November 11, 2011

7 Interesting Ways to Live Longer

Filed under: health — Tags: be active, blood pressure problems, prevent heart attacks, sleep, stay healthy — Kcondon @ 8:19 pm

A healthy heart leads to a longer life. The heart is a vital organ which keeps your body’s blood moving efficiently. The heart has various roles; one of the most important is that it controls the supply of oxygenated blood and eliminates carbon dioxide. When your heart starts to fail, so does your whole body. Therefore it is crucial to have a healthy heart to live a healthy life. Here are seven ways to a healthier heart:

  1. Be Active – Developing a steady exercise program can benefit your heart and reduce the risk of heart disease.  Try your best to exercise three – four times a week for at least half an hour at a time. Besides the exercises you do a few times a week you should also do 30 minutes of cardio six times a week.
  2. Brush and Floss Everyday – Periodontal disease increases one’s risk of heart disease.  For women, having gum disease doubles their chances of having heart disease.  The reason?  Gingivitis is said to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke because of the high levels of bacteria in the infected mouth. The bacteria can enter the bloodstream through the gums and damage the blood vessels, which can then lead to clotting.
  3. Reduce Your Salt Intake – Reducing your salt intake can reduce the risk of heart disease by 40%. People should be having among 1500 – 2000mg of salt per day; the average American consumes 3400mg of salt a day. This can really affect a person’s life and cause them to have cardiovascular problems as well as blood pressure problems.
  4. Drink Wine – Drinking alcohol in moderation is actually good for your health. Having one glass of wine a day (for women it would be about one standard drink whereas for men it would be two) can actually reduce your chance of dying from heart disease by 25%. It can also prevent heart attacks.  This is because grapes are rich in quercitin and resveratrol. These two substances are not only good for the heart, but also extend your lifespan.
  5. Get Enough Sleep – Constantly sleeping poorly and for only a few hours at a time can actually lead to high blood pressure and stroke. Sleep allows the heart to slow down and blood pressure to drop.  If a person is not sleeping enough, this cannot happen and increases in blood pressure occur.
  6. Have More Sex – Having sex twice a week is a fun way to reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure and reducing stress.
  7. Calm Your Mind – The best way to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease is to simply relax. Reduce the stress in your life through yoga, relaxation exercises, or meditation. You can also listen to music to lower the blood pressure in your body.

April 12, 2011

Sunlight and Drug Interactions

Filed under: health — Tags: drug interaction, photosensitivity — Janine @ 5:19 pm

SunlightAs most people are aware, many medications have side effects that make skin quite sensitive to sunlight. This is referred to as photosensitivity. Photosensitivity is an immunological response that the body has to light. This condition is also commonly called a sun allergy and can occur in both adults and children.

Usually when the skin comes in contact with sunlight it will initially burn and then become red. As a result, people who are subject to photosensitivity experience sunburns, rashes, and redness of the skin more frequently. More serious consequences such as heat stroke can also occur.

Another interaction between sunlight and drugs has recently been discovered by researchers from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The Swedish researchers believe that there is a relationship between the time one spends out in the sun and how quickly medication is broken down in the body.

More specifically, medication breaks down in the body faster when one is exposed to more sunlight. The vitamin D gained from exposure to sunlight is responsible for these results. When vitamin D levels are high, drug levels are low. The researcher then compared data found in the summer with that of the winter.

From this it was concluded that the drug efficiency varies from season to season. This essentially means that more of a certain medication may be needed during certain parts of the year. This is because when it is warmer the medication is getting used up faster.

This conclusion was made after extensive research. Drug levels were tested constantly. However, all the people used to determine the results were patients who had just had organ transplants. The results were also mainly based on just two drugs. One can only wonder how many drugs are actually affected this way.

However, more research is required to confirm the accuracy of these results.

March 31, 2011

Obesity linked to deadly breast cancer

Filed under: health — Tags: breast cancer, obesity — Janine @ 10:21 pm

obese womanBreast cancer is the second leading causes of death among U.S women. Approximately 1.3 million cases of breast cancer are reported worldwide with 38% of these cases turning deadly. For years scientists have conducted studies to find out possible causes of breast cancer that could be controlled, and recently, they did just that.

Although scientist have already determined that obesity is linked to breast cancer, a recent study conducted by Fred Hutchinson, from the Cancer Research center, has shown that women who are obese increase their risk of triple negative breast cancer by 35%. This type of breast cancer is a more aggressive form of cancer which affects 10%-20% of cases and is more deadly. Triple negative cancer is deadly due to the lack of progesterone or HER2 receptors which are required for most breast cancer drugs to work. Obese women increase their estrogen levels, which build up in fat and promote tumors.

The study was conducted with 155,723 women; all with whom had a different Body Mass Index (BMI). The research showed that 35% of women with higher BMI had higher risk of triple negative breast cancer and 39% had a higher risk of estrogen-fed breast cancer. Amanda Phipps, a researcher with Fred Hutchinson Cancer research stated, “The fact that we found an association with triple negative breast cancer is unique because, biologically, this subtype is very different from other breast cancers.”

These results are important to researchers because obesity is a factor of breast cancer that can be modified whereas the other factors are hereditary or cannot be modified. The study also showed that women who reported that they had high rates of physical activities, showed a 23% lower risk of developing triple negative breast cancer.

December 17, 2010

Slow and Steady Loses the Weight

Filed under: health,weight loss — Tags: eat less, exercise, lose ewight, lose weight, losing weight, low fat, lower cholesterol, lower fat, processed foods, twinkie diet, weight loss, work out — Candace @ 7:54 pm

Motivated by the fact he may not be able to have kids with his wife, Tony Posnanski went from 420 pounds to 200 since 2008. His diet? Eating less and working out.  Posnanski went from eating 10,000 calories a day to only 2,400. Posnanski got rid of processed food and consumed vegetables, fruits, and lean meats. While it seems mundane, eating less is the best weight loss diet there is.

When Professor Mark Haub went on the “Twinkie Diet”, he was making a point as to that it’s not the nutritional value of the food that matters, it’s the intake. The “Twinkie Diet” is not recommended because it may have long term consequences. On the other hand, there are many low fat diets such Mediterranean diet that help improve your cardiovascular and metabolic health. Popular programs such as Weight Watchers, bring attention to portion sizes.

There are no short cuts to losing weight and maintaining the body you desire. The biggest factor to losing weight is reducing portion sizes, eating healthy, and working out for at least an hour each day. There will be no immediate difference. One needs to make a lifelong change to see true results.

Small changes in your diet such as staying away from processed foods will create a great difference. Your ideal body and health are found through hard work, not by taking shortcuts.

Diet and exercise are the best solution. Small portions, but no less than 1,200 calories, and about an hour of physical activity show the best long term results. Posnanski suggests eating whole grains to lower cholesterol, fruits and vegetables to reduce the chances of cancer, and creating a healthy relationship with food.

October 1, 2010

Why You Shouldn’t Use Your Laptop on Your Lap

Filed under: health — Tags: back pain, health risk, laptop, male fertility, Smoking, technology — Nicole @ 7:55 pm

The use of laptop computers among North American communities has drastically increased over the course of the past five years. Laptops are more convenient – they’re more compact, very versatile and their portability just can’t be beat by the regular desktop computer. However, like many of the other modern appliances available to the public today, the laptop computer does not come without its own series of health risks, including back pains and vision problems. However, the most distressing health concern that all laptop owners should be aware of does not lie among the regular posture issues and vision problems that are often associated with laptop use; but rather in fertility issues for men as a result of laptop usage on their laps.

For men, the use of a laptop across the lap has been proven to result in sperm damage, lower counts and decreased motility, which are all important factors for a man’s fertility. The heat that is released from a laptop computer seriously affects the body’s ability to produce sperm, as the scrotum requires lower temperatures to function and produce sperm effectively. For men in relationships that are trying to conceive, using your laptop on a desk or other surface than your lap may be the best way to go. Fertility researchers also recommend avoiding hot tubs, limiting use of drugs and alcohol as well as quitting smoking as alternative methods to increase sperm counts and fertility.

Laptop computers are a popular choice in the consumer industry today, but like any other entertainment appliance, too much of it and improper use can lead to serious health problems. To avoid many health concerns that are associated with laptop use such as back pain, vision problems and infertility, ensure that you follow the user guide instructions in your computer manual, and additionally use your laptop on a hard surface that isn’t your lap.

August 26, 2010

Man Discovers a Bullet in His Head after 5 Years

Filed under: health — Tags: cyst, doctor, gun, gun shot, health, new year's, safety — John @ 8:41 pm

After recurring pain in his head, the man decided to finally go and see a doctor to discover what the root of the problem was. He went in expecting the doctor to tell him he had a cyst, but discovered he had a .22 caliber bullet lodged in the back of his head.

The man said that he remembered being hit in the head during a 2004 or 2005 New Year’s party, but quickly dismissed the blow as anything serious, as he was intoxicated at the time. The wound from the bullet would eventually heal, covering the bullet and leaving a bump in the man’s head. Only recently did the man decide to finally get this bump examined.

Police are not treating this incident as anything suspicious as they say the bullet most likely came from celebratory gun shot into the air as people welcomed in the New Year. The bullet has been successfully removed and from the man’s head and he should be able to leave the hospital later this week.

August 23, 2010

Chalk River Nuclear Reactor Is Once Again Producing Medical Isotopes

Filed under: health — Tags: cancer, diagnosis, health, heart, heart disease, medical isotopes, nuclear — John @ 9:25 pm

The Chalk River nuclear reactor, in Ontario, Canada, is finally up and running once again. The reactor, which will turn 53 years old later this year, was shut down May 15, 2009, originally for a month of maintenance. However, the reactor would stay inactive for 15 months as several repairs were made, including a heavy water leak.

The lengthy closure of this facility sent much of the medical world scrambling. The nuclear reactor is responsible for producing a third of the world’s medical isotopes. By closing the production for over a year, the world experienced a global shortage of the important isotopes.

The isotopes produced from the reactor are used in many tests, including those to diagnose cancer and heart ailments. During the 15 months where the isotopes were in short supply, doctors were forced to reschedule procedures and push back treatments. Thankfully now, the reactor is running smoothly and is once again producing the very important medical isotopes.

June 14, 2010

Top 5 Benefits of Eating Spicy Foods

Filed under: health — Tags: breathing, cancer, heart, mood, spicy foods, weight loss — Tanveen @ 4:22 pm

If you love spicy foods, there is good news in store for you. In addition to the tremendous boost of flavor that spices give to many different kinds of foods they also offer many health benefits.

Weight Loss

Eating spicy food increases your metabolic rate and allows your body to burn a greater number of calories. As well, many studies state that a person eating a spicy meal will eat less than a person having a meal that is not spicy. You may have noticed this yourself! I personally think that eating spicy food makes you feel more full than you actually are.

Better Breathing

Eating spicy food unclogs your nasal passages which allows for easier breathing. This can be especially helpful for people with asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.

Healthy Heart

Eating spicy foods increases your overall body temperature. As a result, blood flow also increases which makes for better blood circulation. In addition, hot peppers also have the ability to rid the vessels of blood clots.

Reduces Risk of Cancer

Eating spicy foods on a regular basis has been known to reduce the risk of cancer. Capsaicin, a chemical compound of chili peppers (what makes them spicy), can kill the cancer cells that enter and are harmful to the body.

A Better Mood

Spicy foods increase the amount of endorphins in the body. Endorphins give a comforting feeling that tells the body that everything is okay. It often acts as a stress reliever and can help fight depression as well.

June 8, 2010

Why Should I Get an Eye Examination?

Filed under: health — Tags: eye disease, eye examination, Glaucoma, tumors, uncorrected vision — Tanveen @ 12:08 am

Often eye examinations are neglected and are not seen as being necessary. Most people think that if any changes in vision do occur then they will notice it. However, eye exams are able to detect eye diseases in addition to changes in vision. This becomes especially important because many harmful eye diseases do not have any symptoms even though they are present.

For example, a disease called Glaucoma causes complete vision loss and is usually not detected by the affected person until it has become severe. In addition to eye diseases, eye examinations can also detect tumors or other diseases associated with the brain in early stages.

Furthermore, most people who have lived with uncorrected vision for a long period of time do not realize that their vision is lacking. This is why some say that after getting glasses they saw a whole new world. In children, uncorrected vision can cause developmental problems. It begins with trouble reading and thus learning and can have very serious outcomes.

The average person should get an eye exam done every two years. A person  experiencing frequent vision changes should go every year in order to update his or her prescription.

May 7, 2010

7 Things to Do to Become a Healthier Person

Filed under: health — Tags: health, omega 3 — Candace @ 11:50 pm

Exercise, drink 8 glasses of water a day, and sleep at least 8 hours a night. These are things you have heard a million times before and they are keys to being a generally healthy person, but there are other things that you can do to be healthy.

1. Switch your sugar with honey – By switching to honey you can reduce your cholesterol intake. Honey slows the oxidation of bad cholesterols which increases your good cholesterol.

2. Eat apple peels – At least don’t peel your apples. Apple peels have characteristics to fight cancer in the liver and colon, and breast cancer.

3. Kiss – Kissing helps to increase the production of saliva in your mouth which helps protect your teeth enamel.

4. Do nothing – Sit in a dark place with no noise and just relax. This (even for just 10 minutes) can relieve great amounts of stress and refresh you. Doing this twice a day can have a lasting effect.

5. Smile – Smiling and laughing makes you look younger and has been scientifically proven to keep you healthier.

6. Eat brussel sprouts – Eating this vegetable on a daily basis will reduce wrinkles, prevent birth defects in babies, and stop cancer growths. This is the miracle vegetable for sure.

7. Eat fish – Fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids. These are the good fats that the body needs. These fatty acids reduce inflammation and lower the risk for chronic diseases.