Health Care and Medical Information – Freaksofcocks.info

Archive for June, 2009

Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that causes gradual loss of a person’s mental abilities. It initially affects the cerebral cortex and often starts off as simple forgetfulness.

As the disease progresses, the person’s personality may undergo a complete transformation for the worse. The ability to think and function normally may be almost fully lost.

Is there a way to reduce one’s chances of getting the disease? There are no definite answers, partly because the disease itself is not fully understood yet.

It is thought that maintaining a healthy lifestyle with lots of mental activity may help prevent Alzheimer’s. There are no absolute safeguards against it, though.

Here are some steps you can take to minimize your chances of falling prey to this disease.

* Remain mentally active.
Mental activity stimulates the brain neurons. The more you use your brain, the more it creates new neurological pathways and connections. In this respect, the brain is quite like the rest of the body, because if you use it, it tends to remain healthy. And if you don’t, the brain deteriorates.

Do crossword puzzles and word games. Take up public speaking or debating. Learn to play a musical instrument. Learn about art forms you were not familiar with before and attend cultural and other functions.

Anything that engages your brain and keeps you alert and active may help.

* Get regular physical exercise.
The benefits of moderate physical exercise are well documented. Exercise results in increased oxygen flow to the brain and releases chemicals that make you feel good.

Plus, of course, exercise boosts your physical stamina and fitness levels. It helps reduce your weight, lowers your blood pressure and many other positive effects.

Go with any exercise that suits you, after taking your doctor’s advice. Choices include aerobics, gym workouts, tai chi, stretch exercises, yoga and more.

* Eat healthy food.
Your chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease are lower if you cut down on cholesterol and fat in your diet. That means, avoid junk food and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. The latter helps build up your brain cells. Besides, fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants which are supposed to be good for the whole body.

Foods like leafy vegetables, fish and nuts may be excellent. Consult a doctor or nutritionist and come up with a diet that suits you.

* Cultivate excellent family and social relationships
Having great relationships dramatically improves your experience of life. And there are many studies that show that longevity is linked to having good social relationships.

Involve yourself in hobby groups. Join a neighborhood walking club or canasta group. Go to block parties. Get active in community organizations. Go on weekend trips with friends. There are many ways to stay involved socially.

In the end, leading a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle will contribute immensely to your quality of life. And it can help slow or perhaps even halt the progress of Alzheimer’s disease in people who are predisposed to it.

For people with insulin-dependent diabetes, trying to control their blood glucose, or blood sugar, can be a stressful juggling act. Managing the disease often requires several daily insulin injections, taking up to 10 blood samples a day, coordinating the use of multiple medical devices and being mindful of how diet, exercise and medication can affect blood-sugar levels.

Medtronic’s Paradigm REAL-Time System incorporates a glucose sensor, a transmitter, a “smart” insulin pump and a glucose meter to provide patients with better control, flexibility and health.

Chris Jarvis, a member of the 2004 Canadian Olympic Rowing Team and a marathon runner, knows firsthand about the challenges associated with diabetes. He has type 1 diabetes, which means his body doesn’t produce insulin on its own. Some days, during races, Jarvis used to take up to 15 fingerstick measurements to check his blood sugar. For many years, he used two separate devices to control his diabetes, one to monitor his glucose and another to administer insulin into his body.

Most recently, however, Jarvis has been using a new federally approved device-the only one of its kind in the world-that has given him much more control over his diabetes.

Developed by Minneapolis-based medical technology company Medtronic, Inc., the MiniMed Paradigm® REAL-Time Insulin Pump and Continuous Glucose Monitoring System integrates an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring system to deliver insulin to the body day and night while at the same time continuously checking glucose levels, and sounding an alarm (or vibrating) if levels get dangerously high or low. This new device provides Jarvis with the confidence he needs to continue leading a healthy life.

“It gives you a real sense of comfort knowing exactly what’s happening inside of your body, rather than trying to guess with only a couple of fingersticks,” Jarvis says. “It’s just a quick touch of a button and you see where your blood sugar is.”

This new therapy option helps patients, like Jarvis, gain tighter control over their disease and understand how their diet, exercise, medication or lifestyle may affect their blood sugar. Armed with this knowledge, patients can take immediate corrective or preventive action to maintain healthy glucose levels.

Dr. Irl Hirsch, medical director, University of Washington Diabetes Care Center, Seattle, says that many patients with insulin-dependent diabetes still give themselves multiple daily injections of insulin and rely solely on blood draws-four to 10 per day-from fingersticks to measure their blood-sugar levels. The new system changes all this because it constantly delivers insulin to the body and continuously-almost 300 times a day-provides users information on what their glucose level is and whether it’s heading up or down.

“If you have insulin-dependent diabetes, you need to make sure you’re getting the right amount of insulin, and you need to keep a close eye on your glucose levels,” Hirsch says. “The insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor is a major breakthrough because it’s the only device in the world that helps you do both.”

Studies have shown that multiple daily insulin injections aren’t as effective as insulin pumps in controlling diabetes. Fingersticks alone miss more than 60 percent of low-glucose events, and that’s a real danger for people with diabetes. If blood sugar gets too high or low, patients can lapse into a coma and die within just a few hours. Over time, not maintaining normal blood-sugar levels can lead to blindness, stroke, amputations, heart disease and kidney disease.

“With the MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time System, I control my diabetes; it doesn’t control me,” Jarvis says.

Mitral Valve allows blood to flow in one direction from the atrium (upper chamber) to the ventricle (lower chamber). It is one of the four valves separating different chambers of the heart. Mitral valve causes problem if it doesn’t open and close as per its functionality.

It causes blood to leak backwards into the upper chamber of the heart, leading to a ‘heart murmur’. This is called as Mitral Valve Prolapse. The functioning of your heart is normal at this point of time. This does not worsen over a period of time, but is one of the main reasons for cardiac problems.

Mitral valve prolapse is very common among women although men are targeted too. It can strike in early adulthood. It is considered to be a hereditary problem. Mitral Valve Prolapse syndrome is also called as dysautonomia.

One of the main reasons which cause an increase in mitral valve prolapse syndrome is stress. The cause of stress can be due to childbirth, drastic events, and life turning experiences and day to day stress in life. Nearly 60% of the patients with MVP do not show symptoms. The other 40% does show some sign, which you should be aware of.

Some Signs and Symptoms of Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome

-Irregular Heartbeat
-Fatigue
-Chest Pain
-Racing Heart
-Dizziness
-Headaches
-Shortness of Breath
-Palpitation
-Anxiety

Causes of Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome

-Hereditary
-Stress
-Caffeine
-Stimulants
-Sweets
-Alcohol
-Smoking
-Menopause
-Skipping Meals
-Dehydration

Measures to be taken

Complications in this condition are very less. Attributable to the fact, that it does not affect much of your health. But people who suffer from this condition have to take extreme care. You may have to cut down on your physical activity, have a surgery and may be put you on medications – beta blockers.

You may have to follow a strict diet routine. Do not have any stimulants in your diet like coffee, tea, colas and even chocolates. Intake of sugar should come down. Have high-protein snack for afternoons. Drink as much water as you want. Fresh fruit juice is also good.

Regular exercise is good to maintain good health. Do not exert yourself. You should consult your doctor before doing any physical activity. Being aware about your condition would help you from any bacterial infection from any kind of surgery. Inform your doctors in advance about your condition, to avoid complication.

Home Care

Cinnamon helps in reducing high cholesterol and triglycerides. These can be used in your daily diet.

Flax seed oil contributes with good amounts of omega 3 fatty acids. This helps your cardiovascular system by reducing bad cholesterol including lowering blood pressure.

Hawthorn Berries helps with a clean and clear cardiovascular system. It is very good for your heart.

Do you ever feel like you’re just not keeping the pace like you used to?

This is an ever growing trend and the cause is most likely – barring any sort of serious health condition – the fact that you’re simply not getting all of the essential vitamins and minerals that your body requires to function at 100%.

With our diets becoming increasingly worse and worse, in addition to the depleted levels of vitamins and minerals in the food that we do eat, most of us are walking around without sufficient energy to get through our busy days.

A revolutionary company named Agel Industries has done exactly what’s necessary to assist you in getting all the vital nutrients that you need everyday with their innovative product Agel MIN. This is a product that provides you with the ideal amount – 100% of the Recommended Daily Intake, (otherwise known as RDI) of vitamins and 50% RDI of essential minerals.

So how does this help you?

Well…it’s as simple as this. Vitamins and minerals are the basic foundation of healthy living. They are basically involved with every single biochemical action that occurs in your body in some sort of way, which means that they act as coenzymes and cofactors. Again, this just means that they assist with all the going’s on in our bodies that makes us sustain health.

Now here’s how Agel’s MIN differs from all of the other “me too” multi-vitamin products out there in the overcrowded market, and why MIN is quickly becoming a stand out product. The way that this product is designed, just as all of their products are designed, is within a revolutionary proprietary gel formula unique to Agel known as gelceuticals. What this means for you is that the nutrients within the product – the 12 essential vitamins and 11 vital minerals – are absorbed more completely and efficiently into your body and into the digestive system.

This is because these ingredients are either suspended within the gel, or dissolved into the gel, so that as your body absorbs it, it’s also just as quickly and completely absorbing the nutrients within. Compare this to the ordinary vitamin pill which must be digested first, and then whatever nutrients are left after that whole process, gets absorbed into your body – that is if it’s not excreted out before it gets a chance to do what it’s meant to do. It’s a huge difference, and if you really think about it, a huge money saver. You could almost say that buying pill vitamins is the same as flushing your money down the toilet.

Now most people go through life in the “more is better” mode, and if one is good then 10’s better, hence the traveler lugging a bag full of 15 rattling pill bottles everywhere he goes. This is not the case with Agel MIN simply because it provides you with the ideal amount of what you need for the best possible health result – not too much and certainly not too little.

The fact is that MIN uses a proprietary formula so that your body more efficiently is able to assimilate the nutrients, plus reserve them in your body which will leave you with a sustained energy like you’ve never gotten before from a multi-vitamin. It’s truly revolutionary. Just as exciting is the fact that it’s so easy to take on the run throughout your day because Agel MIN comes in easy single serving packets of the gel formula so that it’s readily mobile, and when you’re ready you just rip off the top, and squeeze the great tasting gel right into your mouth…Easy as 1-2-3!