Glaucoma is an eye affliction
caused by a disturbance of the fluid balance with the eyeball and a consequent
increase of pressure inside the eye. If allowed to persist, glaucoma may damage
vision by pressing against the optic nerve. One of the main symptoms of glaucoma
is a tunnel vision. Well, in other words, an increasingly restricted field of
vision, even though you can still focus perfectly well. Other warning signs and
symptoms which may or may not be present are headaches and seeing auras or
haloes around bright objects. Because glaucoma is an age associated defect it
is rarely seen in people under 35 and because it ca be absolutely symptomless
in the early stages by the time it is
diagnosed medially, the process has often gone so far that the sufferer can be
classified as blind for health insurance purposes. You should have an eye test
at about the age of 45 to check that you have not got it. This is particularly
important if there is a history of it in your family. Once detected glaucoma
can never be cured but it can be controlled in one of three ways; medically
through prescription of certain drugs, surgically, in order to release pressure
inside the eye, or through the use of prescription eye drops which use a drug
called pilocarpine to constrict the pupil, so making the wearing of glasses
unnecessary. Source: Charismatic Planet
Monday, 17 November 2014
Tuesday, 4 November 2014
Acne Can be an Embarrasing Problem
This
guidelines is intended to give you a basic understanding of the way in
which your body functions and occasionally, malfunctions. It is also
designed to help you to relieve some of the more common aches and pains
by giving simple and practical notes on self-help. It is not, however,
intended to replace your doctor. No amounts of medical knowledge gleaned
from reading books can replace the deep understanding that a qualified
doctor gains from years of training and experience. So use this advice
for interest and for reference and if any doubt, consult your doctor.
Acne Can be an Embarrassing Problem and Difficult to Treat
In
the normal course of events, sebum, made in the sebaceous glands deep
down in the skin, travel up the hair follicle to emerge through a fine
pore on the surface. There, it emulsifies with sweat to fulfill its
vital double role of lubricating and protecting the skin. Therefore if
the sebum hardens and becomes trapped just beneath the surface of the
skin, or if the dead epidermal cells stick together and clog the opening
of the pore a small pimple or blackhead will appear.
Acne Can be an Embarrassing Problem and Difficult to Treat |
If
the blockage occurs deeper down, inflammation and primary bacterial
infection combine to produce a much larger and angrier spot. Both are
acne. The more severe inflammatory types of acne are thought to be
caused by the male hormone, androgen, circulating in the bloodstream and
causing the sebaceous glands to secrete grease. Nothing is demonstrably
“wrong” in a hormonal sense. Some people are simply more sensitive to
the hormone than others. This sensitivity will depend on familial
inheritance and skin type.
Although
diet has no direct causal link with acne, an imbalanced diet can
certainly aggravate it, so too can stress overzealous self-treatment and
squeezing. The first rule is to leave your skin alone. If you are a
habitual picker or squeezer, cut the fingernails short and watch your
skin improve. Wash your skin twice daily with an antiseptic or medicated
soap, use topical creams and lotions sparingly and remember that
there’s absolutely no virtue in fanaticism. Dirt and oil on top of the
skin have nothing to do with any but the smallest of pimples it is the
oil trapped beneath that is to blame.
If
you’ve persistent or severe acne, or are distressed about the
condition, see your doctor. Acne can be treated often extremely
effectively with a course of antibiotics, prescribed over a period of
months or even years. It works by counteracting the effects of the
problem, not by curing it. It may be as many as three months before a
noticeable improvement in the condition of the skin can be seen.
Topical
acne treatments range from mild antiseptic lotions (astringents) to
stronger more abrasive chemical solutions that “strip” off the dead
layer of skin cells to unblock the pore and free the sebum. Lotions
containing benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid or retinoic acid (vitamin A)
are probably the most effective. However while they can be valuable in
treating superficial non-inflammatory acne, they’ll not help more severe
types and may even aggravate them. In addition if these lotions are
used too often or applied over enthusiastically, they may produce
redness, dryness and excessive irritation Cis Retinoic acid (at present
only available in the USA), taken orally as a course of tablets, works
by cutting down sebaceous activity and can be very effective. Its
disadvantage, however, is that it tends to dry up the skin. Common side
effects are chapped lips and general flaking and dryness.
In
the future, medical treatment of the more severe types of acne may
involve regulating the hormone levels responsible for producing the
condition, either by prescribing an anti-androgen, usually cyproterone
acetate, or additional oestrogen, depending on the patient. While
effective in combating and protecting again acne, the drug is at present
being combined with an oestrogen for a contraceptive effective. Risk
factors on ovulation and pregnancy have still to be assessed.
Sunday, 26 October 2014
The Increase Popularity of Herbs & Health
The increase in the popularity of
herbs as medicinal remedies is less obvious but it seems to have come partly
from a general dissatisfaction with synthesized drugs, as well as plastics, artificial
and chemicals manufactured articles of all kinds, which are being rejected in favor
of substances naturally grown and shaped by hand into the artifact required.
Herbal based remedies of old
using parts of plants fresh or dried in simple infusions, poultices or
decoctions, have been found to have great health benefits but, though their
method of application is simple, their prescribing is not, since they’ve to be
tailored not only to a given malady, but to the person concerned. The
combinations which can be achieved for this are infinite. Furthermore
complication have to be added; for instance, numerous parts of a herb have
different effects because the times of the year for collection affect the
content of the herb; the quantity used is also of major importance, and there’re
at least 7000 medicinal herbs used by European races; so however herbs
undoubtedly have marvelous potential for curing illness, home cures should only
be undertaken for minor ailments.
The medicinal application of herbs
can be traced as far back as Chinese herbal written approximately five thousand
years ago, and there’re Egyptian papyri from 2,800 BC listing such herbs as
mint, marjoram and juniper, for medicinal use. More of the learning and practice
of the Egyptians were absorbed by Greek physicians, one of the best known of
whom is dioscorides, as army doctor who lived during the time of Nero in the
first century A.D. His list of 400 healing plants, described and detailed in
four books, is perhaps the most famous material medical of all, and continued
to be a standard reference for European medicine for the next 1,500 years.
Plants were the only source of
help from health improvement for hundreds of years, and doctors were almost
completely reliant on them although some, notably Hippocrates, did stress that
hygiene and diet were of major importance. Medical science had perforce to be botanists
and often gardeners as well, and in time medical knowledge came to be the perquisite
of the European religious orders, as it had been that of the priests in the
time of Egyptian pharaohs. For several centuries it remained in the hands chiefly
of the monastic houses, where there was always a physic garden containing the
herbs required by the prevailing medical encumbent.
Most of the herbs now grown in
Britain culinary and domestic as well as medicinal resulted from the Roman
invasion. In the same way, herbs were introduced in the 16th century
from Europe to North America, to be grafted on to the use already in existence
of the herbs of the North American Indians who had a considerable and long
standing tradition of herbal cures from the plants native to their own
continent.
Medicine while still based on
plants, became more and more sophisticated as knowledge accumulated,
particularly with the introduction of printing, which meant that information
could be passed on exactly, instead of wrongly, by hearsay, and thus provided a
bigger and bigger base from which to work. The Doctrine of Signatures became
fashionable the theory of which was that plants which looked like the symptoms
of an illness would cure it lungwort or pulmonaria is a case in point, since it
was used for lung conditions, because its white spotted leaves were thought to
bear some resemblance to diseased lungs.
As the science of the 19th
century advanced in analytical skills, it became increasingly possible to tie
down results to specific plants and the chemicals therein, until a pure
chemical could be prescribed for a particular symptom. The use of a whole leaf,
flower or the complete plant itself, fell into disuse and with this a whole
galaxy of other chemicals which, it has now been found, were equally necessary to
be cure.
There seems no good reason why
herbs should not be used at home to cure many minor ills, in the same way that
aspirin are useful for headaches, toothache, etc., and the day may not be far
away when a book of standard prescriptions using herbs is universally
available. One will need to grow the plants and prepare the drink or poultice oneself,
but neither is time-consuming and certainly likely to be less expensive and
just as, if not more efficacious than the manufactured kind available from
chemist.
Herbs and Foods
Without plants man could not
survive. Cereals “Sophisticated grasses” fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts are
essential constituents of human diet some may say the only suitable ones and
even the meat we eat comes from animals which themselves fed on vegetation in
the shape of grasses and herbaceous plants. The plant lumped together under the
umbrella name of herbs do not appear at first glance to be essential to
maintain life, but it is now becoming apparent that this concept could be
wrong, and that herbs are as essential as oxygen, although the ingredients they
contribute, such as minerals and vitamins, amy only be found in small
quantities.
The so-called culinary herbs,
parsley, mint, and basil and so on, all have characteristic flavors which
enable them to be used in recipes of their own, or added to dishes to give a
tantalizing piquancy. It is not always realized that often an herb will help
with digestion generally, or with the digestion of the particular food with
which it is associated. Peppermint is a classic aid to food absorption basil
contains a substance which helps with stomach cramps and parsley is a diuretic.
The strong flavors of culinary
herbs ensure that they should be used in little quantities, but other is no
need to go to the other extreme and be timed with them. The Greeks strew their
common thyme liberally all over roasted or kebabed lamb, to its great
enhancement, and it is worth applying this principle to all the cooking herbs.
The leaves are closely always the part of the plant used, newly picked and
freshly chopped at once, or used dried, provided they’re no older than 6
months.
Aromatic herbs are the ones most
used in cooking no two are alike and some are so difficult to explain that even
to say they’re clove like gives the wrong idea. The fact is that several have
an aroma and flavor which is rare and unique for instance, basil can only be
explain as tasting i.e. basil. Some are so strongly aromatic as to be spicy,
and tarragon in particular is one of the few that has such a strong taste it
does need adding in minuscule amounts to meat or fish dishes. Bay is another;
one leaf is quite potent enough for the average family casserole.
Quite why food and diet have become
of such interest in recent years in for the social historian to discuss but
there’s no doubt about the present popularity of culinary herbs. The history of
the use of herbs in food is naturally bound up with the history of food itself.
It is commonly thought that herbs were used mainly to disguise the flavor of
bad meat during the winter when there was no recently slaughtered beef or lamb
to be had, or when food in general had started to go off. But there were
precisely good ways of preserving food without refrigeration, which were
followed even more diligently than we do these days in the time of the deep
freeze.
Although, herbs have always been
used to pep up the more blandly flavored foods i.e. fish, vegetables and
cereals. Interestingly, religion had a considerable influence on herbal use in
cookery, since the decreed times when meat should be eaten, when fish only was
the rule, and when there were fast days or fasting weeks. Lenten food was particularly
plain, and herbs and spices as well, were used a great deal in such food.
Looked at from the other side, it
should be realized that blandly flavored foods decrease the strong and exotic
taste cooking lies to use herbs in such quantities that the strength of their
flavors balances the strength and flavor of the food to which they’re added.
They use to blend as well; it is no good using a herb whose taste contradicts
that of the dish to which it is being added.
Sunday, 12 October 2014
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
Ten Reasons to Add Chia Seeds in Your Diet
Chia seeds come from a flowering
plant in the mint family that's native to Mexico and Guatemala, and history recommends
it was a very imperative food crop for the Aztecs. Chia seeds are remained in
regular use in its native countries, but were largely anonymous in North America
until expert Wayne Coates started studying on chia as an alternative crop for
farmers in northern Argentina about 29 years ago. Coates began his researcher on
chia in 1991, and since then has become a supporter of the petite seed's health
benefits. However; the human trials are limited as is often the case with food
research, but the anecdotal evidence of chia's positive health effects include improving
energy, stabilizing blood sugar, aiding digestion, and dropping cholesterol. The
tiny chia seed which comes in either white or a dark brown and black color also
has a vast nutritional profile. It comprises calcium, manganese, and
phosphorus, and is a rich source of healthy omega-3 fats. Moreover as an added
benefit, chia seeds can be eaten whole or milled, while flax seeds have to be
ground before consumption in order to access their health benefits for example.
Ten Reasons to Add Chia Seeds in
Your Diet
· Chia Seeds are being studied as a potential natural treatment for two type diabetes because of its capability to sluggish down digestion. The gelatinous coating chia seeds develops when exposed to liquids can also prevent blood sugar spikes.
· Well, you know just a 28gram or one-ounce serving of chia has 11 grams of dietary fiber about a third of the suggested daily intake for adults. Adding some chia seeds to your diet is an easy way to make sure you're getting a good amount of fiber, which is imperative for digestive health.
· Chia seeds are packed with omega3 fatty acids, with roughly five grams in a one ounce serving. These fats are vital for brain health. There's better conversion of omega 3s into the plasma or into the food than with flax seed," said researcher Wayne Coates.
· Chia Seeds gets stronger your teeth and bones, and serving of chia seeds has 18 % of the suggested daily intake for calcium, which puts your well on your way to keeping bone and oral health, and preventing osteoporosis.
· Manganese isn't a well-known nutrient, but it is very vital for our health, as it is very good for your bones and reliefs your body use other indispensable nutrients like biotin and thiamin. Therefore one serving of chia seeds, or 28 grams, has 30 per cent of your recommended intake of this mineral.
· With 27 per cent of your daily value for phosphorus, chia seeds also help you maintain healthy bones and teeth. Phosphorus is also used by the body to synthesize protein for cell and tissue growth and repair.
· Chia seeds also make a great source of protein for vegetarians and don't have any cholesterol. One 28gram serving of these super seeds has 4.4 grams of protein, nearly 10 per cent of the daily value.
· Chia's stabilizing effect on blood sugar also fights insulin resistance which can be tied to an increase in belly fat, according to Live Strong. This type of resistance can also be harmful for your overall health.
· Tryptophan, an amino acid found in turkey, is also found in chia seeds. While tryptophan is responsible for that strong urge to nap after a big Thanksgiving dinner for example, it also helps standardize appetite, sleep and improve mood.
· According to the Cleveland Clinic, chia seeds are really helpful in improving health of heart, and have been shown to improve blood pressure in diabetics, and may also support healthy cholesterol while lowering total, LDL, and triglyceride cholesterol. All good news for your ticker!
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