Just caught this long article on Eating disorders on the main MSN.ca site. There are a lot of facts in this article and it is interesting that when people want to better their health sometimes they go to far and actually harm themselves by losing to much weight. I used to hate the talk of Anorexia and Bulimia being a disease thinking that it was just a way for some people to get attention but have really learned over the last few years that this is something that is a very dangerous disease with very deep rooted causes.

Eating disorders have increased in frequency as a consequence of society’s emphasis and preoccupation with thinness. Eating disorders are multi-factorial, with genetic, traumatic and nutritional causes. In North America, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two most important eating disorders. They predominantly affect females.

What is the difference between anorexia and bulimia?

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric condition where people intentionally starve themselves because of a false belief that they are fat, or for fear of becoming obese. In reality, they are almost always underweight or of normal weight when the condition starts. It is estimated that more than 90% of all those diagnosed with anorexia nervosa are female, often from middle and upper socioeconomic backgrounds. This disorder usually starts in the years between adolescence and young adulthood, with the average age at onset of 14 years. Anorexia nervosa afflicts about 1 per 100,000 in the population at large, but the rate is believed to be higher among Caucasian adolescent girls – about 1 in 200. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: affective disorder, alcohol abuse, American Psychiatric Association, anorexia nervosa, anxiety disorders, binge-purge syndrome, bulimia nervosa, cognitive behavioural therapy, constipation, Counselling, dangerous disease, dehydration, depression, digestive and reproductive systems, dizziness, drug abuse, Drug therapy, dysfunctional family environments, eating disorder, eating disorders, enemas, esophagitis, food, food craving, food cravings, food restriction, inflammation, low blood pressure, malnutrition, Mumps, nervous and hormonal systems, north America, obesity, obsessive compulsive disorder, olanzapine, panic disorder, parenting, Psychotherapy, runner, schizophrenia, social phobias, starvation, vomiting

The best home remedies for mosquito bites, of course, are those that stop the little critters biting in the first place. But if it is too late for that, there are still a few things that you can try.

A mosquito bite is not like the sting of a wasp or bee which is an injection of poison. Mosquitoes just want a little taste of your blood. But to stop it coagulating so that they can easily drink it, they also deposit a protein which causes an allergic reaction in some people.

It seems that some people get bitten constantly and others never have a single itch, but this is probably nothing to do with whether the insects like you. The truth is that some people do not get allergic and so they do not know they have been bitten.

If you ask a hundred bite-scratching people what they recommend, you may get a hundred different answers. Here are some of the most popular ideas.

Ice: apply an ice cube to reduce the inflammation and temporarily numb the area. Ice also restricts blood flow which may reduce the allergic reaction. The bite will probably itch again later, but maybe by then you will be busy doing something else and will not notice.

Roll-on anti perspirant: most commercial anti perspirants contain vasoconstrictive substances which, like ice, restrict blood flow to the area. Additionally, the aluminum in the anti perspirant may help the bite to heal. Do not use if the bite has been heavily scratched.

Fingernails: press down on the bite with a fingernail so that the nail digs in and leaves a mark. Then do the same thing at another angle to form a cross. This should temporarily stop the itching.

Toothpaste: some people recommend smearing toothpaste over the bite. The fluoride is said to reduce the allergic reaction. If desperate, why not give it a try!

Scratching: it has been shown that if you go so far as to open up the bite and make it bleed, some of the allergen may be forced out by the blood flow. However, the bite may become infected, so doing this deliberately is not recommended. If it happens by accident, apply antiseptic.

The good news is that the itching from bites will only last between 24 and 48 hours. Then, cover yourself in insect repellent or keep those mosquitoes out with netting to stop yourself being bitten next time.

You can also look for an anti itch cream that contains camphor, and keep it with you whenever you risk being bitten. Camphor can stop the itching and if applied early enough, it may even prevent the itchy bump from forming. This makes camphor one of the best home remedies for mosquito bites, but you have to buy some ahead of time.

Tags: allergic reaction, home remedies, inflammation, itching

People hate dieting because it deprives them of their favorite foods (read fatty and junk foods). When you start dieting, you will inevitably have tough times during the first few days when you reel under the pressure of hunger. Just think about it – you used to eat every now and then and now that you are dieting, you got to restrict your food intake. Obviously your body is quite surprised at the change of food habits but hey, there are ways you can make sure you can diet for a long time without troubling your body! In this article I will give you five tips to lose weight effectively!

1. Remove Sugary Foods from your kitchen. Do a search in your kitchen as well as the refrigerator and make sure there is no food left there that has high sugar content. Sugar or sucrose easily converts into carbohydrates once it enters into body. And as a matter of fact, unused carbohydrates are easily turned into fat by the body. You therefore, as a rule, should avoid sugar and sugar-rich foods. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: calorie count, carbohydrates, dairy products, energy, food, food cravings, food habits, food intake, glass of water, heart diseases, inflammation, junk foods, natural preservatives, stomach disorder, sugary foods, tips to lose weight

So after a not very restful sleep and a Tylenol 3 for pain I woke up this morning to a bit less pain then last night but I am still kind of immobile and sore.

I went to the clinic this morning and the doctor says that I have a sprained back. I now have a filled prescription for an anti-inflammatory and  a muscle relaxant.
I will be out of commission for about three days and the doctor said that I should take it easy for a while after that. So I am going to be worrying more about stretching and isometrics and give the weights a break, sad for me because I really felt that I was getting in the groove of my workouts.

I am still thinking about how I hurt my back and it was a classic case of leaving my back exposed while I was warming it up. As you have probably heard in the past you should lift with your legs not with your back, I was not doing that.

Here is exactly how I wrecked my lower back. Instead of using 25 pounds or so doing one armed rows on the bench, I crouched down to do rows on an angle with just 15 pounds per arm but because of the angle that my back was relative to the weights I was putting a lot of pressure on my lower back instead of stressing my upper back muscles.

I guess we live and learn but I did not really want ot go through any kind of back problems. I had some problems with my knees many years ago and first resorted to riding a bike to strengthen the muscles around my knee, now it looks like I will need to do the same with my core, strengthening my core of my abs and my back are now a real priority.

Tags: inflammation, lower back, muscle relaxant, pain, sprained back, Tylenol, tylenol 3, upper back, upper back muscles, weights, workouts

Aromatherapy has become a standard alternative medicine that many people use and believe to work. I know very little about Aromatherapy except for the simple fact that in the shower I find that the different smells of our different soaps make me react differently emotionally. Aromatherapy is very esoteric and new age but I still wanted to learn more so I went hunting for some Aromatherapy info and found it. Jeffrey Meier wrote the following article that presents lots of the background on Aromatherapy as well as a lot of the uses.

There is a rumor going around that there are certain oils that not only leave you feeling fresh and light, but also have certain healing properties. Have you heard that rumor? Yes? I have too, which prompted me to want to find out more. In my research, I was led down a path toward aromatherapy. Do you want to know more? Let’s explore together!

According to my research, aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses essential oils and other scented plant compounds in order to positively affect a person’s mood or health. On the technical side, the reason that the essential oils are different than other herbal products is because of the distillation process which recovers the lighter “phytomolecules.” Trust me; I don’t know what they’re talking about either. However, what I do know is that many praise its benefits and highly recommend it, so my research took me in the direction of learning what different types are available, and why they are so helpful.

History
Before we go into the types of aromatherapy, I wanted to look at the history of this great medical tradition. Unlike many other natural medical alternatives, the roots of aromatherapy are grounded in the West. The term was coined by a French chemist named René Maurice Gattefossé who was dedicated to researching the healing properties of essential oils. During one of his chemistry projects, he accidentally set his arm on fire. When he submerged it in the nearest cold liquid he could find, he realized immediately that the pain in his arm was relieved. He looked at the vat and saw the cold liquid was NOx PH232, which is also called lavender oil. And after a few days, he saw that the recovery time for his burn was significantly decreased; in addition, his redness, inflammation, blisters and scarring were almost non-existent, helping him to further realize its healing properties. Not long after, a protégé named Jean Valnet continued Gattefossé’s work by treating wounded soldiers with essential oils during World War II. It was with these two chemists that aromatherapy was born.

How Aromatherapy Works
Aromatherapy is said to work as a preventative measure to treat the body before a disease is able to present itself. There are two reasons alternative medical practitioners say that aromatherapy works. One is that the scent from these special essential oils has a very positive effect on the limbic system (the set of brain structures that support emotion and memory). The other is that essential oils are said to have a direct pharmacological effect on the body. However, studies have yet to prove that the effect is actually true.

The two ways that essential oils are used in aromatherapy are at the scent level and the skin level. As mentioned before, at the scent level, the aromatherapy oils are said to activate the emotional centers of the brain. When taken at the skin level, as found with the burned Gattefossé, the oils have healing properties that speed up recovery time and act as a treatment to kill microbes and fungi; they are also used as massage oils by some. There is also a third way essential oils are used, even though this is not recommended for home use. This third way is to take the oil internally. When this is done (under professional direction and supervision), the oils are said to positively stimulate the immune system.

Uses of Aromatherapy
There are many different types of essential oils that are used in aromatherapy – and they all have different ways of stimulating the body. For example, basil essential oils are used in perfumes as a way to help sharpen concentration, reverse depression and relieve headaches. Bergamot is another essential oil with significant effects, such as clearing both the urinary and digestive tracts, as well as relieving cold sores and the chicken pox. And the more popular tea tree oil is known as an antiseptic and disinfectant. But there are many other essential oils out there. Some include black pepper (surprised?), cloves, lemons, and thyme. But when considering any aromatherapy essential oil treatments, keep in mind that they are all highly concentrated and should therefore be kept away from small children, just like any other medication.

Acceptance and Criticism of Aromatherapy
Some countries, France in particular, consider the use of essential oils to be one of their mainstream forms of medicine and even considered it to be its own branch of medicine like dentistry. In France, they use the essential oils as antiseptics, as well as antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial treatments, and the oils are regulated just as prescription drugs are. In order to decide which essential oil to use, they call upon a technique called the aromatogram, which involves culturing a sample of infected tissue then growing the culture and dividing it among Petri dishes. The dishes are then inoculated with different essential oils to determine which has the greatest effect, and that is how the appropriate oil is chosen.

While the aromatherapy form of alternative medicine is highly respected by some, there are others who don’t believe in the effects of aromatherapy and feel that it is another way to sell a dream to those who are looking for a “quick medical fix.” Those who believe in aromatherapy, however, disregard this sentiment and say that, just like deciding to use the other disregarded alternative forms of medicine, including herbs and minerals, acupuncture and even meditation, it is up to every individual’s interpretation of what works for them that matters. In other words, don’t knock it until you try it.

Aromatherapy is still in the process of being accepted in the Americas, but is becoming more appreciated by those who are tired of internalizing synthetic pharmaceuticals that seem to have tons of side effects and essentially have the potential to do more harm than good. Though it is still in the beginning stages of acceptance, there are plenty of alternative medicine practitioners who are willing to give it a try. It seems that many are noticing that the Earth has an abundant supply of what we need to keep us well. And as this becomes more recognizable, there will be more opportunities to try the unique forms of alternative medicine available, including acupuncture, and of course, aromatherapy.

Tags: acupuncture, Alternative Medicine, Americas, appropriate oil, aromatherapy, aromatherapy essential oil treatments, blisters, burn, chemist, chicken pox, cold sores, depression, essential oils, France, herbal products, inflammation, Jean Valnet, Jeffrey Meier, lavender oil, Massage, medical alternatives, meditation, natural medical, oil, pain in his arm, René Maurice Gattefossé, synthetic pharmaceuticals, Tea tree oil

Osteoarthritis is a problem that many people suffer from and it can cause a lot of discomfort and in fact can lower your quality of life becasue you are stopped from doing many of the activites that you would like to do.

Osteoarthritis medications can ease the pain. The most common type of medication doctors recommend reduce swelling as well as pain. As a group, these drugs are called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Examples of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are ASA, ibuprofen, and naproxen. These drugs give relief, but they do not cure the disease or stop it from getting worse. If used for a long time, NSAIDs can cause stomach problems, such as ulcers or bleeding. Acetaminophen relieves pain without causing stomach problems, but it does not reduce inflammation.

Steroid medications can be injected directly into the joint with a small needle to reduce inflammation and pain, but are usually not a permanent solution. Artificial joint fluid can be injected into joints to help relieve pain and make movement easier.

Many people take herbal remedies and supplements such as glucosamine, chondroitin, devil’s claw, and antioxidants. Because supplements have the potential to interact with other medications or to have an effect on other health conditions, it is important to discuss any supplements you are considering with your doctor or pharmacist.

Heat and cold treatments can help reduce pain. So can mild exercise. Splints and braces can be used to support weak joints, but they should be used only if recommended by your doctor, because incorrect use of a brace can cause joint damage. In severe cases of osteoarthritis, surgery may be recommended to replace or repair the damaged joint.

Tags: acetaminophen, antioxidants, chondroitin, glucosamine, Herbal Remedies, ibuprofen, inflammation, joints, mild exercise, naproxen, nsaids, osteoarthritis, pain, pharmacist, reduce swelling, relieve pain, steroid medications, surgery, treatment of osteoarthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, which means the body’s own immune system attacks itself. In addition to the joints, Rheumatoid arthritis can also affect the skin, blood vessels, heart, and lungs.

Rheumatoid arthritis can occur at any age, from toddlers to seniors, but usually appears between the ages of 25 and 50, It occurs three times more often in women than in men. The joints most affected are in the wrist, fingers, knees, ankles, and feet.

When the immune system attacks healthy joints, it causes inflammation of the joint lining. Inflammation of this lining can be very painful, making it difficult to walk or do regular activities such as cooking. If the disease is not treated and controlled, it can lead to permanent damage, such as joint deformity and disability.

The Rheumatoid arthritis disease can start slowly with fatigue or a sudden attack of flu-like symptoms. There may be a slight fever. Joints may feel warm to the touch and look red or swollen, They may be stiff and become painful as time passes, Pain is usually worse in the morning, when the body has been inactive for a while. Other symptoms may include loss of appetite, swollen glands, burning eyes, and difficulty breathing. If you have any of these symptoms, it is important to see a doctor. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: acetaminophen, arthritis, autoimmune disease, deformity, fatigue, fever, inflammation, lifelong treatment, nsaids, Oral, pain, physical therapist, physical therapy, rheumatoid arthritis, surgery, treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

I thought that over the next few days I would put up some posts about arthritis. My wife has settled with arthritis for years and not a lot has helped. There are of course a lot of pills on the market notably Vioxx and Celebrex (which my wife did take) the problems with these drugs is that the Cox-2 inhibitors have been linked to heart problems.

Arthritis

Arthritis is a general name for over 100 conditions and diseases that affect the joints of the bones. Many people with arthritis do not have any symptoms in the early stages, Later, there may be joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. The muscles surrounding the joint may be sore, too. Some common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, tendinitis, and gout.

While not all of the causes of arthritis are known, several factors that may contribute to a person’s risk of developing the condition have been identified, including: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: arthritis, arthritis pain, bone ends, cartilage, Cox, fibromyalgia, gout, hips, inflammation, joint pain, joints, knees, muscles, osteoarthritis, pain, rheumatoid arthritis, sports injuries, tendinitis

Dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a lower incidence of autoantibodies in the blood that signal the immune system to attack insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to have anti-inflammatory properties, and inflammation is believed to play a major role in the development of type 1 diabetes through destruction of these insulin-producing cells.

“The thinking is that omega-3 may increase the body’s ability to fight the inflammation that leads to type 1 diabetes,” researcher Jill M. Norris, MPH, PHD announced yesterday.

“This is a preliminary study,” she says. “We really can’t make dietary recommendations based on these findings.”

The study appears in the Sept. 27 issue of TheJournal of the American Medical Association.

Omega-3, Diabetes Research
In adults, omega-3 rich diets are believed to lower cardiovascular risk, and in babies the fatty acid is believed to boost brain development.

A 2003 study from Norway was one of the first human trials to suggest a protective role for omega-3 fatty acids in type 1 diabetes. Researchers reported a lower incidence of omega-3-rich cod liver oil supplementation during infancy in children with diabetes, compared to children without the disease.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: American Medical Association, annual food-frequency questionnaires, canola oil, cod liver oil supplementation, diabetes, diabetes_research, dietary_recommendations, flaxseed_oil, food sources, Health Issues, inflammation, Jill M. Norris, Michael Clare-Salzler, Norway, oil, omega_3s, researcher, sunflower oil, Uncategorized

People with allergies are super-sensitive to things that most people find harmless, including pollen from plants, mould, dust, cockroaches, pet dander (tiny skin flakes), and food.

When a super-sensitive person comes in contact with the substance that causes the allergy (called an allergen), the immune system overreacts and releases a large amount of a chemical called histamine. Large amounts of histamine cause tissue swelling (inflammation) and tightening (constriction) of muscles and other tissues, including those in the breathing passages.

Allergies can affect many different parts of the body. For example, some allergies affect only the skin; others affect more than one body system. Respiratory allergies are those that affect the organs and airways that help us breathe.

Symptoms
Not all people with respiratory allergies are allergic to the same things. One person’s allergies may be triggered by pollen, while someone else may react to dust. However, most people who suffer from respiratory allergies share the same symptoms, which may include:
•    itchiness
•    watery or red eyes
•    coughing
•    sneezing
•    stuffiness in the nose

More serious symptoms may include shortness of breath or wheezing. In severe cases, the airways may become so constricted and swollen that breathing becomes difficult or impossible. This is a serious condition called anaphylactic shock, and it requires immediate medical attention.
Common Allergies that Affect the Respiratory System

•    Hay fever (allergic rhinitis): According to The Canadian Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Foundation, hay fever affects 20% to 25% of Canadians. It can be seasonal, if it is caused by the pollens of grasses and flowers, or chronic (long-term), if it is triggered by things such as dust, animal dander, or mould.

•    Food and drug allergies: Eating fish or shellfish may cause allergic reactions such as stomach upset or skin reactions, or it may cause severe breathing problems. Some other foods such as peanuts, milk, and eggs may also cause this type of reaction. Medications, too, can cause allergic reactions. It is important to speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you have allergies and are taking any medicines.

•    Insect allergies: Cockroaches can be a major household allergen, especially in densely populated city areas. This may be why there is a higher rate of breathing problems among children who live in inner cities. Bee stings can cause severe, life-threatening reactions in people who are allergic to them.

•    Allergic asthma: Asthma is one of the fastest growing diseases in this country, affecting between 15% and 20% of all Canadians. It is the leading cause of hospital admissions in children. Most of the cases of moderate to severe asthma are linked to allergies.

Tags: allergic reactions, allergic rhinitis, allergies, allergy, anaphylactic shock, anaphylactic_shock, and Immunology Foundation, animal_dander, Asthma, breathing_passages, Canadian Allergy, chemical called histamine, drug allergies, food, Hay fever, hay_fever, histamine, inflammation, itchiness, mould, pet_dander, pharmacist, pollen, respiratory_allergies, shortness of breath, stomach upset, wheezing