eliminating, alcohol use.5
o Getting little or no exercise. Weight-bearing exercises—such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing, or lifting weights—keep bones strong and healthy by working the muscles and bones against gravity. Exercise may improve your balance and decrease your risk of falling.
o Being small-framed or thin. Thin people and those with small frames are more likely to develop osteoporosis. But being overweight puts a woman at risk for other serious medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease (CAD).
o A diet low in foods containing calcium and vitamin D.
o Drinking cola soft drinks. Cola, but not other carbonated soft drinks, may be linked to low bone mineral density in women.6
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* Having certain medical conditions, such as hyperparathyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or rheumatoid arthritis, that put you at greater risk for osteoporosis.

* Taking certain medicines. Several medicines cause bone thinning, such as:
o Corticosteroids, used to treat conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If used for a period of 6 months or longer, corticosteroids can lead to steroid-induced osteoporosis.
o Medicines used to treat endometriosis.
o Aromatase inhibitors, used to treat breast cancer.
o Thyroid replacement medicine, if the dose is more than the body needs. This should be monitored by checking the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) every year.
o Depo-Provera, a birth control medicine given by injection. Longtime use may thin bones.
o Antacids that contain aluminum, if they are overused. Aluminum-containing antacids remove calcium from your body.
o Anticonvulsant medicines such as carbamazepine.
o Hormone treatment for prostate cancer.
o Medicines called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). SSRIs are used to treat many conditions, including depression, fibromyalgia, and premenstrual syndrome. Studies have found that daily use of SSRIs may increase the risk of bone fracture in adults over age 50. Before you take an SSRI, talk to your doctor about this risk.
* Having certain surgeries, such as having your ovaries removed before menopause.

Other risk factors for osteoporosis may include:

* Being of European and Asian ancestry, the people most likely to have osteoporosis. People of African ancestry are least likely.
* Being inactive or bedridden for long periods of time.
* Dieting excessively or having an eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa.
* Being a female athlete, if you have few or irregular menstrual cycles due to low body fat.

Women who have completed menopause have the greatest risk of osteoporosis because their levels of the estrogen hormone drop. Estrogen protects women from bone loss. Likewise, women who no longer have menstrual periods—either because their ovaries are not working properly or because their ovaries have been surgically removed—also can have decreased estrogen levels.
content provided by Healthwise

Osteoporosis

2010-05-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

Osteoporosis is a progressive disease that causes bones to become thin and brittle, making them more likely to break. Both women and men are more apt to have osteoporosis if they fail to reach their optimum bone mineral density during the childhood and teenage years, critical times for building bones.

Osteoporosis is related to the loss of bone mass that occurs as part of the natural process of aging.
Genital Warts
Although osteoporosis can occur in men, it is most common in women who have gone through menopause.

Not getting adequate calcium and phosphorus—two minerals needed for bone density and strength—and a lack of vitamin D can also contribute to the development of osteoporosis.

Not being physically active can also lead to osteoporosis.
HIV Aids
Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis include eating a diet with sufficient calcium and vitamin D, getting regular exercise, quitting smoking, avoiding excess alcohol, and taking medicine to reduce bone loss and increase bone thickness.

What is osteoporosis?

2010-05-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a disease that affects your bones. It means you have bones that are thin and brittle, with lots of holes inside them like a sponge. This makes them easy to break. Osteoporosis can lead to broken bones (fractures) in the hip, spine, and wrist. These fractures can be disabling and may make it hard for you to live on your own.

See a picture of healthy bone versus bone weakened by osteoporosi.

Osteoporosis affects millions of older adults. It usually strikes after age 60. It’s most common in women, but men can get it too.
What causes osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is caused by a lack of bone strength or bone density. As you age, your bones get thinner naturally. But some things can make you more likely to have the severe bone thinning of osteoporosis. These things are called risk factors. Some risk factors you can change. Others you can't change.

Risk factors you can't change include:

* Your age. Your risk for osteoporosis goes up as you get older.
* Being a woman who has gone through menopause. After menopause, the body makes less estrogen. Estrogen protects the body from bone loss.
* Your family background. Osteoporosis tends to run in families.
* Having a slender body frame.
* Your race. People of European and Asian background are most likely to get osteoporosis.

Risk factors you can change include:

* Smoking.
* Not getting enough weight-bearing exercise.
* Drinking too much alcohol.
* Not getting enough calcium and vitamin D in the things you eat or from supplements.
stress cancer
To check your risk for osteoporosis, use this Interactive Tool: Are You At Risk for Osteoporosis? Click here to see an interactive tool.
What are the symptoms?

Osteoporosis can be very far along before you notice it. Sometimes the first sign is a broken bone in your hip, spine, or wrist after a bump or fall.

As the disease gets worse, you may have other signs, such as pain in your back. You might notice that you are not as tall as you used to be and that you have a curved backbone.
How is osteoporosis diagnosed?

Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and do a physical exam. You may also have a test that measures your bone thickness (bone density test) and your risk for a fracture.

If the test finds that your bone thickness is less than normal but is not osteoporosis, you may have osteopenia, a less severe type of bone thinning.

It’s important to find and treat osteoporosis early to prevent bone fractures. The United States Preventive Services Task Force advises routine bone density testing for women age 65 and older. If you have a higher risk for fractures, it’s best to start getting the test at age 60.
How is it treated?

Treatment for osteoporosis includes medicine to reduce bone loss and to build bone thickness. Medicine can also give you relief from pain caused by fractures or other changes to your bones.
adult acne
It’s important to take both calcium and vitamin D supplements along with any medicine you take for the disease. You need both of these supplements to build strong, healthy bones.

You can slow osteoporosis with new, healthy habits. If you smoke, quit. Get plenty of exercise. Walking, jogging, dancing, and lifting weights can make your bones stronger. Eat a healthy mix of foods that include calcium and vitamin D. Try dark green vegetables, yogurt, and milk (for calcium). Eat eggs, fatty fish, and fortified cereal (for vitamin D).

Making even small changes in how you eat and exercise, along with taking medicine, can help prevent a broken bone.

When you have osteoporosis, it’s important to protect yourself from falling. Reduce your risk of breaking a bone by making your home safer. Make sure there’s enough light in your home. Remove throw rugs and clutter that you may trip over. Put sturdy handrails on stairs.

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

2010-05-25T04:12:00.000-07:00

Symptoms of osteoarthritis can range from mild to severe.

They may include:

* Pain: Your joints may ache, or the pain may feel burning or sharp. For some people, the pain may come and go. Constant pain or pain while you sleep may be a sign that your arthritis is getting worse.
* Stiffness: When you have arthritis, getting up in the morning can be hard. Your joints may feel stiff and creaky for a short time, until you get moving. You may also get stiff from sitting.

* Muscle weakness: The muscles around the joint may get weaker. This happens a lot with arthritis in the knee.
* Swelling: Arthritis can cause swelling in joints, making them feel tender and sore.

* Deformed joints: Joints can start to look like they are the wrong shape, especially as arthritis gets worse.
* Reduced range of motion and loss of use of the joint: As your arthritis gets worse, you may not be able to fully bend, flex, or extend your joints. Or you may not be able to use them at all.
* Cracking and creaking: Your joints may make crunching, creaking sounds. This creaking may also occur in a normal joint, but in most cases, it doesn't hurt and doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with the joint.

Arthritis of the spine can also narrow the openings that make space for the spinal cord and for the nerves that branch off the spinal cord (spinal nerves). This is called spinal stenosis. It can lead to pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerves. This pressure can cause pain, weakness, or numbness.

Good News About Stress

2010-05-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

Stress makes you: Smarter
Channel it to: Strategize
Research from The Rockefeller University in New York City and the University of Buffalo suggests that stress can enhance learning and memory, thanks to the effect of small bursts of cortisol in the brain. So when you’re too wired to go to sleep, don’t force it. Sit down with that report or spreadsheet, and catch up on your rest when you’re calm again.

Stress makes you: Nicer
Channel it to: Reaffirm relationships

When you’re stressed, your body pumps out oxytocin, a hormone that facilitates bonding—making this is an ideal time to call your college roommate or connect with friends on Facebook. And you’ll probably feel like doing that anyway.

“Women are more apt to seek social support when they feel stressed,” says Paul Rosch, MD, FACP, clinical professor of medicine and psychiatry at New York Medical College. Oxytocin and a good old-fashioned gabfest—can calm you, helping to make sure your stress levels don’t go through the roof.

Stress makes you: Heartier
Channel it to: Heal your body
Bursts of stress may prime your body to battle future ailments. They can boost the immune system, with long-term effects, a study from the Stanford School of Medicine found. And you don’t have to do anything—enjoy the protective benefits of short-term stress, and know that as long as you take some downtime later to breathe, your body’s got you covered.

When Heart Patients Discharge Themselves, Hospital Bills Increase

2010-05-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

(HealthDay News) — Hospital patients receiving treatment for heart disease who decide to discharge themselves before their doctors deem them ready end up costing hospitals more if and when they are readmitted.

The finding, set to be reported this week during the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research meeting in Atlanta, comes from work conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland school of Pharmacy (UM).

The UM team, led by Eberechukwu Onukwugha, an assistant professor in the school’s department of pharmaceutical health services research, analyzed the records of more than 347,000 heart patients who had been cared for at Maryland hospitals between 2000 and 2005.

Nearly 20,000 of those patients had been readmitted to the same hospital for more heart care following their initial stay.

The authors found that self-discharged patients ended up costing hospitals upwards of 9 percent more in treatment expenses than doctor-discharged patients.

Motivations for self-discharge against medical advice include a range of patient considerations, including the need to take care of children, concern about employment, needing to pick up a paycheck, wanting to see their own physician, or being made to wait for a long time to see medical personnel. For those with a history of substance abuse, needing to get a fix was another reason to leave prematurely.

But in the end, those who left against medical advice were more likely to come back in the short run, Onukwugha noted in a news release.

More information

For more on hospital discharge issues, visit the Family Caregiver Alliance.

– Alan Mozes

SOURCE: International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, May 19, 2010, news release.

8 Natural Remedies That May Help You Sleep

2010-05-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

Sleep well, sleep better

By Karen Asp

Provided by AOLHealth

If sleep has plunged to the bottom of your to-do list, you're not alone. Although the National Sleep Foundation recommends getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night, the average American logs only six hours and 40 minutes.
What gives? Blame crazy schedules and, of course, sleeping woes. Before you rush to the drugstore to buy an over-the-counter (OTC) sleep medication, try one of the following natural sleep remedies. "These are safer and have fewer side effects than OTC medications," says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, author of From Fatigued to Fantastic and medical director of the national Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers. Many of these can not only help you fall asleep and stay asleep, but they may also promote muscle relaxation.

How Exercise May Boost Your Mood

2010-05-21T03:16:00.000-07:00

If Jennisse Peatick, 36, ever had to stop exercising—well, the idea leaves her almost speechless. She doesn't know what would happen. "I started exercising because I was getting fat and I realized it was helping me deal with my ongoing depression," she says. Now the competitive cyclist and triathlete from Hillsborough, N.J., takes her daily exercise as regularly as she takes her antidepressant medication.

Exercise seems to be particularly important for some people. In a 2007 study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, depressed people who were engaged in an exercise program recovered about as well as people who took medication. Both groups did better than a third group that got only a placebo.

What kind of exercise will lift your mood?
While regular exercise may be as effective for mild or moderate depression as antidepressants, there is a big catch, one that triathlete Peatick has figured out: It has to be intense, for at least 30 minutes, according to Madhukar Trivedi, MD, professor of psychiatry and head of the Mood Disorders Research Program and Clinic at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He has authored several studies that show regular exercise can reduce depressive symptoms—in one case by up to 47%.

At least one German study showed that exercise worked in patients who had not responded to antidepressants.

Theories as to how exercise works abound. Dr. Trivedi has suggested that it may change levels of chemicals in the brain (such as serotonin), just as antidepressants might.

Find Simple Solutions for Relief

2010-05-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

(HealthDay News) — An older person with knee pain who learns that the cause is arthritis — the wear-and-tear kind called osteoarthritis — probably will do the right things to treat it, and probably won’t consult a doctor or pharmacist, a new Canadian study finds.

“Most of the things they did were appropriate,” said Carlo Marra, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of British Columbia. He is lead author of the report in the April issue of Arthritis Care & Research that followed 190 people who were told they had knee osteoarthritis.

“Most tried to lose weight, most initiated an exercise program,” he added.

And most of those efforts were self-initiated, the study found. “They just took it upon themselves and invoked the self-care model,” Marra said. “Maybe they felt that the person best able to manage the condition was themselves.”

Not all of the self-treatment was helpful or of maximum effectiveness. Some 36 percent of the people in the study took natural supplements such as glucosamine, “which are not thought to be helpful,” Marra said. But often, those supplements were taken with effective painkillers, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which include aspirin and ibuprofen and are available over the counter.

The study participants — mostly overweight women with a mean age of 63 — would have been better off with acetaminophen, an over-the-counter medication that is regarded as the treatment of choice for osteoarthritis knee pain, Marra said. “But mostly they did the right things, and their quality of life improved quite a bit,” he said.

Marra acknowledged “a little disappointment that pharmacists didn’t get involved with their care.” A newer study, whose results will be published soon, compared outcomes of people who were given a multidisciplinary program of exercise and lifestyle recommendations from pharmacists and doctors to those who were simply handed a pamphlet outlining such steps. Those in the multidisciplinary program had “far superior” results, he said.

Osteoarthritis of the knee isn’t difficult to diagnose, Marra said. “If your knees hurt and you’re over 50, there is a good chance that you have arthritis,” he said. “You should then see your doctor or another health provider.”

What should follow is weight loss, advice from a pharmacist on safe and effective medications, and an exercise program overseen by a physical therapist, Marra said.

But the results of the self-guided program followed by most of the study participants were impressive, said Dr. Susan M. Goodman, an assistant attending rheumatologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

“What came through is that most people end up trying to do the right thing,” she said. “The contribution of weight and lack of exercise was recognized in this large group.”

Self-help is a natural course of action because “people don’t regard osteoarthritis as a disease as much as they consider it wear and tear, something they can take care of themselves,” Goodman said. So the study results can be considered a mark of plain common sense, she said.

More information

Learn more about osteoarthritis and its treatment at the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

SOURCES: Carlo Marra, Pharm.D., Ph.D., associate professor, pharmaceutical sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Susan M. Goodman, M.D., assistant attending rheumatologist, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City; April 2010, Arthritis Care & Research

Last Updated: March 30, 2010

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Jamba Juice All Natural Smoothies

2010-05-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

When pressed for time, even making a smoothie can seem daunting. Jamba Juice’s All Natural At-Home Smoothie packets provide a convenient way to make a quick morning smoothie or post-workout treat in only a minute’s time!

The product: Jamba Juice All Natural At-Home Smoothies. ($3 to $3.49 for a package; available at grocery stores in May 2010)

The taste factor: The smoothies are available in three refreshing flavors: Razzmatazz, Mango-A-Go-Go, and Strawberries Wild. The drinks are rich in fruity flavor, yet not too sweet, and we welcomed the seeds from the fresh fruit. They pack a taste identical to ones whipped up in Jamba’s smoothie cafés, and if you’re feeling creative, add additional ingredients for a more unique taste.

The health factor: Each 8-ounce serving contains 120 calories or less and provides about 2 grams of protein. The smoothies are made with fat-free yogurt and contain one full serving of real fruit. The best part: It’s infused with Jamba’s antioxidant boost, supplying 100% of the daily value of vitamin C.

Editors’ pick: Razzmatazz. We loved the flavorful combination of fresh blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.

Why we love it: With only two ingredients to worry about, these frozen concoctions are quick and easy. Just add half the package, 1/2 cup of apple juice, blend, and enjoy—no ice necessary! Each package contains two servings if you just can’t resist blending up another!

How to Lose Weight with a No-Diet Plan

2010-05-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Heather Harvey, 38 of Brooklyn, New York actively made the decision to make big changes in order to get healthy.

I was five months pregnant with my second child when I stepped on the scale—and it read 233. Seeing that number shocked me into action, so that same afternoon I walked into an Equinox gym and asked for help.
A trainer started me on an elliptical, which I worked out on for 30 minutes a day, five times a week.
lose weight
I also wrote down everything I ate. Those two changes made my blood pressure drop and my pregnancy healthier. After my son was born, I continued to exercise and also used measuring cups to control portions.
diet weight loss
One morning while pouring cereal, it hit me how convenient it would be to have a bowl premarked with portions. So I created dishware called Measure Up Bowls. Today, I’m 83 pounds lighter—and I’m so excited to help other women succeed, too.

Exercise, Weight Control May Keep Fibromyalgia at Bay

2010-05-07T14:38:00.001-07:00

(HealthDay News) — Women who are overweight or obese appear to have an increased risk of developing the chronic pain syndrome known as fibromyalgia, a new study suggests.

If they are also sedentary, the risk is even greater, said lead researcher Paul Mork, of Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway.

The study is published in the May issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

Fibromyalgia is marked by widespread pain lasting more than three months. The pain strikes so-called “tender points” in the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms and legs.

The condition is also marked by fatigue without apparent cause, mood disturbances, sleep problems and headaches. More women than men have it, and experts don’t thoroughly understand its cause.

The condition may be due to dysfunction in the nervous system and other problems, and it is thought to be affected by genetic susceptibility.

In the new study, Mork and his colleagues turned to a data base of nearly 16,000 women in Norway who had responded to health surveys. Among the participants were 380 who developed fibromyalgia during the 11-year follow-up.

Mork’s team compared the data from patients with the healthy respondents, including body-mass index (BMI) and exercise habits.

Exercise and a healthy body weight were found to be protective.

“According to previous findings reported in the literature, we expected that regular leisure-time physical exercise would have a protective effect on future development of fibromyalgia [FM],” Mork said. “However, we only found a weak association between development of FM and exercise. However, it should be noted that we were not able to differ between different types of exercise, and it might be possible that some exercise types are more beneficial than others in protecting against future development of FM,” he added.

“Women who reported exercising four times per week [or more] had a 29 percent lower risk of fibromyalgia compared with inactive women,” Mork said in a news release about the study.

Those who exercised two to three times a week were about 11 percent less likely to get fibromyalgia.

Being overweight — with a BMI of 25 or higher — was a strong independent risk factor, with the heavier women having a 60 percent to 70 percent higher risk of developing the condition compared to the healthy weight women.
Exercise
The overweight women who exercised an hour or more a week, however, were less likely to get the condition than were overweight women who were inactive.

Mork’s advice: Regular exercise, which can help maintain weight, may serve as a “buffer” against the symptoms that eventually lead to fibromyalgia.

The results are entirely plausible, said Dr. Patrick Wood, senior medical adviser for the National Fibromyalgia Association, who cares for many fibromyalgia patients.

But with the condition, there are often the chicken-egg questions, he added, such as whether the pain leads to the inactivity or weight gain or vice versa. “It’s difficult with any level of assurance to know what’s driving what,” Wood said. There could be underlying factors driving both excess weight and pain sensitivity, he noted.

The inflammation that is associated with obesity may heighten pain sensitivity, Wood added.
weight control
More study is needed, Wood said. Until more is known, however, he would advise people who want to avoid the condition to maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly. That’s especially wise for those with a family history of fibromyalgia, he stressed, because he has found that it does tend to run in families.
Weight Loss
For those already diagnosed with the condition, Wood said, “some data show if you exercise and keep your weight down you may have less pain.”

Male Laser Hair Removal

2010-05-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

Male Laser Hair Removal: Permanent Hair Removal for Men

Laser hair removal is no longer just for women. Men of all types, shapes and sizes are seeking laser hair removal treatments more than ever before.

Male hair removal is growing in popularity, and laser hair removal offers options other removal methods simply cannot. Laser hair removal, unlike most other hair removal methods, can be used to thin hair instead of removing it all. So, a man can choose to be less hairy without having to be hairless. Waxing, shaving, and depilatory creams remove the hair completely, and do not offer the option of thinning overgrowth.
Laser Hair Removal Description

A laser hair removal procedure does not guarantee the hair will be permanently removed, but it significantly slows hair growth. A dermatologist or cosmetic surgery specialist will perform the procedure in his office. During the procedure, a laser beam passes through the skin into the hair follicle. The heat of the laser damages the hair follicle, preventing or slowing hair growth. The intensity of the laser must be adjusted for each individual client, and the procedure can result in mild to moderate pain or discomfort.

Laser hair removal works best on men with light skin and dark hair because the laser targets pigment. Darker hair pigments are easier for the laser destroy, while the light skin around the dark hair remains undamaged. Men with darker skin tones may still have success with laser hair removal if the hair is dark, but they may require additional treatments.

Back Hair Removal and Facial Hair Removal for Men

Overgrowth of back and chest hair is a common problem for men that laser hair removal can improve. Even facial hair can be removed by lasers for the man who desires the feel of a perpetually smooth shave. AskMen.com says that “men of all ages, sizes, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and professions are getting rid of excess body hair.”

Male hair removal is not just a fad anymore as more men realize that grooming is done with more than a bath and a brush.

Preparing for a Laser Hair Removal Procedure

Since the laser can only target hair at the follicle in its growth cycle, do not pluck, wax or have electrolysis treatments for a few weeks prior to having laser hair removal treatment. Individual hairs have different growth cycles, so repeated treatments are necessary to catch the hair in an active growth phase. Shaving is often recommended before a laser hair removal procedure, and can possibly increase success. Tanned or sunburned skin cannot be treated with lasers. Do not use lotions or after-shave on the day of treatment, and only use numbing cream as provided or recommended by the dermatologist or technologist performing the procedure.
Laser Hair Removal Risks

According to the Mayo Clinic, laser hair removal may cause irritation, temporary skin pigment changes, blistering, scarring, or changes in skin texture. The side effects are usually minor and temporary when the laser is in the hands of a qualified professional. Blistering and scarring are rare.
Laser Hair Removal Cost (Men's Health)

Costs for laser hair removal treatments vary significantly depending on the region of the country in which the procedure is being performed, and whether the treatment is being performed by a medical professional or in a non-medical salon. Hair density and size of the area being treated also affect the final cost. Larger areas like the legs and back will take hours to treat and will cost much more than the face or forearms. Several treatments are needed to effectively treat any area of the body, and typical cost could range from hundreds to thousands of dollars per treatment.

Regular treatments are generally recommended for 3 to 6 months, depending on the hair density and size of the area being treated, to initially remove the hair, with maintenance treatments recommended yearly or bi-yearly. A trained professional must evaluate every man individually to determine if his unwanted hair removal goals are feasible, the number of sessions that will be necessary to achieve these goals, and the expected cost of achieving these goals.

Save A Person’s Life

2010-05-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

At my front door stood my neighbor and his daughter making their annual Girl Scout cookie trek. “Should I make it a baker’s dozen?” the girl asked, knowing I wouldn’t refuse. Her father chimed in, “I was just at a wedding where I sat next to someone who said you saved her life. She said some very nice things about your medical practice.”

The name of the patient he was mentioning flashed me back. Mrs. BB (whose name has been altered to maintain privacy) was referred by a mutual acquaintance who already used our practice. This acquaintance felt that maybe I could solve Mrs. BB’s problem, specifically because all of our practitioners are paid for time, which means we can listen and communicate to determine how we can best help our patients.

When I met Mrs. BB for the first time for a checkup (which was our only face-to-face encounter), she reviewed her medical history with me. She was struggling with perplexing symptoms characteristic of anxiety. At the conclusion of the history and physical I agreed with the three other doctors she had consulted over the past months that a diagnosis of anxiety fit her symptoms. I ordered some tests and told her to call me directly, anytime, day or night, if she felt the need. Two days later I called her with the lab results. Everything was normal, as expected.

Ten days later, I was at a winter party at a friend’s when my cell phone rang. I stepped outdoors to respond, the cold air giving me pause. Mrs. BB was on the other end, and she was in the middle of one or her episodes. It was the third “attack” she’d experienced since I saw her. Two of the three episodes came on while exercising, when she suddenly experienced rapid heart rate, blunted thinking, and panic, which are all characteristic for anxiety.

“How often has this happened with exercise?” I asked.

“I’ve cut way back on exercising since this seems to make some of my symptoms a lot worse.” Don’t you remember?” She asked, “I told you that at the first visit.”

“You did, but the meaning of this was lost on me at the time.” I told her. “In my experience, getting panic attacks in the middle of exercise is unusual for anxiety. Has anyone considered problems with your adrenal gland?” I asked.

She couldn’t remember.

“In the morning, go to the lab and do some tests. I’ll fax the order over to them tonight.” I told her. “It seems like once a year I order this for someone and after 25 years I’ve never seen a positive result. But this year you’re the one and I think it’s appropriate to order the tests.”

Three days later, her results were on my desk. I called her immediately. “It looks like you have something we call pheochromocytoma, which is a tumor on your adrenal gland. Let me make a few phone calls and figure out who you need to see and get the ball rolling for fixing this problem.”

I completed and faxed the orders for her MRI. The surgeon and I had several conversations. I called BB hours after completing her MRI that identified the location and size of her tumor. When she called the surgeon’s office they were ready with an appointment time and already had a complete copy of all our records faxed from our office. From here on out she was in the capable hands of the surgeon and his team.
Healthcare
She called me twice from the hospital to give me a brief update of her post-op progress. We were both relieved: She was going to make it just it fine.

“Well,” my neighbor’s voice interrupted me from my flashback, “BB said that a lot of doctors visited her bedside while she was recovering from surgery. They were all fascinated at what an interesting case she was and asked how did her doctor figure the problem out? Several of the doctors told her you saved her life.“
Primary Care
“It’s not magic and I’m not special,” I responded. ”There were other people involved. I was just there to listen at the right time.”
Telemedicine
But here’s what I really wanted to explain to him but didn’t, something he and most people don’t understand (and seemingly, doctors don’t get it either based on their unwillingness to really do something about it): I get paid to listen, to think and to communicate. I get paid to answer my phone for any of my patients whenever they need help. Since my patients are able to call me back with an, “Oh by the way …” and to explain to me exactly what they’re feeling at the moment they’re feeling it brings an immediacy and a personalization that is virtually extinct from medicine today.
health tips
Instead primary care has condoned long delays, reduced physician contact, prolonged waiting room times and rapid fire 7.5 minute office visits before parading the patient out of the office with the words, “set up another office visit “(and for your troubles I’ll listen again for 7.5 minutes – maybe 10, if you beg me.) Many times it means the difference between getting it right … or getting it really wrong.

From start to finish she owed me $450. Her being around to say “thank you” made it feel like a whole lot more.

Until next week, I remain yours in primary care,

Alan Dappen, MD

Never Feel Hungry

2010-05-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: Who’s got time? And if you have a crazy schedule, lunch is a light grab, while dinner’s your one big helping of comfort. But recent research may convince you to flip all that around: Front-loading your day’s calories so that you eat more food—especially more lean protein—earlier in the day will help you drop pounds and feel full all day long, according to a Purdue University study.

Our plan makes it easy to eat this way. Pick one of our options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack each day—it’s designed so you eat most of your calories by noon.

You won’t get hungry, and, best of all, when you stick to it for four weeks, you’ll drop 10 pounds.

Power breakfasts
About 500 calories each (pick one each day)

English muffin with jam and half of Make-ahead Turkey Sausage and Mushroom Frittata (shown at right): Whisk 2 eggs and 4 egg whites with 1 tablespoon low-fat milk and salt and pepper to taste; set aside. In a 6-inch pan, sauté 2 teaspoons olive oil, 4 ounces turkey sausage, 1⁄2 cup sliced mushrooms, and 1⁄3 cup red peppers until cooked through. Pour eggs over mixture; swirl pan to distribute eggs evenly. Once eggs are set, slide frittata out of skillet; serve. Wrap leftovers and store in refrigerator. Reheat in microwave for 1 minute. (Makes 2 servings.) Enjoy up to 1⁄2 frittata with 1 whole-wheat English muffin and 2 teaspoons all-natural fruit preserves (like Polaner All Fruit 100% All Natural Fruit Spread). 470 calories

tags: hungry, health, Weight Loss Advice,Diet Weight Loss

Starbucks Protein Plate with Peanut Butter: Enjoy it with a Tall Skinny Caffé Latte. 470 calories

Orange juice with Smoked Salmon Roll-Up: Spread 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese on a multigrain wrap (such as Ezekiel Food for Life). Add 4 ounces smoked salmon and some diced tomato. Enjoy with 8 ounces orange juice. 520 calories

Dunkin Donuts Egg White Veggie Flatbread Sandwich: Have it with a banana and 8 ounces skim milk. 480 calories

Amy’s Organic Steel-Cut Oats Hot Cereal Bowl: Top it with 1⁄3 cup chopped almonds, 2 tablespoons raisins, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 490 calories

10 Tips How to get online products Without paying a buck

2008-03-29T19:51:00.001-07:00

NOTE : This tutorial is for Educational Purposes Only.

Before you start Please make sure you will Hide your IP and dowload firefox. DO NOT DO ANY OF THE METHODS before getting the tools.
I assume you will be using Firefox. I am not a fan of Internet Explorer. So if you do use
I E, please get Firefox as I am not sure if these tools work with IE or not.
Hide My IP 2007
You will need this software because you do not want to leave your IP behind and you
want to stay behind the proxy and Hide My IP 2007 is the best one available to be honest.
Download Hide My IP 2007 here

After downloading, Install the Hide My IP 2007 and change your IP address. Now we
must check if our IP changed go to
http://cmyip.com
and see if your IP has changed.
Once done you may proceed to do the tactics below.

* TACTIC 1
Rather easy method, but still this works for most of the sites. Its good to have an arsenal
of all the methods so that you can try all of them to get an ebook.
Well the first method is basically the old “site” synxtax used in search engines. So say
you want a product from a site
Code:
www.mysite.com
and they have a pdf or something, you will just head over to Google, and type
Code:
Site: www.mysite.com
now if the site is indexed you will have the url for the pdf file or the zip or whatever it is.
You can do this on Google, Yahoo and Alexa, I have used AltaVista in the past also, so
you can try all of them. This method rather easy works on some sites thare are har d to get
even with advance methods. So here is the fir st method the “site” command in Google
and other sites.. REMEMBER TRY ALL THE SEARCH SITES I TOLD. SOMETIMES
YAHOO SHOWS more results than Google. And vice versa.
* TACTIC 2
Another easy method, this one requires a guess work of the pdf or zip or exe file. For
example say you were looking for a book on
Code:
www.contentpro.com
now you gotta guess the pdf file if the site is selling a pdf file just give the pdf file a guess
in this case I might go for contentpro.pdf on Google and do a search and all other sites,
and see what is the r esult. If I dont get anything I will do conpro.pdf or contpro.pdf or
procontent.pdf, you get the idea. Now in some cases this method alone can find you the
ebook or product you are looking for, it has some limitaton but in most cases it wor ks like
a magic. Again try it on all sites, try it with dashes, underscores and few other add ons.
* TACTIC 3

This method requires you to have some knowledge of p2p sites and softwares. My
favourite ones happen to be IRC->DC++->Emule–>Torrent–>Limewir e. What you can
do is look around these places for the pdf file. You can find some on IRC and sometimes
on DC++ or emule or Tor rent, I have yet to find some stuff on Limewire but you can
always check it out.
* TACTIC 4

SEARCH TACTI CS
In this tactic we will try to get a ver y popular Keyword Searching Tool “Keyword Elite”.
First step is go to
http://www.filez.com
or
http://rapidshare-search- engine.com
then
search a keyword for the product that we want.
So now I will search for the keyword “keyword elite” and walla… check the rapidshare
links below and the download it.
Easy Right? :)
If you are not lucky enough to find the product then here’s something that will help you.
Go to
http://alexa.com
and search for “thank you for your purchase [keyword] ” without
the quotes(”)
example: thank you for your pur chase [adsense]
* TACTIC 5

just go to the victim : www.example- domain.com
put in robots.txt
example : www.example-domain.com/robots.txt
you will see
# robots.txt for http://www.example-domain.com/
User-agent: *
Disallow: /downld/downld.html
Disallow: /downld/a-nbsd
Disallow: /downld/b-34v8
Disallow: /downld/c-ksajfk
then you try below links, you might find goodies there
http://www.example- domain.com/downld/downld.html
http://www.example-domain.com/downld/a- nbsd
http://www.example-domain.com/downld/b-34v8
http://www.example- domain.com/downld/c-ksajfk
But it is based on luck!
* TACTIC 6

(Google / Yahoo / MSN and Other Search Engine)
:Try Following terms in the various Search Engine-
inur l:”cbreceipt”
inurl:thankyou
site:domain.com
domain.com.robots.txt
Thank you for your order + download
Congratulations on your investment
Topic filetype: pdf (where topic is what you are searching for & no space in front of pdf)
“this order button requires a javascr ipt enabled br owser”
thank you “Clk*Bank.com”
thank you “ClkBank.com”
“A syntax error has occurred” filetype:ihtml
(password|passcode)(username|userid|user) filetype:csv
intitle:index-of last-modified pr ivate
intitle:index.of ws_ftp.ini
To find weak servers try search for: intitle:”the page cannot be found” inetmgr
for chat logs sear ch for: something “has quit” “has joined” filetype:txt
Replace something with the thing you are looking for.
On Yahoo search for: link:domain.com
intitle:nameproduct intext:http://rapidshare This gives links from warez sites.

(Alexa.com)
Try Following Terms in Alexa-
Thank You for Your Purchase!
Thank you for your purchase
Your credit card statement will show a charge
Thank you for your order
Thanks for your order
Thanks for your purchase
Thanks for purchasing…….
Order Confir mation
Order Confirmed
Your credit card or bank statement will show a charge from CLKBANK*com
A charge from CLKBANK
A Charge from paypal
Paypal payment or paypal payment confirmed
Paypal Statement
CLKBANK Download instructions
CLKBANK*com
cbreceipt or cbreceipt click
CLKBANK r ight click eller CLKBANK click
Download the latest version of adobe acrobat reader
right click save target as

r ight click save file as
Click here to download
Save target as
Save file as
recieve future updates
username is password is
username: password:
Members eller Members area
charge on your statement will show as “Clickbank”
Tips:
Go to Alexa.com and type in search bar something like this:
site:www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com yyyyyyy
where xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is the site you have your eye on and yyyyyyy is something
that would limit found pages (for example if you put pdf instead of yyyyyyy you’ll get
only pages where word pdf mentioned, or you put mp3 or something similar)
I f you have time and energy you may type just:
site:www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com
and you”ll get everything that Alexa has indexed on that site. Than you sur f through all of
the pages and bingo. You’ll eventually find what you are looking for . You may try also
typing link without www.
Instead of words pdf or mp3 , you may type thanks, thank you, clickbank or whatever
you think could write on thankyou page…
* TACTIC 7

(GOOGLEBOT)
Be a googlebot to bypass membership sites and show the contents of the site without
registering.
Download this firefox plugin
http://chrispederick.com/work/user-agent-switcher/
Once the plugin is installed go to Tools tab on firefox the choose User Agent Switcher
then Options. A new window will popup. Click User Agents and click the add button.
Use this details to fill the for m.
Description: googlebot
User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Googlebot/2.1; +http://www.google.com/bot.html)
App Name: firefox
App Version: 4.8 [en] (Googlebot/2.1; U)
Platfor m: Win32
Leave Vendor and Vendor Sub blank
* TACTIC 8
( I Use this Most of the time)
My very best tool GOOGLE
Go here
http://www.google.com/help/features.html
you will understand google better.
Also Using Alter native query methods go here to know about this.
http://www.google.com/help/operators.html
I usually use the cache operator.
And lastly use the product search here
http://www.google.com/help/features.html#definitions
* TACTIC 9
If you are a hacker you can crack pay-pal code ;)
* TACTIC 10

Well, if any tactic that i dont suppose to know , if you know one Please let me know it too ;)

My Friends

2008-03-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

TItle: Buy Vaporizer
URL: http://www.vapornation.com/
Description: Buy Vaporizer products & accessories at discount prices from VaporNation.

TItle: Drug Rehab
URL: http://www.careflorida.com
Description: CareFlorida - Drug Rehabilitation - Intensive Treatment and Relapse Prevention.

TItle: Drug Rehab
URL: http://www.ambrosiatreatmentcenter.com
Description: Drug rehab and substance abuse treatment at Ambrosia Treatment Center.

TItle: Eating Disorder Treatment
URL: http://www.edtreatmentcenters.com
Description: Eating disorder treatment by EDTreatment Centers.

TItle: Dual Diagnosis
URL: http://www.dual-diagnosis-treatment-center.com
Description: Dual diagnosis & co-occurring disorder treatment center.

TItle: Drug Detox
URL: http://www.gay-rehab.com
Description: Gay friendly drug rehab, drug detox & drug addiction treatment center at Freedom Rings.

URL:http://www.synergytreatment.com/
California Drug Rehabilitation Center
Description:
Treatment is the first drug and alcohol recovery center in the United States to offer the NTR detoxification Drug Rehab with residential treatment in a 30 day package.

Url: http://www.thehumanbody.in
Title: The human body
Description: Site totally dedicated to the human body, human body illness and health, Mental health. In short words the site is a complete summary of the human body anatomy.

The Stress of Cancer: Seeking Support

2007-12-28T05:29:00.001-08:00

The Stress of Cancer: Seeking Support

Learning that you have a diagnosis of cancer is usually a traumatic experience. And following the shock of diagnosis, people have to face treatment decisions and side effects, changing personal relationships and uncertainty about their future.

"Stress can appear at every stage of the disease, at diagnosis, during treatment and after treatment," says Josée Savard, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at Université Laval in Quebec, Canada. While some stress is expected to accompany a diagnosis of cancer, Dr. Savard and other experts say that people with cancer should monitor their stress levels to make sure they are not crossing the line into depression and anxiety, which are conditions that can interfere with someone's quality of life and even their health status.

Stress vs. Anxiety and Depression
Most of the research on the psychological impact of cancer has been conducted in women with breast cancer. It's estimated that between 22 and 50 percent of women with breast cancer are depressed, while 33 percent have acute stress disorder and 3 to 19 percent have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition seen in people who have experienced traumatic events such as natural disasters or military combat.

A Canadian study published June 14th in the British Journal of Cancer found that almost 38 percent of its 3,095 participants—who included people with breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancer—met the criteria for distress levels that should be treated. But almost half of these patients had not sought psychosocial support, primarily because they weren't aware of support services or because they didn't think they needed them.

According to study author Linda Carlson, PhD, a clinical psychiatrist with the University of Calgary/Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Alberta, Canada, not getting help can have major repercussions. "If people don't feel like they can talk to anyone, their distress just snowballs over time," she says, adding that people with untreated depression and anxiety often end up visiting doctors more often.

That snowball effect may be one of several reasons patients find the post-treatment period stressful. "Some patients find it most difficult when treatments end because they feel they're not fighting anymore and they don't have the support of their medical team," Dr. Savard says.

Getting Support
Sometimes people with cancer find that the friends and family they thought they could rely on aren't offering them the support they need. In fact, cancer can sometimes expose existing cracks in relationships, particularly in couples. "For couples who were functioning well before cancer, the cancer will usually have a minimal impact on their relationship, or even improve it. In couples who had difficulties before cancer, it will generally create more problems," Dr. Savard explains.

Other times, Dr. Carlson says, people don't want to overburden their friends and family with their worries and may feel pressure to stay upbeat. And those friends and family members don't always know what to say or how to be helpful, especially if they haven't faced a life-threatening illness themselves.

Many people with cancer find the support they need in psychotherapy. Depending upon someone's personality and preferences, they may choose one-on-one psychotherapy or a support group of their peers that is led by a mental health professional, such as an oncology social worker. A study published in May 2001 in The Archives of General Psychiatry found that support groups helped reduce distress in people with metastatic cancer, primarily by helping them face their advanced disease on an emotional level. (Because the concerns of people with early stage and advanced cancer are so different, separate support groups are often found to be helpful for participants.)

"Supportive treatment, whether it's individual or group therapy, allows people to express their concerns and fears," Dr. Carlson says. "There's this myth that you have to be positive all the time when what's really important is that people are able to express their feelings, whatever they are."

Support groups and psychotherapy are also available to the family and friends of people with cancer. People with cancer and their families can find psychosocial support though their hospital or cancer center, or though support and advocacy organizations such as the American Cancer Society and The Wellness Community and CancerCare, which offer online support groups led by health professionals.

Other options available to people with cancer include hypnosis and guided imagery, where you relax by focusing on a positive mental image. Biofeedback, a technique that helps people learn how to relax, works with bodily functions such as breathing and muscle tension. If it's feasible, mild aerobic exercise can also provide energy and a mood lift. Some people, especially those who have had anxiety disorder or depression in the past, may need antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications to help them cope.

Cancer is an isolating experience, Dr. Carlson says, but reaching out for support can help people living with the discomfort and uncertainties of cancer gain reassurance and a better quality of life.

National Cancer Institute's Symptoms of Depression Having a depressed mood for most of the day and on most days:

Loss of pleasure and interest in most activities
Changes in eating and sleeping habits
Nervousness or sluggishness
Tiredness
Feeling of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt
Poor concentration
Thoughts of death or suicide

More Than Mood Swings: Bipolar Disorder in Teens

2007-12-28T05:28:00.002-08:00

More Than Mood Swings: Bipolar Disorder in Teens

Parents are often exasperated by their moody teenage children. After all, teenagers are known to be irritable, to sleep a lot and to resist authority figures. So how can a concerned parent determine when a teenager is just being a typical teenager and when their child has a mental illness such as bipolar disorder?

In teenagers, symptoms of bipolar disorder can include dramatic mood changes within a single day and may have different symptoms than adults. Below, Barbara Geller, MD, a professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses how to recognize and treat bipolar disorder in adolescents.

What is bipolar disorder?
It's defined like other psychiatric disorders across the age span in a manual called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The specific definition for what we now call bipolar disorder, but used to be called "manic-depressive" illness includes certain symptoms that patients must have to make a diagnosis.

People have to experience both depressed and manic episodes. For example, to fit the depressed part, they would need to be sad, to lose enjoyment in usual activities, to have trouble sleeping and eating, to be guilt-ridden, suicidal. To fit the manic part, they'd have to have elation: a mood of being happy as if the most wonderful thing in your life is happening except it's on a day that's like any other day. Families often describe it as Jim Carrey—like behaviors: silly, giddy, joking without an apparent reason.

People with bipolar disorder also get very grandiose. In adults, it may be developing business schemes that are unlikely to work so they wind up maxing-out credit cards. They have very active personal lives and may have multiple marriages. They seem to be able to go without sleep and are very social.

When does bipolar disorder usually first appear?
It's really only been in the last decade that people have started to pay attention to diagnosing bipolar disorder in young children and early adolescents. So many adults looking back can describe that they had the illness, but it may not have been recognized at that time. It's estimated from current studies that maybe as many as half of adults who have bipolar disorder had their onset before age 17.

How is the bipolar disorder different in younger children?
In adults, what people are used to thinking is that there will be a discrete episode with a clear onset and a clear offset. You generally have mostly a high or a low, and people function somewhat better between episodes.

What we see in the younger population is they have continuous illness for years, but on a daily basis, they can be both high and low. So they may spend four hours of the day high and giddy and silly, and it's very infectious and amusing, and maybe another four hours of the day morose, gloomy, not wanting to be with friends and thinking of hurting themselves. You see these very rapid cycles shifting from extreme high to extreme low on a daily basis, day in and day out, year after year.

And in children, the high manifests a little differently because children are not likely to max-out credit cards or have had four marriages by the time they're seven or eight. So what we look for in children is being super happy, as if it were Christmas morning or the day you're going to Disneyland, except it's the average day in school.

What are some of the risk factors for bipolar disorder?
The biggest factor is that it seems to run in some families. Bipolar symptoms also can occur with use of certain prescription medications such as steroids, with some illicit drugs such as cocaine and with various brain diseases such as stroke, tumors and trauma.

What are some of the warning signs in teenagers?
What families may notice is an exaggeration of all the stereotypes of what we say teenagers do. So we think of teenagers as being irresponsible and being irritable, but the child with bipolar disorder may suddenly decide, "I'm not going to school. They're not teaching me anything. I'm going to be President of the United States anyway, why do I have to go to school?" They have very grandiose behaviors that are out of keeping with reality.

They can also get very hypersexual. We think of adolescents getting very interested in the opposite sex, but bipolar adolescents will feel an urgent need to have multiple partners. They'll begin using very sexy language in inappropriate places. At school, they may write it on the blackboard.

How can parents distinguish between a moody teenager and someone who might have a mood disorder?

It's extremely important for parents to get a professional evaluation if they have any suspicion. The worst that will happen, if it's unfounded, is they will have spent a little time and money. But if it is not evaluated, and you let it go on, it can devastate a child's life. There will be multiple suspensions from school. They can get sexually transmitted diseases because they have unsafe sex. They can very rapidly go into a depression and get very suicidal and act on it. So it's very important, especially in families where a family member has bipolar disorder or has depression, for parents to get consultations at the first sign of any suspicion.

Are teenagers with bipolar disorder more likely to have drug and alcohol problems?
There is a very high rate among people with bipolar disorder of using alcohol and drugs across the age span. Parents have to be very suspicious because a child who's using drugs may seem like they're just having "the normal moodiness of adolescence."

There are some common things to look for. For example, drugs cost money and the family may find that items are disappearing from the house. A child may ask to borrow Mom's jewelry, and it somehow gets lost. Or they borrow electronic equipment, and what they're doing is selling it so they can afford their drugs.

What treatment is recommended to teenagers with bipolar disorder?
There are three classes of medication that are used for bipolar illness across the age span. The antimania drug lithium is the mainstay, and lithium is especially good if somebody else in the family with bipolar disorder has responded to it. The second class of drugs is called anticonvulsants because they were originally developed to treat epilepsy. And the third class of drugs is called neuroleptics.

It's very important to educate the family about the illness and to let them grieve. The last thing they want is for one of their children to have the illness. Then you can help them adapt and take part in the child's treatment. You also have to educate personnel at the school so that the expectation about the amount of work that the child can do is geared toward what the child can manage.

How well does medication control the disease?
Some kids do very well and become indistinguishable from other children as long as they take their medication regularly. The medication essentially has to be taken indefinitely, as it is in adults. Most who take it regularly will have fewer hospitalizations and suicide attempts, and they will be able to hold jobs better and have more stable personal relationships. For others, bipolar disorder is very difficult to treat, and it can be months of trying to find the right combination of treatments.

Are there strategies for helping teenagers stay on their medication?
Strategies have really not been formally researched and developed. This is a very important area for future research. For example, will there be Web-based programs the patients can go to? One thing that we find very helpful to do with adolescents is to grieve with them. The way parents have to mourn the loss of a child who's well, the children themselves have to mourn the loss of their former well self.

But grief hurts a millimeter less every day, so we usually can tell them that six months from now, it'll be more automatic just to take the medication and go about your other business.

More Than Mood Swings: Bipolar Disorder in Teens

2007-12-28T05:28:00.001-08:00

What The Most Dangerous Job In The World Taught Me About Coping With Stress

2007-12-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

What The Most Dangerous Job In The World Taught Me About Coping With Stress
By: Kevin Thompson

I just got through reading some troubling news in the New York Times this morning.

62% of employees now say that work-related stress leaves them overwhelmed and overtired.

And for many of us, who bring work home from the office, the problem is even worse.

So what’s going on?

Why are most of us so stressed?

I’ll tell you what a major part of the problem is… lack of job security.

I remember as I was growing up, my father only had two jobs. He was a high school teacher for the earlier part of his life, and later on he went into the real estate profession.

Two jobs, and they spanned his entire lifetime!

And the one career change he made was something he wanted to do. He didn’t make the change because he was losing his job as a teacher. In fact, the school district wanted him to stay.

But that’s a far cry from the way things are today. In fact, the days of job stability, and working for a single employer for your entire working career are long gone.

You’ll probably change jobs at least 11 times before you retire.

Downsizing, rapid business expansion and outsourcing are terms that we’re all too familiar with.

Before I got involved in the health industry and started my own indoor air quality business back in 1996, I’d already held 5 jobs in 5 completely different industries.

I worked as a telecommunications technician (in the Army), as a framer, on the green chain at 2 separate lumber mills, as a farm hand and finally as an Alaska fisherman for seven years (which was the hardest and most stressful job I ever had).

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “You must’ve been a problem employee”.

But the fact is, nothing could be further from the truth.

I was in fact a model employee for every company I worked for, and never left a single employer on bad terms.

For example…

I began working as an Alaska fisherman in 1988. My main motivation for doing this was the money. Quite honestly, that’s the only reason I took the job.

And if you’ve ever seen that movie “The Perfect Storm” or watched those shows on the discovery channel, you have an idea of what it’s like to fish in Alaska.

My own story isn’t much different and it taught me why being an Alaska Fisherman is know as “The Most Dangerous Job In The World”.

The winter of 1995 had been an especially bad winter in Alaska. Fishing boats and fishermen's lives were being claimed by the Bering Sea almost weekly.

I was working on the outside deck after dark and we were in an unbelievable storm. It was the worst I'd seen in my 7 years of fishing. The kind of thing you only see in the movies.

I was scared to death!

But I had my own way of dealing with my fears. I'd never look out at the horizon when we were in a storm like this because I didn't want to see the big picture. I didn't want to know how high the waves really were. So I'd just concentrate on my job, which was to get all the fish onto the boat. As long as I did my job, and didn't look up, I could almost convince myself that the storm wasn't that bad.

While this certainly wasn’t the best way to deal with stress, at the time, it was the only way I knew how.

As always, the captain was in the wheelhouse driving the boat. His job was to keep an eye on me and watch for the dangerous rogue waves that would come out of nowhere and slam into us broadside. He'd tell me if I was in any real danger.

And then it happened!

I heard the captain's thundering voice over the intercom system.

Kevin! Hit the deck!

Before I could react, I was buried under a wall of water that hurled me all the way across the deck of the boat, face first into the railing on the other side.

When the water settled, and I realized what had happened, my immediate thought was, "Thank God I'm still on the boat" The impact had knocked out my front teeth and caused serious facial damage, but at least I was still alive, and on the boat.

If that wave would have lifted me just a few inches higher, I would have been thrown right over the top of the railing into the freezing waters of the Bering Sea. And there's one thing I knew for sure. In a storm like that, there's no way in hell the captain would have got that boat turned around in time to save me. I would have died right then and there.

It was at that moment I decided my life as an Alaska Fisherman was over.

While it was a great experience, I’ve never regretted my decision to leave the fishing industry. I just didn’t want to deal with that much stress in my life.

Decades of research has linked stress to everything from heart attacks and stroke to diabetes and a weakened immune systems, and none of us want to deal with that.

I’ve since found much better ways to deal with stress, and you can too by using the resources on this site.

-----------------------------------------

Kevin Thompson is a national authority on indoor air quality and health issues. His free Health Articles & News Update service gives you instant access to the world's most respected and sought after health experts in 70 categories, including Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Children’s Health just to name a few. Find out how this free service is changing people's lives and how you too can live a longer, healthier and more prosperous lifestyle... beginning today!

How To Destress Your Life Naturally

2007-12-28T05:26:00.000-08:00

How To Destress Your Life Naturally
By: DAVE WOYNAROWSKI, M.D.
The World's Top Anti-Aging Specialist

What would you say if I told you that a lot of today's stresses are not environmental!

You'd probably say, "What are you talking about! If so and so wasn't doing this and my boss wasn't doing that and he kids listened better I would be a lot calmer!"

Well that is probably true, but your ancestors had to deal with disease starvation and wild animals which had to be very stressful!

I don't think A.D.D. and Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia were survival advantages!

My point is this: As I've said before Food is the most powerful drug ever invented. And the biggest missing in our diets if Omega 3 fatty acids.

With the proper amount of fish Oil Omega 3 fatty acids in your body you will notice you are a lot calmer and much more able to handle stress creatively!

A while back I talked about the effects of stress on longevity and health. All of it was bad!

Well, I have recently uncovered some additional evidence that Omega 3 fatty acids are needed for us to respond properly to stress.

And I mean serious stress, like the kind our ancestors faced, AND the version of it we face today!

Undoubtedly this is how our ancestors survived the tremendous stresses in their lives.

In all of the cardiac studies with fish oil it shows there is an inverse relationship between fish oil intake and death and development of heart attack in humans.

We have talked in the past about all kinds of reasons for this: the blood thinning effect of fish oil via platelets, the direct anti-inflammatory effect of fish oil on the formation of clogged heart arteries.

The latest research suggests that Fish Oil has adaptogenic properties with regards to the human response to stress.

This includes a direct effect on a very primitive part of the human brain called the brain stem. It is from this area that nervous discharges happen.

One type of nervous discharge is called "sympathetic".

This funny name refers to the type of nervous discharge that causes blood vessels to tighten blood pressure to go up and people to get anxious and stressed out.

It also leads to increased cortisol which is the hormonal equivalent of suicide by stress!

Fish oil attenuates this type of discharge and allows the body to respond in a graded sensible manner instead of a ballistic blast.

Most of you are aware of fish Oil's effects on the brain as well. I've referenced many studies in the past on depression and behavioral modification with Fish Oil via serotonin and dopamine, brain chemicals.

Another very cool and very healthy thing happens when adequate fish oil is present in the system.

The body starts using fat preferentially as a fuel during times of mental and physical stress.

So there you have it! Improve your brain chemistry, buffer your body's ability to handle both mental and physical stress, burn more fat, reduce cortisol and the illness it is associated with including aging!

What more could you ask for! Make sure you go to the site and order as the winter flu season comes upon us and take advantage of the beneficial immune effects that fish Oil can also give you!

Breast Augmentation: A Public Health Perspective

2007-12-28T05:19:00.000-08:00

Breast Augmentation: A Public Health Perspective

By: Diana Zuckerman, PhD

More than 150,000 women had breast augmentation surgery last year; an all-time high. At the same time, the number of teenagers who choose breast implants has more than doubled in the last two years.

And yet, the controversy about breast implants still rages. As is often the case when the media covers medical issues, there are experts on all sides of this issue, and the consumer is left totally confused.

As a Congressional investigator in the early 1990s, I had access to all published and unpublished studies of breast implants, and was appalled to learn that almost one million women had breast implants, but they had never been objectively evaluated in either clinical trials or epidemiological research. That situation has changed. After the FDA started restricting access to silicone gel breast implants, the implant manufacturers started to fund research in an effort to prove that they were safe.

As a scientist trained in psychology and epidemiology, I have studied both the desire for implants and the possible physical risks. Despite all the controversy and media coverage about breast implants, there are surprisingly few studies on the psychological benefits of implants, the local complications caused by breast implants, or the long-term risks. Instead, there is a great deal of misinformation in the media, and many women make the decision to get breast implants with unrealistic expectations about how it will change their lives, little awareness of the financial consequences, and without the resources to cope if problems do occur.

Breast Implants and Self-Image
Plastic surgeons claim that breast implants have a very positive impact on a patient’s self-image. It would be easy to study this objectively, by evaluating women’s self-esteem and body image before, after, and several years after getting breast implants. No such study has ever been conducted.

Surveys indicate that when plastic surgeons ask their patients if they are satisfied, most say that they are. However, that is not an objective way to study the impact on breast implants. There is no doubt that some women are very satisfied with their breast implants, but any evaluation of patient satisfaction should be conducted by someone other than the plastic surgeons or their staff. If you want honest and accurate answers, it is important for patients to feel that their answers are anonymous. Since implants are a lifetime commitment, it is also important to study them several years later, since that is when problems become more likely.

From a psychological point of view, improving one’s appearance, with plastic surgery or other means, can help a person feel better about himself or herself. On the other hand, there are individuals who feel unattractive because of a particular physical shortcoming, who then “solve” that problem, and then focus on a different shortcoming. There are other potential problems specific to implants: a woman who changes her appearance by getting breast implants may find that men treat her so differently that she feels uncomfortable. If the implants seem obvious (for example, because of the swooshing sound of saline, hardness from capsular contracture, or because they don’t feel the same as natural breasts) she may become more self-conscious rather than self-confident.

Are Breast Implants Approved by the FDA?
It may surprise you to learn that there are almost no published studies of the safety of saline breast implants, and that no breast implants were ever approved by the FDA until a few months ago. In May 2000, for the first time, the FDA approved several styles of saline breast implants made by two manufacturers, Mentor and McGhan. The FDA decided to give women the choice of buying implants even though FDA advisors expressed a great deal of concern about the complications experienced by many women with implants. The FDA did not approve saline implants made by other manufacturers, and did not approve some of the styles of implants previously sold by either Mentor or McGhan. That means that many women are walking around today with implants that never were approved by the FDA and probably never will be.

Saline breast implants are made with silicone outer shells with saline inside. The implants, commonly called “silicone implants,” have the same kind of silicone outer shells, with silicone gel on the inside.

No type of silicone gel breast implant has ever been approved by the FDA. When the FDA reviewed the safety research in 1991, they determined that the studies did not prove that implants were safe. The sale of silicone gel breast implants was therefore restricted to mastectomy patients, patients with breast deformities, and any augmentation patient who had a broken silicone gel implant that she wanted to replace. All of those women are required to participate in a study of the health risks. A small number of first-time augmentation patients were recently included in these studies.

Saline Implants
FDA approval of some Mentor and McGhan saline breast implants is based on studies that are not published. For detailed information, check out the FDA Web site or the summary on the Web site of the National Center for Policy Research for Women and Families.

The manufacturers studied local complications such as pain, implant rupture, and the rate of subsequent surgery and implant removal. Mentor reported that 43 percent of the augmentation patients in their study experienced local complications within the first three years, including:

* asymmetry, scarring, or wrinkling (32 percent)
* needing additional surgery (13 percent)
* severe capsular contracture (10 percent)
* implant removal (8 percent)

Even more women (60 percent) with McGhan implants reported at least one serious complication in the almost four years of that study. In the first three years, McGhan patients experienced the following:

* asymmetry, scarring, or wrinkling (27 percent)
* needing additional surgery (21 percent)
* severe capsular contracture (9 percent)
* had at least one implant removed (8 percent)

The complication rates were even higher for patients who got new breast implants to replace previous implants, and higher still for women getting implants for reconstruction after a mastectomy.

If these complication rates sounds very high to you, you’re not alone. The FDA decision to approve saline implants has been questioned by members of Congress because one of the manufacturing companies is under a criminal investigation and because the FDA did not require long-term studies or studies of whether saline breast implants cause serious diseases. Long-term research is essential, because many of the implant patients who have had problems, complain of systemic diseases that developed years after getting their implants.

Instead, the FDA apparently relied on studies that had been reviewed by the Institute of Medicine, which did not find a significant increase in systemic diseases among implant patients. However, the Institute of Medicine only reviewed studies that had been conducted previously, and these studies were not conclusive.

Silicone Gel Implants
The Institute of Medicine report primarily focused on silicone gel breast implants, and found no statistically significant relationship to systemic disease in most of them. However, several studies found an increased risk of connective tissue diseases, although the risk was not always statistically significant. These trends can mean several things:

* Illness could occur by chance (in other words, whether or not the person has implants)

* The sample could be too small to detect a real risk (this is especially likely when rare diseases like scleroderma (connective tissue disorder) are studied)

* The study is not well designed—for example, most of the studies include women who had implants for a few months or years, which is probably too short a period of time to develop connective tissue disease or cancer.

Whether or not silicone gel implants cause systemic disease, a new FDA study shows that they break more quickly than has been acknowledged. The new FDA study, published in September, 2000, showed that many women with silicone gel implants walk around with broken and leaking implants without knowing it. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers determined that almost half (48 percent) of the women who had silicone gel-filled implants for only six to ten years had at least one ruptured implant, even though they didn’t know it. Even more of the women (79 percent) who had gel-filled implants for 11 to 15 years had at least one ruptured implant. What was surprising was that the women had not realized the implants were broken and had not sought any medical care. Since this study excluded any women who had already reported implant problems or removal, the actual breakage rate is even higher.

Even more worrisome is that more than one in five of women had silicone gel “migrating” away from the broken implant capsule. The long-term risks of migrating silicone are unknown, but there are studies documenting serious health risks and fatalities when liquid silicone migrates to vital organs. Since silicone gel can break down to liquid form, this is a serious concern, especially since these women were not aware of what was happening and only found out because they were randomly selected for a study.

What Are the Local Complications of All Implants?
There are some known risks of implants that are true for either saline-filled or silicone gel-filled implants:

All surgery for breast implants, whether silicone gel or saline, has risks. These include the risk of infection, hematoma (blood or tissue fluid collecting around an implant), the risk that one or both of the implants will have to be removed (requiring additional surgery), and the potential costs of repeated surgeries if the implants are replaced.

All breast surgery, including implants, can interfere with a woman’s ability to breast-feed a baby. Women with implants are less likely to be able to nurse than women who have not had breast surgery.

All breast implants will eventually break, but it is not known how many years the breast implants that are currently on the market will last. As shown in the recent FDA study, most implants last seven to 12 years, but some break during the first few months or years, and some last more than 15 years.

The most common complaint is capsular contracture, which occurs when a woman's body reacts to the “foreign body” by forming a capsule of scar tissue around the implants that can become too tight. If that happens, the breasts can become very hard, misshapen, and painful as a result, often requiring surgery or removal. The appearance is common among actresses and models, who sometimes look like they have two balls attached to their chests instead of natural breasts. The result is especially unattractive if one breast has contracture and the other doesn’t, or if the contracture causes the breast to feel very hard or to change in shape. View a photo of capsular contracture on the FDA Web site.

Although the epidemiological studies have not proved that systemic disease is caused by breast implants, several European studies have indicated that breast surgery (whether for breast implants or to reduce the size of breasts) may be associated with an increased risk of connective tissue disease or rheumatism. If these disorders, which include diseases such as scleroderma and fibromyalgia (a syndrome characterized by chronic fatigue and body aches and pains), are related to breast surgery, all women with implants would be at increased risk, regardless of whether the implants are filled with saline or silicone gel. Since women with implants often have multiple surgeries, the risks of systemic illness are potentially increased even further.

All breast implants interfere with mammography, because implants can obscure the view of a tumor. Implants, therefore, have the potential to delay the diagnosis of breast cancer. Although specially trained technicians can perform mammography in ways that minimize the interference of the implants, not all women have access to a mammography technician with this expertise. Unfortunately, even with expert technicians, about 30 percent of the breast will still be obscured. Experts estimate that 20,000 to 40,000 women who already have implants will have a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer because of their implants.

Although there are no long-term safety studies of saline implants, it is assumed that they are safer than silicone gel implants because if they break, they can be more easily removed. In contrast, silicone gel can be very difficult or even impossible to completely remove from the body once an implant has ruptured. In addition, it is not always obvious that a silicone gel implant has broken, and the gel can migrate slowly over time into various parts of the body. However, there is research evidence that bacteria and mold can grow in a saline-filled implant, and nobody has studied what happens when the implant breaks in a woman’s body. In addition, even saline implants can leak small amounts of silicone or platinum into the body, which come from the outer shell (the “bag” that holds the saline) of the implant. The long-term health risks of those leaks are unknown.

Financial and Insurance Concerns
Breast augmentation usually costs $5,000 to $7,000 and many physicians will sell the procedure on the installment plan. However, the initial cost is small compared to the lifetime costs, even for women who like their implants.

Since implants can break at any time, and are almost assured of breaking within seven to 12 years, a woman needs to consider the lifetime expense of additional surgery and replacement. Although unusual, some implants break within a few days, weeks, or months of surgery. Some implant manufacturers promise to replace the implants for free, but the expense of the implant may be a small percentage of the total cost of augmentation. Some doctors also promise to provide their replacement services for free, but that does not include the cost of the medical facility, anesthesiologist, and so on.

Augmentation is almost never paid for by health insurance, so the costs of additional surgery can be very expensive. Women with implant problems can have many surgeries within a few years.

An even greater problem is that breast implants can make a woman uninsurable. While many insurance policies will merely exclude the implants, or the entire breast area from coverage (a terrible problem if the woman later gets breast cancer), some major insurance companies have decided to totally exclude any woman with breast augmentation from their policies.

The costs of removing a broken silicone gel implant are substantial. If the implant breaks and the silicone gel spills out, it can mix with the breast tissue and other tissue and be almost impossible to remove. Surgical efforts to remove broken gel implants can take hours and cost tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, a mastectomy may be necessary to remove the silicone in an otherwise healthy breast.

What Have I Got to Lose?
Many cosmetic changes are easy to undo. Breast implants are not. Once the skin and natural breast tissue have been stretched by breast implants, they will never look the same as they did before the implant surgery. Most plastic surgeons try to persuade their patients to replace a problem implant, warning them that they will be depressed by their appearance if they are taken out and not replaced. This should be of particular concern to parents who are considering implants for their daughters. If a 17-year-old dyes her hair, she can dye it back or grow it out. If she decides to get breast implants, it is a decision that will permanently change her body. If she wasn’t satisfied with the size of her breasts before implants, imagine how she will feel to have breasts that are just as small and also sagging.

Why Weren’t Implants Studied Before They Were Sold to Women?
With all the problems and unanswered questions about breast implants, the obvious question is “Why weren’t implants studied first and improved before selling them to women across the country?”

The FDA did not have the authority to regulate any kinds of implants or medical devices until 1976. Implants had been sold since the 1960s, so they were allowed to stay on the market until the FDA reviewed them. Meanwhile, there was a substantial backlog of products that the FDA needed to review, and cosmetic products like breast implants were not a priority. Unfortunately, the manufacturers did not conduct long-term studies until the FDA required them.

Conclusion
The more than one million women who have breast implants are, without their realizing it, part of a natural “study” to learn what the risks are. Women deserve to be told what is known, and what is not known, before they make this decision. And, if a woman with implants complains of symptoms, she needs to find a plastic surgeon who has a reputation for helping women with implant problems.

Surgical Solutions to Obesity

2007-12-18T07:03:00.003-08:00

Surgical Solutions to Obesity

With: Dr. Elliot Goodman

There are a host of medical problems associated with obesity. Stroke, diabetes, heart disease, and joint problems are just a few of the known consequences, and yet nearly one quarter of American adults are obese, and this number is rising. An estimated three to five percent of adult Americans are morbidly obese. For these individuals, medical problems, in addition to social and practical problems, are a near inevitability. Fortunately for some, the battle against obesity has a surgical weapon. It's called bariatric surgery.

Below, longtime general and bariatric surgeon, Dr. Elliot Goodman of the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Weight Reduction Surgery, talks about the procedure, and its effect on the physical and emotional lives of his patients.

First, could you tell us what bariatric surgery is, and who undergoes this procedure?
Bariatric surgery is the surgical treatment of severe obesity. And when we say severe, we mean anybody who is at least a hundred pounds overweight. People who undergo bariatric surgery have generally been obese for decades, and they most often have a history of childhood obesity.

What does the surgery entail?
In the surgery, we staple the stomach to make it much smaller, and we reroute food so that it bypasses the first few feet of intestines. We actually rearrange the anatomy and the physiology of the intestinal tract.

And what does this do to the body?
Well in addition to dramatically reducing the size of the stomach, the surgery also changes the hormonal condition of the patient. You're changing their sensitivity to insulin, you're changing their metabolism of iron and calcium and other nutrients.

And a lot of things which would otherwise get absorbed don't get absorbed. There are hormonal changes induced which suppress appetite. There are hormonal changes induced which increase the body's sensitivity to insulin, because most severely obese patients are resistant to insulin, which is why so many of them are diabetic. So it's one operation that has manifold effects on body metabolism.

Does this surgery actually treat diabetes in some cases?
Absolutely. I hear stories of patients who are on three or four different medications for diabetes, and a hundred units of insulin -- which is a big daily dose of insulin -- and within a few weeks they're off. They're off the medications even before they've lost a significant amount of weight. Also, people who have very high cholesterols will often see their cholesterol dipping down to normal. So these are some of the more dramatic effects of the operation.

Coronary artery disease and high blood pressure also respond well. It's great to see patients who may be on five, ten, twelve different medications, over time say, "Well, I dropped this medication," or, "I halved this dose." Within a year or two, they may be down to the bare minimum of medications.

I imagine that the surgery may also solve some of the more structural problems in the body, like joint pain?
Absolutely. People with aches and pains or degenerative joint disease are well served by this surgery.

Could you describe the experience of one patient who has responded well to the surgery?
Sure. I operated on a woman about a year and a half ago who was about three-hundred and fifty pounds overweight, and had been obese for most of her life.

She was only in her early forties, but was so big that she had to come into the office with a walker. She was unable to sit in any of the chairs even though we have fairly heavy-duty armless chairs, and she was too heavy to weigh in our office. Our scale goes up to five hundred pounds.

Did she describe to you her reasons for wanting the surgery?
She told me she couldn't work, couldn't fit into an armchair, and couldn't really go out anywhere. She said she could not take the bus, because she couldn't get up the stairs into the bus, or sit down in the bus. She didn't go out to shop because people would stare at her, whisper about her behind her back, or just blurt out obscenities at her.

Was bariatric surgery a last resort for her?
She'd been struggling with this for a very long time. She had tried everything else: diets, over the counter pills, and exercise, when she was younger and abler. And she had decided that if she didn't do anything at this point about her weight, having failed at everything else, her life expectancy was extremely limited. She wasn't sure whether she'd be around in a few more years. And I agreed that her weight was life-threatening.

What happened after the initial consultation?
First she was seen by our nutritionist, and then she was evaluated by one of the psychologists we use.

Why do you do a psychological evaluation?
Many reasons. A lot of patients who come in, perhaps at the suggestion of their own doctors, don't understand that this is a very big operation, and that it can occasionally go wrong, and that it can occasionally lead to complications, including death. This is not a tummy tuck, or liposuction. They need to understand the severity of the procedure, and the small chance of major complications.

Also, there are patients who may be depressed. If they are severely depressed, we'll often recommend that they defer surgery -- get the acute depression under control and then come back.

Binge eating is another problem among some of our prospective patients. They will respond to stress by eating, and will eat so much that they induce vomiting. If it persists after surgery, particularly in the early days post-surgery, binge eating can be very dangerous. After the surgery, patients have very small stomachs - approximately the size of an egg -- and if they try and stuff too much food into them, they can actually break down the surgical staples, causing a leak, which can be potentially fatal. So we need to weed these patients out.

How long, for our case study patient, did the whole testing period take?
The whole process took about six to eight weeks. After she was seen by the nutritionist and psychologist, she underwent a medical workup, just to make sure that she would be able to tolerate the operation and the anesthesia.

And the operation was successful?
Yes. The first big milestone was that we could actually weigh her. She dropped below five-hundred pounds. And then she was down to four-fifty, then four-hundred, and so on. Two or three months after her surgery, she was able to walk without the walker. Eventually she could sit down in our waiting room and get up without assistance. And her joint trouble began to subside.

She has a job now, and she's going back to school. Through the process of the operation, we were able to draw her back into the mainstream of life.

Do your patients keep in touch with you long after surgery?
Yes, the longevity of the relationship with the patients is quite remarkable. I don't think patients call their surgeons years after an operation to say, "Hey, three years ago you took out my gall bladder." But I get calls all the time from bariatric surgery patients. I bond with these people for years.

Just recently a patient called me up out of the blue and said, "You're the second person I've told that I'm pregnant." This was a patient who had been trying to get pregnant for ten years. But before the surgery she weighed three-hundred and fifty pounds, and she was essentially infertile.

What You Need To Know About Rhinoplasty: Nose Jobs

2007-12-18T07:03:00.001-08:00

What You Need To Know About Rhinoplasty: Nose Jobs

By: Jonathan Pontell, MD

Rhinoplasty, commonly referred to as a nose job, is any surgery done to change the shape of the nose. Rhinoplasty may be done for purely cosmetic reasons, for purely functional reasons such as to improve nasal breathing, or a combination of the two.

Because the nose has a very prominent central location on the face, the changes made with rhinoplasty can make a dramatic difference in a person’s appearance and lead to great increases in self-esteem and self-confidence.

Cosmetic rhinoplasty can change an almost infinite number of variations in nasal shapes. The goal of the surgery is to give an improved nasal contour that is in harmony with the rest of the face, while maintaining or improving nasal breathing. Most often, rhinoplasty is done to make a large nose smaller or a wide nose narrower, but occasionally the opposite is true.

The Consultation
Anyone considering rhinoplasty should see a board-certified facial plastic surgeon, otolaryngologist/head and neck surgeon (ENT), or general plastic surgeon for a consultation. The patient should seek out a surgeon who has extensive training and experience with both the cosmetic and functional aspects of this operation. It is advisable to ask to see a portfolio of before-and-after photographs of other rhinoplasties the surgeon has performed.

The consultation is an opportunity for me to listen to patients’ goals, to examine them, and to come up with a surgical plan. I examine the external and internal nose to determine what changes are possible. It is very helpful for patients to be able to clearly express what they do not like about their noses so I can determine if their goals are realistic. I also attempt to explore exactly what a patient’s motivation is for wanting nasal surgery. It is important to make sure that the patient has carefully thought about the decision to have surgery and that the desire is not based on a whim, to please someone else, or because of a recent life-changing event, such as a divorce.

During the consultation, I use computer imaging to show patients the changes that are possible. Computer imaging is a powerful tool that is useful in establishing clear communication between the patient and myself as to what the surgical goal should be. It is important to note, however, that the computer-simulated photographs are only an estimation of the desired outcome. Although the actual result of surgery usually closely approximates the computer-simulated images, no surgeon can guarantee to what extent a complete match will occur.

Assessing the Face
When examining the patient, I look at the entire face to determine what changes are needed to create the most aesthetically pleasing result. I take into account the patient’s ethnic background, bony and cartilaginous anatomy, skin thickness, general health status, and age. Female patients should be at least 15 to 16 years old and males should be 16 to 17 years old—ages at which the vast majority of nasal growth has been completed. Nasal surgery done prior to the completion of nasal growth may result in developmental abnormalities of the nose.

At the consultation I may also suggest that the patient undergo another procedure in combination with the rhinoplasty to maximize facial harmony and balance. The most common procedure done in combination with rhinoplasty is chin augmentation, but cheek augmentation and chin reduction may also be done in combination with rhinoplasty.

Surgery location
The rest of my consultation includes a discussion of the different locations at which I perform surgery. These locations include hospital operating rooms, surgicenters, and my office operating rooms. Patients should be sure that anesthesia given in an office operating room is provided by a licensed anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist. Also, all of the same monitoring equipment present in a hospital operating room, such as EKG machines and blood-oxygen level monitors, should be in the office for your surgery.

Patients are usually given local anesthesia with sedation to place them in a comfortable drowsy state, but they remain awake. The other option is general anesthesia where the patient goes to sleep fully. The first option is safer and has less postoperative nausea and a quicker recovery.

Rhinoplasty Techniques
There is a multitude of variations in rhinoplasty techniques. The technique used depends on what type of problem exists and also on the individual surgeon’s preference. Most of the incisions are placed inside the nose, but some surgeons employ a technique called open or external rhinoplasty, in which a small incision is placed in the columella, which is the bridge of skin separating the two nostrils. This incision, when connected with the intranasal incisions, allows better exposure of the nasal anatomy than the more traditional techniques. The benefits of improved exposure are better symmetry and more sophisticated ways of altering the nasal anatomy, which I believe lead to better results. Also, occasionally, incisions are placed at the base of the nostrils for nostril narrowing.

Bone restructuring
Once the surgical exposure of the cartilage and bones of the nose is accomplished, many different maneuvers are used to modify them.

Nasal bones and cartilage may be shaved down if too prominent, repositioned if out of alignment or too wide, or added to if deficient. Nasal tip cartilages are often reduced in size and sutures are placed to narrow and refine them.

Often, in the case of twisted, deviated, or wide noses, cuts will be made in the nasal bones to allow them to be repositioned. Deficiencies in the nasal structure are replaced with grafts of cartilage from the nasal septum, ear or rib, or bone from the skull, rib, or hip. Nasal deficiencies may also be replaced with synthetic materials such as Gore-TexTM or SilasticTM. The advantage of using synthetic materials for nasal augmentation is that no further surgical procedures are needed to harvest these materials. The implant is simply removed from a sterile package, carved to the proper shape and implanted. The disadvantage of synthetic implants is that they can become infected or lead to thinning of the skin and eventual exposure of the implant necessitating implant removal. Implants from the patient’s own cartilage or bone almost never cause any of these problems.

After all of the modifications to the nasal structure are completed the incisions are closed and a cast is usually applied. Occasionally, depending on exactly what type of procedure was done, VaselineTM gauze or a sponge dressing may be placed inside the nose for one to two days.

What to Expect After Surgery
After surgery, patients usually have minimal pain, which is easily controlled with pain medication. The degree of swelling and bruising depends on how extensive the surgery was. If mobilizing and repositioning the nasal bones was not part of the surgery then swelling and bruising around the eyes is usually minimal. If the nasal bones were repositioned, swelling and bruising around the eyes may be significant, but is usually gone in seven-to-ten days. Most patients feel comfortable going out in public by this time. Some surgeons give steroid medications for a few days after the surgery in an attempt to minimize swelling as much as possible. By six weeks, the majority of swelling of the nose is gone, but it often takes many months for the final amounts of swelling to disappear.

Sleeping
It is helpful for the patient to sleep with his or her head elevated on a few pillows for the first week to allow gravity to aid in reducing the swelling as quickly as possible. The cast is usually removed after one week and any external sutures that were used are also removed around this time. When the cast is removed, the patient will get some idea of how the nose will look, but during the next few weeks to months, significant changes will occur with healing and the disappearance swelling.

Post-surgery activities
Patients are told not to engage in any strenuous activities for the first two weeks after surgery that could lead to nose bleeds, and to avoid direct sun exposure for the first few months, which would lead to swelling of the nose. Also, it is advisable for the first six weeks to avoid activities that could lead to the nose being hit or bumped. Patients who wear glasses may be advised to tape their glasses to their foreheads for a few weeks if their nasal bones were repositioned in order to avoid the weight of the glasses displacing the nasal bones.

Surgical Risks
All surgery is associated with risks. For patients who do not have significant medical problems, the risks are minimal. Any surgery can result in an infection, a bleeding problem, or an adverse reaction to the anesthesia medications. Again, these are extremely rare occurrences. Poor healing, the development of scar tissue under the skin, nasal contour irregularities and postoperative nasal breathing problems are also possible occurrences. All of these complications are treatable.

Surgical Costs
The surgical fee for rhinoplasty varies from doctor to doctor and may depend on how extensive the surgery will be, but a range of $3,000 to $5,000 is typical. Insurance may cover the entire cost of the surgery including anesthesia and operating room fees if the surgery is done for functional and not cosmetic reasons. Rhinoplasty, for a combination of functional and cosmetic reasons, may be partially covered, but surgery for purely cosmetic reasons is not covered by insurance.

Conclusion
The latest techniques used in rhinoplasty allow surgeons to give patients natural, aesthetically pleasing results with good nasal function. Patients with the proper self-motivation and realistic expectations for the surgery are usually very pleased.

Breast Augmentation: A Public Health Perspective

2007-12-18T07:02:00.001-08:00

Sports Doping: What Should Parents Know?

2007-12-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

Sports Doping: What Should Parents Know?

By: Donald E. Greydanus, MD

Using chemicals in the hopes of improving athletic performance is nothing new. If you were an athlete in the Greek Olympic days, your coach might have suggested you try various mushrooms to gain a competitive advantage. In the present, the pressure to excel and to win is stronger than ever. From playgrounds to professional arenas, athletes today are tempted by a wide variety of substances that promise to boost performance, appearance, and overall health. We call this phenomenon sports doping. It is important that the parents of young athletes understand how prevalent and potentially dangerous this situation is.

There is much yet to be learned about the effects and side effects of performance enhancing chemicals, especially on children.

Because these drugs are so widely available, and because many famous athletes are known users, some parents assume that drugs are OK for their children to use, especially since many famous athletes are known to be users and abusers of various chemicals.

Parents often ask me why we know so little about these drugs. In truth, well-conceived, scientific studies are often done only on adult males who are involved with competitive athletics.

It is not easy to clearly relate a side effect to a specific chemical taken, since there are many factors that may be involved for each individual. Further, many of these chemicals are called nutrients and are readily available in nutrition stores. Since some of these substances are not classified as drugs, they are not under the control of the Federal Drug Administration. The manufacturers and sellers of these nutrients are free to make extravagant and unproven claims about their products. Unfortunately, it is our children who may suffer the negative effects of these products while the makers and sellers reap the profit. ‘Buyer Beware!’ is certainly the right message for anyone who wants to become, or remain, a sports doper. I will now provide an overview of some of the most common performance enhancing substances used by children.

Creatine
Creatine has become a very popular product with teen athletes. Annual sales total over 200 million dollars. It is advertised as a natural product that will provide larger, more powerful muscles. Creatine is actually an essential amino acid, meaning that it is a necessary nutrient for human beings. It can be produced by the body from other amino acids, such as arginine and glycine. It may also be provided in the diet—creatine occurs naturally in fish, milk, meat, and other foods.

Studies performed on adult athletes indicate that creatine may increase muscle mass, probably due to the retention of fluid. More importantly, the athlete who is undergoing intense exercise training and taking creatine may increase his or her power for short-term sports action, such as sprinting and playing football. Thus, it is very popular with high school football players and track athletes. Some coaches, trainers, and even parents have pushed this product on their athletes in the hope of producing winners.

So what is wrong with taking creatine? Well, creatine has received very little scientific study. We do not know anything about its long-term effects. We do not know what doses are best and what is excessive. The doses kids take are varied and often mixed with other drugs or chemicals that have their own unknown effects. The stores that sell creatine have no idea how pure the product is, how much to use, or when to stop.

We do know that creatine produces no improvement in long-term endurance activities. A number of side effects are possible, including abdominal pain, nausea, loose stools, increase in weight due to the retention of water, muscle cramps, and muscle strains. Case reports indicate that dehydration and even death may occur when athletes take creatine and exercise in hot weather. Reduction in kidney function and enlargement of the heart muscle have been observed in kids. Additionally, creatine supplementation suppresses the body’s own production of creatine. We do not know what effects this may have on a growing child. There are simply too many unknowns about creatine at this time. It would be wise to stop the current hype.

Anabolic Steroids
Anabolic steroids are synthetic testosterone derivatives. They have become very popular with athletes who seek improved muscle size and strength, whether to gain an advantage in competition or simply to look better in a culture that reveres large, muscular bodies. Athletes at high abuse risk for these products include those involved with football, weight lifting, wrestling, shot putting, discus throwing, sprinting, and many other sports.

A number of anabolic steroid products have been available over the past several decades, including stanozolol (Winstrol7), nandrolone decanoate (Deca-Duraboline7), oxymetholone (Anadrol-507), and others. One form, methandrostenolone (Dianabol7), was available in the 1970s and 1980s as an injection and was abused by many teens. After various needle-related consequences were reported (e.g., hepatitis, HIV infection), methandrostenolone was discontinued. Today, however, a pill form is making a comeback.

Anabolic steroids are very popular around the world. Up to 11% of American high school males and up to 2.5% of high school females use anabolic steroids—a staggering number! We know that half of these abusers start with steroids while under the age of 16. About one-third of steroid users do not consider themselves athletes. We also know that the desire to excel in sports and/or personal appearance drives young people to use high doses of anabolic steroids, often in combination with other drugs. Can these kids gain muscle mass and strength? Yes, but only if they also engage in specific, strenuous exercise training at the same time. Using steroids without this training does not increase weight and power.

Anabolic steroids: a time bomb
Kids who use anabolic steroids are fooling around with a time bomb. Many dangerous side effects await the unwary user of these dangerous chemicals. Females can become masculinized, with excessive hair growth (called hirsutism), enlargement of the clitoris, and loss of hair (seen in males also). Growing athletes may increase the maturing of growth plates in bones, resulting in a shorter height than they would otherwise attain. Acne may become very severe and resistant to therapies. Some steroid users become aggressive and irritable; some become depressed. Testosterone levels may drop with reduction in the size of testicles. There are many other potential problems, such as stomach ulcers, increased blood sugar, fluid retention, and increase in injuries to tendons. Some scientific articles report a link between liver cancer and the use of anabolic steroids.

Athletes may take additional drugs in an attempt to augment the effects of anabolic steroids and/or reduce some of the side effects. Many athletes become involved with a dangerous practice known as stacking, taking many drugs at high doses for weeks or months. Some stop only before a sports event, and only if they will be tested for drugs. Some female athletes try to take just enough to become more powerful but not enough to become masculinized. Officials at the Olympic games have banned anabolic steroids from competition and have been testing for them since the 1970s.

Looking for safe alternatives
The athletic world constantly seeks safe alternatives to anabolic steroids. For example, athletes have tried a chemical called, androstenedione. It is related to testosterone and is taken an hour or so before a sports event to improve power and strength. Well-known professional athletes have even used it. However, it is not really effective and it has become less popular today.

DHEA beware
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is another chemical that is related to testosterone (and also estrogen) and promoted in nutrition stores. It is widely advertised as a wonder drug that will improve muscle size and strength, lessen depression, prevent heart disease, and increase sex drive among other unproven claims. A reputed fountain of youth, it has special appeal to adult athletes. Though hyped as a safe alternative to anabolic steroids, it is not safe and is linked to many anabolic steroid-like side effects. Excessive hair growth and endometrial cancer are reported in women, while prostate cancer and permanent breast development are reported in men. Yes, this natural product is found in human adrenal glands and even in wild yams. It is, however, a dangerous chemical. Young people and adults alike should be discouraged from using it.

Protein and Amino Acid Supplements
The use of protein and amino acid supplements to improve sports performance has been promoted for the past several decades. Do athletic children need more protein than their non-exercising peers? Yes. Does protein supplementation help their sports activity? No. Most athletes get more than enough protein from their normal intake of food. There are some athletes who try to stay very thin and/or lose weight, such as gymnasts, dancers, and wrestlers. Providing extra protein may help this select group. I do not recommend expensive protein supplements for them. I suggest they get their additional protein from evaporated milk or relatively inexpensive protein powder (egg or soy).

The use of branched-chain amino acids to increase growth hormone production has not been proven to help the athlete perform better. I point out to athletes that protein or amino acid supplements can be ineffective and needlessly expensive. Overuse may even lead to loose stools. I worry that an overabundance of some amino acids may lead to an imbalance of others and that unknown side effects may result from such supplementation.

Common Questions
Here are some questions I often receive from parents and teens regarding sports doping:

What about the use of Antioxidants?
Antioxidants are chemicals that are thought to reduce the amount of body damage done by free radicals. Some athletes are concerned that harm may be caused by the production of exercise-induced free radicals. Some antioxidants include vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin E (alpha tocopherol), beta carotene (a vitamin A precursor), iron, zinc, selenium, manganese, and copper. At this point, we do not really know if these antioxidants improve sports performance. More research is needed in this area. Everyone should get a recommended amount of these substances in their diets. For example, the recommended daily allowance is 10 mg a day for vitamin E and 60 mg a day for vitamin C. Extra doses of some chemicals (such as vitamin C or beta carotene) may cause illness.

Is there a role for iron supplementation?
It has not been shown that iron will improve sports performance or that most athletes need or would benefit from iron supplementation. Runners and other endurance athletes do lose iron in their intestinal tracts, urine, and sweat, and may need more dietary iron than non-athletes. Normally, they will consume what iron they need in their diet. Athletes with a low iron level will benefit from taking a daily multivitamin with iron. This includes vegetarian teens as well as females with excessive menstrual blood loss and limited dietary iron.

Is calcium necessary?
Calcium itself is not ergogenic, i.e., does not produce sports performance improvement. It is recommended, however, that individuals between 11 and 24 years of age receive a daily intake of 1200 to 1500 mg of calcium. If intake of calcium is below this level, then supplementation is warranted. Female athletes who are required to be thin, such as gymnasts or dancers, may be on a low calorie diet and have low estrogen levels. They are at increased risk for fractures, absence of menstrual periods, and, later in life, osteoporosis. They are often afraid of calcium-rich dairy products, which may contain too much fat for them. I suggest they take yogurt or skim milk in this case.

Are there other amino acids and chemicals taken as muscle drugs?
Yes. A popular muscle drug is HMB (beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate), a leucine metabolite found in citrus fruits, breast milk, and even cat food. Some studies show it increases muscle size and may allow the muscle to repair itself faster. Its effectiveness as a sports doping agent and its potential long-term side effects are unknown at this time.

Other unproven amino acids on the market include L-carnitine (found in dairy products and meats), Arginine, Glutamine (found in almonds, soybeans and peanuts), and Conjugated Linoleic Acid or CLA (found in yogurt, milk, treated cheese, venison, and beef). We do not know enough about these agents. Their use should be discouraged. The exact dose found in each bottle is unclear. They may contain impurities as well. In the 1980s, another amino acid, L-tryptophan, was linked to deaths due to impurities. Side effects observed include diarrhea with L-carnitine and drowsiness with L-tryptophan. We also do not know the effects of adding these chemicals to other sports doping agents. I advise athletes to play it safe and avoid these drugs.

A published study suggests that chromium (an essential trace element) can lead to muscle gain and a reduction in body fat. Other studies, however, have not confirmed chromium’s ergogenic properties. Side effects include gastrointestinal upset, anemia, and kidney disease. I only recommend chromium as part of a multivitamin tablet, one that does not exceed 200 mg/day of this element.

Another trace mineral, vanadium, has been marketed as a muscle builder. I tell my patients that there is no proof of this and that side effects may include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and even a green tongue.

What about Boron?
Boron is a substance essential for plants but not humans. It is present in foods of plant origin, non-citrus fruits, leafy vegetables, nuts, and legumes. Although boron is sold to increase muscle mass, there are no studies to support claims of increased lean body mass, total testosterone, or strength.

Do some athletes give themselves their own blood to improve sports performance?
Yes. This is called blood doping (also blood packing or blood boosting). The individual saves his or her own blood and takes it intravenously before a sports event. This increases hemoglobin (protein in the blood which carries oxygen) to a high level and may allow increased endurance. Laboratory tests are not able to catch athletes who use this method. Some athletes take a product called erythropoetin, or EPO, which also increases oxygen-carrying capacity. In both cases, the blood becomes thicker, increasing the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and seizures. I tell my patients that blood doping is not allowed by sports authorities. The risks are not worth any benefit it might produce.

I have asthma. Can I take my medications? I have heard that asthma medications are not allowed for sports participation.
It is perfectly fine and indeed important for athletes with asthma to take asthma medications. These medicines include terbutaline, albuterol, and others. The confusion developed because of a medication called ephedrine. This is a stimulant drug that can also help asthma. Stimulant drugs (like ephedrine, amphetamine, and caffeine) give the athlete an unfair advantage and are not allowed in Olympic and other competition. They have a number of side effects, including increased aggressiveness, higher blood pressure, increased heart rate, loss of fluids, shakiness, and anxiety. Some athletes find that too much coffee may lead to increased urination and too many trips to the bathroom. Olympic officials have limited the amount of caffeine they will allow their athletes to take.

Are pain pills okay?
In general, it is fine to take pain pills to relieve pain from sports-related injuries. It is important to take them under a knowledgeable clinician’s direction. Some athletes have taken too many of these pills in the face of injury so they can continue with the game. This may lead to even more severe injury. I tell parents to be sure to seek careful evaluation and treatment for children who are hurt in sports. Don’t come back to the game too soon. Come back when you are healed and ready.

Why are diuretics banned in sports?
Diuretics are medications that increase urine output. They are used inappropriately by athletes who need to lose weight in a hurry (wrestlers, for example). These medicines are also used to mask the presence of other performance enhancing drugs. Athletes should be advised that using diuretics for such purposes is wrong and that a number of side effects may result, including dehydration, weakness, and heart irregularities. In addition, weakness caused by diuretic use can make an athlete more susceptible to injury.

Is it okay to use medications to calm the athlete’s nerves?
An athlete who is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder may benefit from certain medications known to improve anxiety. These are fine to take. Some athletes take pills called, beta-blockers (such as propranolol). These are used to reduce performance anxiety by controlling hand tremor, lowering heart rate, and reducing blood pressure. They are banned in some Olympic sports.

Summary
The best sports performance method is to combine a vigorous exercise plan (under the supervision of a qualified person) with a well-balanced diet. The use of chemicals and drugs is fraught with many unnecessary dangers, as outlined in this article. Parents should be guardians of their children and be sensitive to the societal pressures on their children to win at all costs. These drugs do not usually work and are not worth the price our children may pay. I advise you to tell your children, coaches, and schools to discourage the practice of sports doping. The safety of your children is at stake.

Sports and Teens: How To Reduce Some of the Stress

2007-12-13T08:58:00.002-08:00

Sports and Teens: How To Reduce Some of the Stress

By: Donald E. Greydanus, MD

If you are like many parents, you are probably very interested in having your children and teenagers become active in sports. The hope is that sports activity will be a beneficial experience for both you and your children. As a pediatrician, I am often asked a number of questions about adolescents, sports and stress. “Will my teenager experience stress as a result of sports play?” “How can I reduce some of the potential emotional problems involved in sports?” This article explores some of the factors that may lead to a negative reaction by your teenagers as they take part in various sports.

Stress and Sports
Stress is a natural part of sports participation, as stress is natural in many aspects of life.

Stress can be a good learning experience
Experiencing stress in sports can be a good learning experience for teenagers. Sports participation can teach your athlete how to handle competition, defeat, and even performance anxiety. It can teach your teenager about physical fitness, how to develop social skills and friendships, and the importance of team-play in sports and in life. The stress of trying out and not being accepted on a team can be a positive learning experience if handled well, or a very negative one if handled badly. Parents and clinicians can be very helpful to teenagers by acknowledging this fact and discussing such issues with them.

Stress can also lead to problems
Negative consequences of overwhelming stress are many, including chronic fatigue (‘athletic burnout syndrome’), depression and rapid loss of previously learned skills. ‘Burnout’ can also result from over-training, encouraged by overzealous parents, coaches, or the teenagers themselves. Children and teenagers should enjoy their sports participation and not be forced by parents or coaches to specialize in one sport too early, in the hopes of producing a famous professional superstar. Teenagers who excel at one sport may feel sad or anxious during its off-season. Encouraging other, perhaps noncompetitive sports and social activities during this time may help teenagers who are temporarily on break from their sport.

Helping to relieve sports-related stress
There are a number of techniques that can be helpful in preventing or reducing sports-induced stress. Relaxation training, meditation, hypnosis, breath control, yoga, prayer, and biofeedback are all techniques that help to relieve stress. I recommend that athletes who are under excessive sports-induced stress work with sports medicine clinicians or psychologists who can teach them some of these methods. You can talk to your health care professional to get more information or a referral, if needed.

Developing positive sports goals
Parents should avoid joining the current milieu of ‘victory at any cost’, which is noted in many organized sports programs, including high school competition. I recommend that parents and school personnel encourage adolescents to set positive goals in their sports activities. Learning the joy of physical activity and acquiring a sense of competence are two such positive goals. Our teenagers should not be placed under overwhelming pressure to win. You should not push your children beyond their abilities nor teach your children that self-esteem comes only from winning. Some young people I have treated feel that they are loved and valued only if they do well in sports. Just go to a sports event at any junior high or high school and you can see parents yelling at their children, coaches, umpires and fellow parents, in a vain attempt to teach love only through victory. Parents must be aware of this attitude and guard against it.

Psychosocial Development
We should remember that children, young teenagers and older teenagers are at different stages of development, and their level of development may influence their sports performance.

Young teenagers
Young teenagers (ages 11-14) may not be able to see into the future very well and they may only be able to manage the ‘here and now’ issues; if your child is like this, he is called a concrete thinker. Also, young teenagers often raise many concerns about various aches and pains that are sometimes (though not always) related to sports activities. Some young teenagers worry that these normal aches and pains are associated with a more grave condition. This transient stage of worry is called the hypochondriacal stage of early adolescence.

Now with all these factors combined, you may have a young athlete who has various aches or pains and is afraid the discomfort will never end. Young athletes who suffer from a minor injury may really struggle with being out of the game for a short period of time, and a short period of time may feel like forever to them. I find that a month may seem like forever to some young, concrete-thinking teenagers. You, and your child’s coach, should understand this dilemma and should not be surprised if your young teenager is temporarily irritable.

Older teenagers
Many older teenagers (ages 15-19) develop more reasoning skills as their minds mature. These so-called abstract thinkers need more logical explanations in response to questions, whether about sports, school or other aspects of their lives. Parents and coaches should be patient with these increasingly demanding minds, and provide them with explanations.

If you have an adolescent who is experiencing rapid deterioration of his athletic performance, he may be overwhelmed by common adolescent concerns of current times, such as family conflicts, mood swings, drug abuse, or depression. Keeping in mind the normal psychosocial development of teenagers can be helpful for you as you watch your children mature, in athletics and in all aspects of their lives. Do not, however, be afraid to get an evaluation from your primary care clinician or other health care professional who is knowledgeable about the effects of sports, if you suspect problems are developing.

Precocious Development
The precocious teenage athlete who starts physical development before his or her other peers (the early developer) may be called a ‘superstar’ and may become the object of considerable attention and praise from parents, other family members, coaches, and fellow students. This can be seen even in pre-junior high school sports.

Putting eggs in more than one basket
If you have a child like this, please note that only one-fourth of these young ‘superstars’ will remain in this enviable category through high school and beyond, as other peers catch up and even surpass the early developer. The resulting frustration can be quite severe for you and your child. Your teenager may be accused of being a ‘loser’ or of being lazy because she is no longer more successful than her peers. A teenager in this position may find himself considerably disturbed by these circumstances. He may experience depression or anxiety, and may express a number of negative behaviors. I advise parents of these young stars to follow them carefully and provide them with alternative activities so that they can develop healthy, well-rounded lifestyles. Actually, all parents of athletes should ensure the normal development of their teenagers’ other abilities (e.g., music, art, scholarship).

Delayed Puberty
Young people with delayed puberty (delayed physical development) are smaller than other teenagers their age, and in the sports arena they are often ignored by peers and sports coaches. When they compete against more physically advanced peers who are usually larger and stronger, the risk of injury to the less mature teenager dramatically increases. Parents should be sure that school officials match up their athletes properly to provide as low a risk of injury as possible. Those teenagers with delayed puberty should be assured that full puberty will eventually occur.

Patience, the golden rule
Maximal weight gain and muscle strength normally occurs several months after ‘the growth spurt’. A tall, thin, late-maturing boy may grow tall quickly but still not have the muscle strength and power of a shorter, more physically developed peer. Parents and coaches should avoid placing premature expectations on a teenager who may not be able to compete against more physically mature peers for several months or even years. If a developing teenager is pushed too fast, psychological and physical injury may result. Today’s pressure for victory may result in false charges of ‘sub-par’ performance - frustrating all involved with long-lasting consequences.

Adolescent Awkwardness
‘Adolescent awkwardness’ refers to a temporary time of motor incoordination in some teenage boys during their growth spurt. This temporary awkwardness is often seen in rapidly-growing boys. It can last approximately six months and affect important skills such as balance and general coordination. The growth in teenage boys, from trunk to legs, may influence this phenomenon. These teenagers should know that it is a normal growth phase and it will pass. Unrealistic performance should not be expected of these athletes.

Obesity
Some parents who perceive their children as obese may ‘push’ their children into active sports play in the hope that it will help their children lose weight. Though sports activity may be useful in helping a teenager control and even lose weight, my advice is that severely overweight children often benefit more in the long run from nutrition counseling and exercise training. Obese children may be more or less developed than their peers, but if an obese teenager is less developed, he or she may be at risk of serious injury in collision sports. Adipose tissue (fat tissue) is not as strong as muscle tissue, and puts these children at greater risk of injury.

Chronic Illness and Disability
Teenagers with chronic illness or disability can still experience the joy of participating in some modified sports. Clinicians and school personnel can work together to see that this is possible and encouraged. Parents can work with their teenager’s clinician to craft a physical activity to suit the teenager’s level of ability. Chronic illness or physical disability should not deter teenagers from participating in realistic sports activity.

Injuries
As parents of teenagers who play sports, we all fear that our children will be injured at some time in their sports careers. In fact, many are hurt and need thoughtful attention. A careful injury-management plan should be developed, and it is important not to minimize the extent of the injury. There is often a great temptation, on the part of a parent, a coach, or the athlete himself, to rush through recovery. Some teenagers find that their time away from a sport is actually a positive experience. Many do not.

Teenagers’ response to injury

The response of athletes to physical injury may involve five stages:
1. Disbelief with Denial and Isolation
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance and Resignation with Hope

Initially, an athlete may not believe that she is injured and may try to continue playing her sport. An injured teenage athlete may isolate herself from family and friends and may become angry. She may then become depressed when she fully realizes that she will need to stop playing her sport during the recovery period. This realization may be overwhelming for a teenager. Understanding the ‘injury stage’ your teenage athlete is in can be helpful in responding to any injury-induced behavior. Various behavioral techniques, such as relaxation training or problem solving methods are helpful in combination with medical treatments and physical therapy. The teenager’s physician should be able to recommend medical professionals who can help.

Don’t succumb to the pressure
An injured teenager may not recover as quickly as he wishes and may push his parents or clinician to let him get back to the game before he’s fully recovered. You should avoid yielding to your teenager’s desire to return early to his sport. Certainly, parents should avoid putting pressure on a teenager to return to practice or competition early. Identifying realistic goals in the recovery process is important, and a teenager should get back to his sport at the appropriate time, after he has achieved the best possible recovery.

Summary
Sports offer teenagers a wealth of positive experiences. Sports participants can learn how to win gracefully and lose without losing hope. They can also learn how to put winning and losing in perspective. Many teenagers are not physically active - 50% of high school females and 25% of males are not involved in vigorous exercise. Participation in a sports regimen as a teenager may help teenagers continue regular physical activity into their adult lives.

There are, however, a number of factors that may interfere with a positive sports experience. Teenage level sports have, in recent times, become very highly organized and very competitive activities. In many cases we have lost the spontaneous, fun aspects of participating in a sport. Parents’ familiarity with adolescent psychological and physical development may help them regain their own perspective about the real benefits of sports activity for their teenage children.

Sex and Teens: What's Going On?

2007-12-13T08:58:00.001-08:00

Sex and Teens: What's Going On?

By: Jennifer Johnson, MD, MS & David Bell, MD

If there's one age group that parents wring their hands over, it's teenagers between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. They are in the throes of adolescence, which often means they are moody, private, likely to take risks, and likely to challenge authority and conventions. One day they behave like five-year-olds, the next like mature adults.

Most teenagers have entered puberty, and are actively exploring their sexuality, and it can be a profoundly confusing time.

Below, two adolescent health experts discuss what parents and their middle adolescent children need to know about sex and sexuality.

What is one of the primary concerns among teenagers, as their hormone levels are increasing and they are beginning to see changes in their bodies?
DAVID BELL, MD: One of the main things teenagers want to know is that everything is normal. They're comparing themselves a lot with their peers, and part of the process is to figure out what's normal and what's not.

JENNIFER JOHNSON, MD: There's a lot of comparing of naked bodies among kids, they're thinking, "What's he look like, compared with what I look like?" That's what happens in the showers in the gym. Of course, no one admits to looking at anybody else, but they do it because they're coming to terms with their new body and seeing it compared with other people's bodies. It's really important.

In terms of sexual development, is masturbation normal at this time?
JENNIFER JOHNSON, MD: Yes, I think the majority of kids have masturbated, especially by the time they've reached the ages of sixteen or seventeen. Most kids do it, regardless of what they've been told about it.

Medically, we know that masturbation is perfectly safe and, in fact, can be a very healthy outlet for these strong sexual drives that kids are experiencing.

Are wet dreams normal at this age as well?
DAVID BELL, MD: Yes. During their sleep at some point during puberty, boys may have a nocturnal emission, or a "wet dream." Basically it's the release of semen or sperm during the night, during their sleep.

Is this disturbing for some boys?
DAVID BELL, MD: Yes. And that's one important reason for parents to have a discussion with their teenage boys about wet dreams before they happen, just as we do with females before their first period, to prepare them for it. If a boy does not know what a wet dream is, he may think he urinated in the bed, and that can be devastating.

Is same sex experimentation normal at this time as well? How common is it?
JENNIFER JOHNSON, MD: We don't have a lot of information about how common same sex experimentation is. But certainly when and if it does happen, it's very normal. Again, it's a way for teenagers to assess their own growth, and compare themselves to their peers.

DAVID BELL, MD: I think it is important both for parents and for the teenager not to label their sexual orientation based on episodes like these.

JENNIFER JOHNSON, MD: Right. Sexual orientation is often still emerging in adolescents, and sometimes it changes during a person's life. It's important to differentiate sexual orientation from sexual behavior, because guys and girls may have same-sex sexual experiences and be completely heterosexually oriented. By the same token, boys and girls who are gay may have heterosexual relationships, including intercourse, and not have homosexual experiences until later in life.

Are children between the ages of fourteen and seventeen having sex? What does the research tell us?
JENNIFER JOHNSON, MD: The national data show that by the time teenagers are in their senior year of high school, about 60%, maybe 70% of boys have had sex, and probably about 50% of girls have had sex. By 'sex', they mean oral sex or intercourse.

So if you want to view it strictly in behavioral terms, having sex in high school is, in our society, a normative behavior, meaning more people do it than don't.

Do you find that kids who want to abstain from sex feel comfortable in abstinence? Or do they feel a lot of pressure to be sexually active?
JENNIFER JOHNSON, MD: In some schools there are very, very strong abstinence movements, and the cool thing to do is to say you're not going to have sex. But it varies a lot from teenager to teenager and from peer group to peer group.

One thing that is very certain is that the behavior in a peer group is the indication of the level of risk for a member of that group. If my daughter is hanging around with girls who smoke and drink beer at parties, I know that she in danger, because certain risk behaviors, like smoking, are linked with the initiation of sexual activity.

DAVID BELL, MD: There's also data from the Adolescent Health Survey that shows that the more connected teenagers are to either their family, to school, or to extracurricular activities, the safer they are in their relationships and behaviors.

What are the statistics on contraception use among sexually active teenagers?
JENNIFER JOHNSON, MD: One of the recent national representative surveys of teenagers found that, in contrast to the 1970s, almost two-thirds of teenagers use contraception the first time they have sex. That is a far cry from the 10-20% that we were seeing in the Seventies.

Is this increase a result of education campaigns?
JENNIFER JOHNSON, MD: Yes, I think so. Kids know about birth control and why it's important to use it. And, in general, they have access to at least condoms.

Teenagers may not ask their parents directly for information about sex, but do they want to hear what their parents have to say on the subject?
DAVID BELL, MD: I think, in some respects, yes, they do, but it's a delicate balance of when and how to deliver the information.

Sometimes the adolescent will ask about sex in reference to a friend. That opens up an opportunity for the teenager to share their own values and thoughts.

JENNIFER JOHNSON, MD: Parents need to know what's going on in these areas. On the other hand, I think it's important for parents to recognize that teenagers are becoming independent and they do, to some extent, have rights to privacy. They do have the right to have time alone in their room without anybody being in there.

That doesn't mean that parents can't talk to kids. But rather then just telling them what you think, you may open the door a lot better if you ask their opinion too.

I also think it's really important for parents to spend time with their teenager. It is very helpful, in terms of keeping communication open and demonstrating your commitment, if you do something together that you both enjoy doing.

DAVID BELL, MD: Some of the best conversations with your teenager come at unexpected times, whether riding in a car or on a camping trip...it's not this formal, sit-down talk about the birds and the bees

Club Drugs and HIV: The Agony and the Ecstasy

2007-12-13T08:56:00.000-08:00

Club Drugs and HIV: The Agony and the Ecstasy

With: Perry Halkitis, PhD

People take street drugs to escape from the realities of their lives. But when they come down in the middle of the night, or the next morning, their problems are still there waiting for them. And statistics show that people who take club drugs like methamphetamine, also known as crystal, may wake up to a brand new problem: HIV infection.

Club drugs like methamphetamine release people from their inhibitions, leading some otherwise sexually responsible men, women and teenagers to engage in risky sexual behavior. For people with HIV, club drug use can interfere with their ability to stick to their drug schedule—and may make the virus replicate faster in their bodies. Below, Perry Halkitis, PhD, a chair of the department of applied psychology at New York University, discusses the relationship between club drugs and HIV infection.

What is the state of the HIV epidemic today?
We've seen a worsening of the HIV epidemic in the last several years. Infection rates were stable during the 1990s, but in the last few years there's been a spike in new HIV transmissions across the population, especially among gay and bisexual men. In this population, there was a 14 percent increase in new HIV infections between 1999 and 2001.

What has lead to this increase?
First of all, there's a fatigue around HIV in the gay population and in the general population. People feel that the HIV epidemic is over, and they're more complacent about safer sex practices. They think there's a cure and, as a result, people are not being as safe or as responsible in their sexual behavior.

Number two, prevention efforts haven't evolved as people have become sophisticated about HIV. So "Use a condom every time" campaigns, which worked fine in the early 1980s and the mid-1980s, are no longer effective.

We're also seeing a complex interaction between sexual risk-taking and drug use in the gay population and also in the straight population. We're seeing this in particular with a subset of drugs known as "club drugs" because of their association with dance clubs and bars.

Are people still going to clubs to do these drugs?
Twenty years ago, these substances were used a lot in dance club situations. Our research shows very clearly that people do them at home, they do them with their friends, they do them in the park—they do them wherever they need to do them. Some people have suggested that maybe a better label for them would be "party drugs" because these are the drugs that people do to have wild and inhibited sex, to go dancing, or to do both of those things in combination.

Which drugs are contributing to increase HIV risk?
We're talking about methamphetamine, also known colloquially as "crystal." We're talking about MDMA, which is known commonly as "ecstasy." We're talking about ketamine, Rohypnol and we're still talking about cocaine, to some extent. Most importantly, we need to think about not just each of these drugs in isolation, but these drugs being used in combination with each other, and in combination with alcohol and prescription drugs such as Viagra.

Which drugs are the most worrisome and why?
Perhaps the most worrisome is methamphetamine. This is a psychostimulant and a form of speed. Crystal is a hypersexual drug. It's a hugely disinhibiting drug. We know, and it's been clearly documented, that people who are using this substance have sex without rational thinking, they have multiple partnerings, they just let go. They feel like they're on top of the world, so nothing is a problem and any logical thinking around safer sex practices gets wiped away.

Methamphetamine is also a problem because it's a highly addictive drug from a psychological perspective, so people have a very difficult time coming off of it because the cravings are so intense.

Does the way methamphetamine is administered affect HIV risk?
Absolutely. When a person first starts using it, methamphetamine is usually snorted. Eventually chronic users begin to smoke it because it is a more effective way of ingesting the drug; it gives a better and a longer and a faster high.

Eventually, people who are dependent on the substance become injectors of methamphetamine. They inject it in their veins or muscles because it creates a much quicker and more intense high. So transmission through injection and the sharing of needles and the sharing of works creates another route of HIV transmission that is linked to methamphetamine use.

Do we know how much club drug use is affecting HIV risk?
We know—anecdotally in New York City and from documentation on the West Coast—that when we look at gay men who have become HIV-positive, more often than not, in the last several years, these men report having used methamphetamine with sex.

So while we're not able to put an exact number on it, you can bet that a large percentage of new seroconversions are among people who are drug users.

Does methamphetamine make oral sex riskier?
We know that the mouth produces saliva, which has protective factors that assist in the prevention of HIV. When people are high on methamphetamine, they have extremely dry mouths. Suppose an HIV-negative person is using methamphetamine and is having sex with an HIV-positive person. That is more dangerous than having sex with a person who is not high on methamphetamine.

What role does depression play in drug use?
We should never deny the fact that drugs make people feel good; that's why they do them, right? What we know, also, is that people often use drugs in our society to mask bad feelings. So people who are experiencing depression or loneliness or low levels of self-esteem, which can be addressed with therapy and with medications, are self-medicating by using these substances.

The unfortunate cycle that develops is that people who are depressed, for example, go on crystal, use crystal, feel better while they're high and then crash and feel even worse than when they started.

When we address HIV in the United States, I think it's incredibly important that we think about the link that exists between drug abuse, mental health and HIV. Addressing one of those issues in isolation doesn't seem to be sophisticated any more. We need to address all those three things together.

How does drug use affect people on HIV therapy?
What we know, from our work, is that adherence—taking your medications the way you're supposed to take them—is a problem across the board. If we believe the literature, people are supposed to be adherent 95 percent of the time. It's very hard for people to be adherent 95 percent of the time when they're high. When they're feeling good, the last thing they want to do is actually stop to remember to take their medications.

Number two, we know that methamphetamine is an immunosuppressant. Methamphetamine that is sold on the street is not pure methamphetamine. It's been cut with talc, heroin and variety of other substances that have an effect on people's immune systems.

Number three, and probably most alarming of all, is that some recent studies indicate that even if an individual is highly adherent to his or her medications, if they are using methamphetamine, replication of the virus in the brain is accelerated.

What do you want to say to people who use methamphetamine?
To people who haven't started who hear wonderful tales about this drug, don't start using it. This is not a wonderful drug. The price that you will pay in the long run is not worth it.

To people who are started, I say, look for help. Because what do we know about methamphetamine and its effects on people's lives? People become physically ill and they become socially ill. They lose their friends, they lose their family and they lose their jobs. Methamphetamine has often been referred to as the "Grim Reaper," because of horrible and devastating effects it has on people's lives.

How can people reduce their risk of HIV?
Clearly, one of the strategies is abstinence from both sex and intravenous drug use. For young adults and for adolescents, becoming totally informed and educated about HIV and its transmission is going to be a very important strategy, as well as considering delaying the onset of sex until an individual is at a point where he or she can make the right choices around sex.

The consistent use of condoms, of course, is important with anonymous or casual partners. Even in the context of some relationships that are not monogamous, the use of condoms is actually a really good idea.

Finally, the mixing of sex and drugs is not a good idea. Try to keep those things separate. A glass of wine is very different from two lines of methamphetamine. The combination of drugs and sex is where a lot of the risk is happening now and where a lot of the transmissions are actually occurring, so do not mix those two things.

It's extremely important for individuals in our country to remain informed. The disease is constantly changing. There are new medications that are coming out that are effective. But people are not necessarily living their whole lives with HIV; people are still dying. So remaining informed about HIV and remaining informed about strategies for safer sex is important.

Are You Overweight? Using the New NIH Weight Guidelines

2007-12-10T09:36:00.002-08:00

Are You Overweight? Using the New NIH Weight Guidelines

By: Judith M. Ashley, Ph.D., R.D.

If you are facing the effects of "creeping" weight gain, how do you know when you should really get serious about losing those extra pounds? After all, based on the growing percentage of Americans who are overweight (see Table 1), it is likely that many of your friends, colleagues, and relatives are experiencing the same weight gain. How do we know if those "love handles" are not just a middle age phenomenon or a problem that you need to deal with?

In 1998, The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued standards to help you determine if you are overweight or obese. These standards are based on the most extensive review of the scientific literature conducted to date regarding the relationship between weight and health risk by the Obesity Education Initiative Expert Panel. The Panel systematically evaluated published scientific literature from 1980 to 1997. The report established guidelines, or "standards of care," for physicians and health professionals to utilize in managing patients with a broad range of weight problems. The guidelines included what measurements to use to determine if a person is overweight or obese, as well as how to initiate and maintain a weight loss program.

The NIH recommends two measurements that you can determine at home---the body-mass index (BMI) and waist circumference---which will give you an accurate idea of what shape you are really in. These numbers go beyond a simple bathroom scale reading or a number from a weight-for-height table hanging in your physician's office.

Taking the Right Measurements
Body Mass Index

The BMI describes body weight relative to height and is strongly correlated with how much body mass, including fat, a person has.

To calculate the BMI, either weight in pounds and height in inches OR weight in kilograms and height in meters, can be used.

The BMI is the weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters squared [wt (kg)/ht (m)2] or the weight in pounds divided by the height in inches squared times 703 [wt (lbs.)/ht (in)2] ] x [703] (see Table 2).

For example, for someone who is 5'7" tall, their BMI would be 25 at 159 pounds, or their BMI would be 30 at 191 pounds (see Table 3).

The range that is considered healthy is between 19 to 25. A person with a BMI of 25 or greater is considered overweight; with a BMI of 30 or greater the person is considered obese; and with a BMI of 40 or greater, the person is considered extremely obese.

Solid evidence demonstrates that the risk for various diseases rises significantly when the BMI is over 25 and that risk of death increases as the BMI reaches and surpasses 30. The BMI number applies to both men and women. Some people who are very athletic and have a heavier muscle mass may have a higher BMI without the same health risks. The BMI is also used to determine whether weight loss drug prescriptions or surgery should be considered. FDA approved weight loss drugs are only recommended for those with a BMI > 30, or a BMI > 27 when an obesity-related disease already exists. Surgery for weight loss is an option when conventional methods have failed for those with clinically severe obesity measured by a BMI > 40, or a BMI > 35 with an obesity-related disease.

Waist Circumference

The waistline, or waist circumference, is a familiar body dimension that reflects abdominal obesity. The easiest way to measure yourself at home is by measuring your waistline at the level of the navel or at the narrowest waist midpoint using a tape measure. A health professional may be more specific in this measurement, using the midpoint between the lower border of the rib cage and the crest of the hip. A woman with a waist circumference over 35 inches (88 cm), or a man with a waist circumference over 40 inches (102 cm), is carrying too much fat around the abdominal organs. Fat around the middle changes the way the body uses fat, which can lead to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Fat in a large abdomen is more likely to break down and enter the blood where it can clog the arteries.

NIH Weight Loss and Maintenance Recommendations
The NIH guidelines also include strategies for weight loss and maintenance.

The first recommended strategy is to focus on reducing overall calories. The diet should be individually planned to help cut back between 300 and 1,000 calories a day.

It is estimated that 3,500 calories translates into approximately 1 pound of weight loss, so cutting back on 500 calories over 7 days would mean a 1 pound weight loss in a week. As an example, for those with a BMI in the typical range of 27 to 35, a decrease of 300 to 500 calories per day will result in weight losses of about 1/2 to 1 pound a week and a 10 percent loss in 6 months. For more severely obese people with a BMI > 35, cutting back on 500 to 1,000 calories per day will lead to weight losses of about 1 to 2 pounds per week and a 10 percent weight loss in 6 months. If further weight loss is necessary, an evaluation is made at that point, with adjustment of the diet plan, since it is common to see the rate of weight loss decline and plateau after 6 months because of reduced energy expenditure (lower basal metabolic rate) at the lower weight.

The second recommended strategy takes into account the output part of the energy balance equation: physical activity and exercise. Increasing the loss of calories through physical activity not only helps with weight loss, but it also has benefits of its own, including improvement in physical fitness and appearance. Physical activity should be initiated slowly and become part of any weight loss or maintenance plan. The recommendation is to start out with 30 to 45 minutes of activity, three-to-five days a week, including activities such as walking or swimming at an acceptable pace. With this regimen, an additional expenditure of 100 to 200 calories per day is possible. The goal is to reduce sedentary activity (sitting, lying down, etc.). For many people this translates into a simple habit of getting up and walking as often as possible throughout their normal day. (Please see our article, Weight Loss and Physical Activity, for further information on this topic.)

Summary
The NIH guidelines discussed in this article will be influential on many fronts. By classifying certain measurements into categories (overweight, obese, extremely obese), it will help people decide if they should ask their doctors about their weight problems and the risk it may be posing to their overall health. It will also help physicians and other health professionals to determine if a particular patient should start a weight management program, and what type of goals should be set. Furthermore, since these NIH guidelines are considered the "standard of care," they are laying the groundwork for the types of services and medications covered by managed care companies and other insurance plans in the area of weight management.

Why Weight Matters

2007-12-10T09:36:00.001-08:00

Why Weight Matters: Obesity and Your Health

By: Robert Kushner, MD

We are a growing nation. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, more than sixty percent of Americans aged twenty years and older are overweight, and one-quarter of American adults are also obese.

What does this mean for the health of our nation? Nothing good. Obesity-related diseases are "implicated" in more than a quarter million deaths every year. Below, Dr Robert Kushner, Director of the Wellness Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, discusses the grave consequences of our growing sizes.

How serious is the problem of obesity?
ROBERT KUSHNER, MD: It's the most serious problem we are facing today. Next to cigarette smoking, overweight is the second leading cause of preventable death in this country. It's estimated that 300,000 deaths per year is attributable to our diet, physical inactivity and resulting obesity.

What are the current statistics on overweight and obesity?
One in four is obese, and about one in three is considered overweight. Combined, over 60% of adult Americans are now overweight or obese. That means that the minority of this population is able to maintain a healthy body weight.

We're now hearing a lot about children being obese. What is the number there?
It's about 1 in 10, or 10%. The troubling factor there is that children are following in our oversized footsteps. An overweight or obese child is more likely to be an obese adult. So we are looking at an epidemic among our children as they become adults, and are likely to be more obese than we are today.

Why has the number of heavy people increased?
That's still debatable, and a lot of research is being done. But most of us think that it's due to our society and culture. We really live in an obesogenic society where food is plentiful, physical inactivity is everywhere. Those two factors combined lead to gaining weight.

How is obesity defined?
We currently define obesity by using a term called the body mass index, also known as the BMI. Everyone knows their cholesterol and everyone knows their blood pressure. It's equally important that everyone knows their BMI. It's a weight for height relationship that's fairly easily calculated on tables. A BMI between 25 and 30 is defined as overweight. A BMI of 30 or more is obese.

Roughly speaking, about 30 or more pounds overweight already defines one as obese.

Just 30 pounds?
Just 30 pounds. It doesn't take much to have the health complications that are associated with obesity.

Talk about those complications, the health effects of obesity
Obesity is the major cause of type 2 diabetes in this country. Obesity is the number one reason why diabetes is increasing in this country. It is fueling that disease. In addition to diabetes, obesity is also linked to increased risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, gastroesophageal reflux disease, certain cancers, in addition to psychological and emotional problems, as well as quality of life changes. It eventually leads to earlier death.

What are the leading causes of obesity?
The most significant factor really is our lifestyle. That's the only way that we can understand why the numbers of obese patients or individuals has risen so quickly. Again, that's the food that's everywhere and the physical inactivity.

But genetics plays a role as well. We currently think that genetics determines a vulnerability to our environment, which then brings out the obesity.

There are other causes, although less common. They include drug-induced obesity, such as people on different corticosteroids or different hormonal agents. Those medications can increase body weight, not to mention things like antidepressants and other drugs used for mental health disorders.

Rarely is an underlying medical condition a cause for obesity. That would be something like Cushing's syndrome or different kinds of glandular problems. But they are, once again, very uncommon.

What is the first step in getting treatment for obesity? Where does a person go for help?
There are several places an individual can go for help. One is, and the first that I would recommend, is to see his or her doctor. A doctor should be an active partner to a patient who is trying to get control of body weight. The doctor can also make sure that you don't have an underlying problem that is either being caused by obesity or causing the obesity itself. That needs to be ruled out right away.

Once you've done that, you can either work with your doctor or work with a registered dietitian or seek help with some of the commercial programs that are available, which can be very helpful.