Smoking and Baldness!!

If you have been taking lung cancer as the only risk surrounding smokers then it won’t be wrong to say that you are a bit less informed about the risks that you puff in, every time you smoke.

Actually, a new study aimed at knowing risk factors, associated with cigarette smoking has revealed that smoking habit might add to your scalp’s visibility by speeding up the thinning process.

Findings of this study are based on an analysis of around 740 middle aged and older Asian men who were suffering a common kind of hair problem, generally known as androgenetic alopecia. During the course of study, experts admitted that no doubt, age is a major factor behind thinning of hair, still smoking contributes considerably. And this effect was more palpable in men smoking 20 or more cigarettes, daily.

The way smoking contributes to it, is still not very clear. However, experts opine that may be smoking increases the risk for hair loss by either destroying hair follicles or disturbing normal bodily functions, important for healthy hair.

This is not the first time when smoking has been linked to hair problems and it is quite understandable that when smoking can affect overall health drastically, so nothing strange if it affects hair-health too. Actually, when we smoke different kinds of gases and chemicals get into our mechanism, restricting the levels of oxygen and nutrients in our blood, which deeply affects entire mechanism, no matter it’s in the form of bad lung functioning or in the form of unhealthy skin or hair!

So choice is yours, whether you want big cloudy puffs or healthy and bouncy hair!

Home Remedies for Morning Sickness!!

Vomiting is a symptom, which may be related to pregnancy or may be a manifestation of some medical, surgical, gynecological complications, which can occur at any time during pregnancy. Vomiting during pregnancy is common. It is mostly limited to the first trimester. It is more common in first pregnancy, with a tendency to recur again in subsequent pregnancies. It is more common in multiple pregnancies.

The vomiting is related to the pregnant state and depending upon the severity it is classified as:

Simple vomiting or pregnancy

Hyperemesis gravidarum or severe type.

The patient complains of nausea and occasional sickness on rising in the morning. Slight vomiting is common in early pregnancy (about 50%) that is considered as a symptom of pregnancy. It may occur at other times of the day. The vomitus is small and clear. It does not produce any impairment of health or restrict the normal activities of the women. The feature disappears with or without treatment by 12-14 th week of pregnancy.

Hyperemesis gravidarum is a severe type of vomiting of pregnancy, which has got harmful effect on the health of the mother and the growing fetus. I t can result in dehydration, acidosis, malnutrition and weight loss. This condition can be dangerous to the fetus if persists. The reason for Hiperemesis gravidarum has not been identified yet, but an association between high levels of the hormones estrogen and chronic gonadotropin ( HCG ) has been found. HCG is a hormone produced by the placenta that increases until the end of the first trimester.

Other possible problems related with abnormal o severe vomiting includes bile duct disease, drug toxicity, pancreatitis, low blood sugar, and problems with the thyroid and inflammatory bowel disorders.

HOME REMEDIES FOR MORNING SICKNESS

To avoid vomiting, try grasping your tongue with a piece of cloth and pulling gently but firmly.
For excess of vomiting , try limiting your diet to a single food, one that you know you can tolerate. Add one additional food per day as you can tolerate them.
Scent the air by preparing a mixture of three drops of lavender essential oil and one of peppermint in a diffuser or humidifier.
Place a cool lavender scented compress on your forehead and a warm lavender compress over your rib cage.
Dissolve wheat germ in warm milk, and take a few teaspoons every hour.
Dissolve 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1-tablespoon honey in cold water and take it before bed. This is very effective home remedy for morning sickness.
Drink red raspberry leaf, peppermint, and squaw vine or spearmint tea.
Prepare ginger tea by boiling some ginger root in water. Strain it and add honey to sweeten. Take this tea when you feel nausea.
Don't brush your teeth immediately after eating.
For morning sickness cure, lie completely still with your eyes closed.
Taking ½ to 1 tsp of Wild yam root every day will help you fight with the morning sickness.
Keep your meals small and to drink plenty of fluids. Smaller meals mean less in your stomach, and less to make you nauseated.
Have a snack such as yogurt, milk, bread, dry cereal, or a small sandwich before going to bed. Try eating during the night. This may prevent nausea in the morning.
Keep your feet up and your head slightly raised on a pillow when resting.
Take a short walk or try to sleep with the window open. When you are cooking, open windows to get rid of odors.
Do not eat fatty foods, which take longer to digest, particularly during pregnancy, when your stomach takes longer to empty. Also avoid rich, spicy, acidic, and fried foods, which can irritate your stomach and digestive system.
Take a few soda crackers or dry toast when getting up early in the morning. This is also very effective home remedy for morning sickness.
Increase vitamin B6 in your diet by eating whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes.
Acupressure wristbands or acupuncture may help. These bands can be found in drug, health food, and travel stores.
Chew your food thoroughly.
Do not keep your stomach completely empty. Carry fruit, cheese and/or crackers around with you to prevent nausea throughout the day.
Chewing gum also helps in reducing the morning sickness.

ABC of Diabetes!

What is DIABETES?
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or alternatively, when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body's systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels.

Type 1 diabetes (previously known as insulin-dependent or childhood-onset) is characterized by a lack of insulin production.

Type 1 diabetes is rapidly fatal.
Symptoms include excessive excretion of urine (polyuria), thirst (polydipsia) , constant hunger, weight loss, vision changes and fatigue. These symptoms may occur suddenly.

Type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-insulin- dependent or adult-onset) results from the bodys ineffective use of insulin.

Type 2 diabetes comprises 90% of people with diabetes around the world, and is largely the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity.
Symptoms may be similar to those of Type 1 diabetes, but are often less marked. As a result, the disease may be diagnosed several years after onset, once complications have already arisen.

What are common consequences of DIABETES?

Over time, diabetes can damage the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves.

Diabetes Facts
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes. This number is likely to more than double by 2030.
In 2005, an estimated 1.1 million people died from diabetes

Almost 80% of diabetes deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.
Almost half of diabetes deaths occur in people under the age of 70 years; 55% of diabetes deaths are in women.

WHO projects that diabetes deaths will increase by more than 50% in the next 10 years without urgent action. Most notably, diabetes deaths are projected to increase by over 80% in upper-middle income countries between 2006 and 2015.

Do & Dont For DIABETIC PATIENTS
Fortunately or unfortunately for the diabetes patients, there are many dont's and only a few do's. But these few do's are so powerful, if done properly, they are the cure-all for the diabetes.

Firstly, confidence and the will power to develop a fighting spirit in life, are the cornerstone for meeting the diabetes challenge. Mind is more subtle than the body. Body is made up of gross material. The same is not the case with the mind. The subtle is always more powerful than the gross.

Let me tell you about the do's first. You need to have a definite schedule for walking and for doing the right type of exercises. There are many types of physical exercises and yoga asanas, but you , in consultation with the physiotherapist, should decide, which are the right ones for you.

Similarly, the early morning walks go a long way in controlling the blood sugar levels. Avoid intensity of workouts, but swimming, walking and moderate biking and working on treadmill will do good for glucose tolerance, glucose control and in the area of overall metabolism.

Let your diet be in agreement according to the laws of nature. You will know more about it in the later part of this article.

The word diet frightens some persons, thrills many. The main purpose of the diet is to understand your food. Why you eat, what you eat! Formerly, you ate as per the demand of your stomach. Now your mind is also involved in the eating exercise.

Mind will instruct you to eat right things at the right time and avoid certain types of food altogether! When I say, diet, I have no intention of making you to starve. Eat plenty, but eat the reasonable ones and shun the unreasonable. Need has to score over taste.

I don't wish you to confuse with counting the calories. Stop eating, when you feel that you want a little more. There needs to be enough 'elbow room' in the stomach for the process of digestion.

Now, you know the causes and the reasons that led you to the pedestal of diabetes.

Avoid all types of sweets, refined sugar, oily food, foods that have too much carbohydrates and junk food. Treat junk food and processed food full of additives, as your enemy. Avoid cheese, cream and other dairy products. You are encouraged to take fruits and vegetables in which the fiber content is more. You need to avoid constipation at all costs.

Try to develop the habit of living in a relaxed atmosphere. Mental stress is also the main cause of tension, leading to the portals of diabetes.

You know, you need to defeat diabetes. Why then smoke or drink? Both are the trusted agents of the diabetes.

Let food be Thy medicine and the medicine be Thy food...the old saying goes thus!

10 Tips for Good Digestion!

1. Eat in order of digestibility. You should eat the easiest to digest foods first in each meal and slowly move towards the more complex. Think of a highway, if the slowest cars are in front they'll hold up the faster cars behind them, causing a traffic jam. The same goes for your food. Eat those fastest to digest first and save the tougher to digest foods for the second half of your meal.

Here are the time sequences for different food groups:
* Water & Juices: 20-30 minutes
* Fruits, Smoothies, Soups: 30-45 minutes
* Vegetables: 30-45 minutes
* Beans, Grains, Starches: 2-3 hours
* Meat, Fish, Poultry: 3 or more hours

2. Drink warm or hot liquids with your meal. Ice cold drinks can slow down the digestive process, think of it as putting ice on a muscle. The muscle stiffens and does not function as well. Warm or room temperature water, juice, or decaf tea will encourage proper digestion. (Just remember the traffic jam drink liquids prior to
meals)

3. Eat at regular meals times. It is important to be regular with what you eat and the times of day you eat. Eating similar food groups and at similar times each day has a regulating effect on your digestive system. Regular in means regular out.

4. Be conscious of what you eat and your portion sizes. Over consumption is the number one cause of indigestion. Our brain signals the feeling of fullness about ten minutes after we're actually full. So stop eating before you are full. Odds are you'll feel full ten minutes later!

5. Chew your food completely and don't talk while eating. Incomplete chewing and talking while eating can cause premature swallowing. Our digestive systems are not designed to digest large pieces of food, when we put large pieces in our stomachs it can lead to incomplete digestion (aka: digestive discomfort).

6. Relax while eating your meal. Eating when you are rushed increases your stress and slows down the digestive process.Create a nice calming atmosphere when eating and make sure you can devote time to eating.

7. Practice good posture. When you slouch or hunch over extra pressure is put on the digestive organs in your abdomen. This extra pressure can cause poor digestion. You should practice sitting with your shoulders back and your chin tucked in. This will allow more room for the digestive organs and will help improve digestion.

8. Don't eat late at night. Our bodies, including our digestive system, slow down in the evening hours as it gets ready to rest and rejuvenate. When we put food into our stomachs at these late hours there are not enough digestive enzymes to properly digest it. This undigested food sits in your stomach and will often disturb your sleep.

9. Take a brisk walk after eating. Forget about not be active for 30 minutes after each meal. Increased physical activity actually helps jumpstart your digestive system and increases the production of digestive enzymes. This will lead to more complete digestion of your food and less digestive discomfort!

10. Try a spinal twist. Spinal twists allow excess toxins in the digestive system to be released, which has a calming effect. While in a cross legged sitting position, slowly turn to the right and hold while taking 5 deep breathes then repeat this process on the left side.

Stress:Causes and Effects!!

Prime Causes

A stress-free existence is, perhaps, a mirage. Hans Selye aptly commented: "Complete freedom from stress is death!" The pressures of modern living ensure that stress is always lurking in the background. It is generally assumed that adverse life events or challenges called stressors cause stress. If this stress becomes very intense or chronic, it leads to stress-related diseases.

However, this phenomenon is not as simplistic as it sounds. Different individuals subjected to the same stressful event may react differently, with responses ranging from extreme to mild to absent.

Although the causes of stress are myriad, we could loosely categorize these into common and uncommon stressors. Common stressors comprise disease, academic stress (heightened during examinations), marital discord, separation or divorce, career stress, bereavement and unemployment.

The uncommon ones include overcrowding, commuting, sleep deprivation, shifts (home, school, career), malnutrition, drug abuse, phobias, excessive exercise, noise pollution, et al.

It isn't just adults who fall prey to stress. Modern lifestyles are exacting a toll on impressionable kids and unsuspecting teenagers too. In the words of Dr Chugh: "A fairly large number of children have stress problems related to studies and unrealistic parental expectations. And there are huge numbers of stressed teenagers. These are cases related to academics, relationships, parental expectations, drug and alcohol abuse and even sexual experimentation that backfires. Examination stress is phenomenally high, especially during board exams."

Frustration through sexual deprivation, social or peer pressure to conform, and the struggle for professional advancement all cause stress. It was Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) who pointed out that if psychic energy is unable to meet its original objective, it fixes upon an alternative. This impulse leads to sublimation. It can also lead to stress. While the individual adapts to the situation, if pressures become unbearable or persistent, he may enter a state of chronic stress.

Most of these stressors can ultimately impair immune functions.

Insidious Effects:
As early as the 2nd century AD, the deleterious effects of stress were recognized. In his treatise on tumors, De Tumoribus, the Greek physician Galen noted a greater tendency for development of breast cancer among melancholic women than those with sanguine traits.

Earl Wilson drove this point home laterally in his pithy observation on hypertension: "One way to get high blood pressure is to go mountain climbing over molehills."

Stress can be the culprit in palpitations, heart attacks, migraine and tension headaches, eating disorders, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, diabetes, backache, chronic fatigue syndrome, dermatitis, allergies, colds and coughs, asthma, insomnia, stammering, phobias, depression, premature aging… The list is endless.

In many illnesses, however, there may be multiple pathways by which symptoms occur, and stress may act as a predisposing, precipitating, and/or sustaining factor. Not surprisingly, many of these ailments are associated with immune alterations. The influence of stress may also be complex and indirect. In his study of gout, H. Weiner (1977) discovered that exacerbation were connected to dietary habits. Flare-ups typically occurred during periods of stress when patients exhibited less dietary control, guzzled greater amounts of alcohol, took medication less regularly and got insufficient sleep.

Can stress really cause illness? The ecumenical belief holds that an individual's emotional state can directly affect his well being. Empirical evidence demonstrates that a variety of personality traits and stressful life events are correlated with both the provocation and the increased incidence of many psychosomatic disorders, including cancer.

B.H. Fox (1978) hypothesizes two primary cancer-causing mechanisms. The first, 'carcinogenesis', involves an agent or mechanism which produces cancer by overcoming the body's natural resistance. The second, 'lowered resistance to cancer', permits a potential carcinogen normally insufficient to produce cancer to do so due to a weakened emotional state, for example.

Researchers like D.M. Kissen (1969) have argued that the stress of adverse circumstances and the loss of a loved one can lead to cancer by psychological mechanisms of "despair, depression and hopelessness".

Some researchers have linked the theory of learned helplessness to health. Helplessness has been defined as "the psychological state that frequently results when events are uncontrollable". It is used interchangeably with hopelessness, describing a feeling that a situation is without solution. Hopelessness has often been associated with early relapse and mortality in cancer studies. Examining survival rates of patients post-surgery and 10 years after a psychological interview, S. Greer (1985) found telling conclusions. Those displaying a helpless attitude or a stoic acceptance had recurrent disease or died earlier than those responding with 'denial' or a 'fighting spirit'.

In the 1950s, Dr Franz Alexander of Chicago found that strong but inhibited aggressive impulses led to increased muscle tension, a contributing factor in rheumatoid arthritis. Along with anxiety, it raised blood pressure, as though the body "were constantly in preparation for a fight which never takes place". Dr Alexander showed that high blood pressure is rare among African blacks, but frequent in American blacks-an incontrovertible proof of the damaging effects of a more stressful environment.

An American study in the 1970s discovered that 20 out of 25 new diabetics had suffered the loss of a loved one or a severe setback shortly before the symptoms developed.

Drinking water on empty stomach!!

It is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven a its value. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases:

Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

METHOD OF TREATMENT

1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water.

2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minute.

3. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.

4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours.

5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.

6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/ reduce main diseases.

1. High Blood Pressure - 30 days
2. Gastric - 10 days
3. Diabetes - 30 days
4. Constipation - 10 days
5. Cancer - 180 days
6. TB - 90 days
7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards - daily.

This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times.

It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life.

Drink Water and Stay healthy and Active.

This makes sense .. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals ..not cold water. Maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything to gain...

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.

It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.

Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks: Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting.

Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.

You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack.

Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.

60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive...

Kundru can lower blood sugar: Study

New Delhi: This humble vegetable, so far met at the dining table with indifference, may now find new respect, even among picky palates. That's because new research shows that consuming 50 grams of kundru daily can help keep your blood sugar under check.

A three-month study conducted by doctors at the Institute of Population Health and Clinical Research, Bangalore, has found that the common kundru, which looks like a poor cousin of the tasty gourd parwal and has no particular gastronomic appeal, can reduce blood sugar levels in patients with mild diabetes.

The team found that sugar levels in new diabetics, with fasting blood sugar counts below 200, can drop by 16% by simply slurping the curried vegetable, known to botanists as Coccinia indica. It also reduced postprandial blood glucose (sugar count after a meal) by 18%.

The findings have been reported in the latest issue of the international journal Diabetes Care. ''We fed 30 early diabetics a daily capsule of one gram of frozen, dried powder of kundru, that is equivalent to 15 grams of the vegetable, for three months and found it to greatly reduce blood sugar. It also reduced glycosylated haemoglobin by 0.4%, which is significant,'' said Dr Ganapathi Bantwal, associate professor of endocrinology at St John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore. However, doctors say when cooked and consumed, the dose has to be higher than that of the extract — typically about 50 grams.

Kundru used in many ayurvedic cures

New Delhi: A study conducted at the Institute of Population Health and Clinical Research, Bangalore, has found that kundru can reduce blood sugar levels in diabetics.

''For those with blood sugar count during fasting higher than 200, kundru could be a supplement along with blood sugar reducing tablets,'' Dr Bantwal said. Although modern science has just stumbled on this culinary oddity, ancient sages pounding herbs into ayurvedic cures have known of kundru's powers. It has been used to treat ''sugar urine" too. However, studies of its efficacy on blood glucose levels of type 2 diabetic patients requiring only dietary or lifestyle modifications were lacking. This triggered the research.

The study entailed giving a control group the kundru powder as well as observing a similar group given placebos. Sixty type 2 diabetics (aged 35-60) were recruited from St John's Medical College Hospital. The subjects were randomly assigned into the placebo or experimental group.