What Causes Crohn’s Disease?
November 10, 2008
What Causes Crohn’s Disease?
by: Steve Joseph
As anyone who has been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease will know, there is no known cause that is recognized as grounds for the disease. There is no shortage of theories that purport to account for how the disease is triggered, although none have been adequately proven.
Among the popular theories is the idea that Crohn’s disease is in fact a systemic reaction to bacterium, or perhaps the immune systems response to a virus within the digestive system. According to this theory, what we know to be Crohn’s disease is in fact the body protecting itself from a perceived threat in the digestive tract by inflaming the intestine. There is certainly a degree of evidence to support these claims. For example, http://www.1crohns.com says that people who suffer from Crohn’s disease have a high incidence of abnormalities of the immune system. This does seem to support the aforementioned theory quite well, although doctors are unable to confirm weather this abnormality is a cause for the disease or actually a result of Crohn’s disease itself.
The Basics of Cocaine
November 8, 2008
The Basics of Cocaine
by: Steve Joseph
Cocaine is a drug that is made from an extract that is removed from the leaves of the Erythroxylon plant or coca bush. The bush is mainly found in Peru and Bolivia and has long been used as a stimulant for both medicinal and recreational purposes. Some may be surprised to know that cocaine is still used by doctors as a local anesthetic, but it has gained its notoriety for its illegal popularity with recreational drug users says http://www.1drugrehabcentre.com . Cocaine commonly comes in two forms, hydrochloride salt and freebase.
Hydrochloride salt cocaine is the powder form of cocaine that most people see in the movies. It dissolves in water and can be used either by intravenous means (by injection into a vein) or intranasal means (snorted through the nose).
Freebase cocaine on the other hand comes in rock form and must be smoked. Freebase cocaine is known by many as crack or crack cocaine and is smoked through pipes, usually referred to as crack pipes. By administering the drug through inhalation, the user is able to experience a high much sooner that by intranasal use. The high can be delivered in less than ten seconds after smoking and this feature has played a large role in the popularity of the drug.
Benefiting From Your Yoga Practice
November 7, 2008
Benefiting From Your Yoga Practice
by: Stephen Kreutzer
Yoga is not only an extremely popular form of exercise, but depending on the form you practice, can be exciting or calming, social or meditative, energizing or relaxing. No matter which of these best describes your yoga class, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of every class you attend.
* Go to yoga class with an empty stomach. Yoga is full bending, twisting, lengthening, stretching, and strength moves. Eating a big dinner before that kind of movement could result in you cramping up or feeling nauseous and having to leave the class or not participate as fully as you’d like.
* Communicate with your yoga instructor. If you have a bad back or a sprained ankle, let your instructor know before class. She or he will offer you adjusted versions of poses or give you a nod when you should skip a pose that could make your condition worse.
* Leave your cell phones and pagers outside. Don’t just put them on silent mode, but literally keep them in the car. This is not only a favor to your classmates and their focus, but your mind should be focused only on yoga and not concerned with whether not someone is trying to contact you about work or spilled juice on the living room carpet.
Ankylosing Spondylitis: The Basics
November 6, 2008
Ankylosing Spondylitis: The Basics
by: Steve Joseph
Ankylosing Spondylitis (pronounced ankle-low-sing spond-ill-eye-tiss) is a chronic form of arthritis that is capable of seriously limiting range and movement. It can occur in other areas of the body, although it is most commonly associated with the spine. It usually presents symptoms such as pain and discomfort in the spine, (or other affected areas) and creates a degree of stiffness that results in a loss of range and movement. In the longer term, the condition causes the development of a bent posture and can even be responsible for fusing vertebrae together causing severe limitation in mobility and thus loss of independence. The hallmark of ankylosing spondylitis is inflammation, pain and stiffness in the joints of the lower back and pelvis.
The same inflammation that ankylosing spondylitis so often causes in the spine, is capable of extending to other tendons and ligaments in other areas of the body, such as the heels, shins, thighs, hips, shoulder blades and ribs. More advice on symptoms is available at http://www.ankylosinginfo.com . Once again mobility can easily be compromised by the disease so people suffering from ankylosing spondylitis are often urged to do a range of exercises aimed at maintaining range and movement.
A Brief History Of Nutmeg
November 5, 2008
A Brief History Of Nutmeg
by: Chuck Mason
Nutmeg has a fascinating history. It seems to have come from Indonesia in the Molucca Islands, yet has been taken by Grenada as the national product. The trees are now grown in many different areas. It first came to Europe from the Banda Islands in 1512 by Portuguese sailors. At the time it was considered to be a cure- all, and was even thought to be able to cure the plague. Unfortunately, that was not true. Nutmeg does have medicinal properties, but it wasn’t able to cure everything there was out there, as good as this would be.
The Chinese are mostly responsible for our current knowledge of nutmeg medicinal properties. Because of their uses and experimentation, we know of nutmeg’s ability to act as an appetite stimulant, an anti inflammatory agent, an anti nausea agent, and anti spasmodic, a carminative, and a digestive stimulant.
During the 15th - 17th centuries the history of nutmeg tells us that nutmeg was extremely popular. If was unlike any other spice experienced so far, and it’s aromatic scent coupled with it’s delicious flavor was most intriguing to those discovering it. They would do almost anything to get some.
Alcoholism and Family History
November 3, 2008
Alcoholism and Family History
by: Steve Joseph
For those of us with a parent, grandparent or close family member who has struggled with alcoholism, we often ponder what this means for us.
Are we destined to travel the same path and endure the same fate?
Are we predisposed to addictive behavior?
Does a family history of alcoholism translate into higher risks for us?
Can anything be done to reduce the risks?
These questions can be quite frightening, especially for people who already have a first hand knowledge and experience with the destructive face of alcohol. But like any issue, the best way to handle it is with a solution oriented approach.
First of all, scientific studies have been done to examine the relationship between alcoholism and genetics. The results of these studies indicate that genetics does play a role in alcohol abuse. According to one study, children of alcoholics are about four times more likely to develop alcohol problems that the general population. Furthermore, these same children are at significantly greater risk of behavioral and emotional problems. However it is important that we bear in mind that these figures only indicate a relative increase in risk, and make no attempt to predict the outcome of individuals. Well over one half of all children of alcohol addicts never develop alcoholic behavior reports http://www.quitingalcohol.com . This highlights the fact that while family history is a major factor for consideration, there are other factors that can increase and moreover, decrease the risk of alcoholism.
Anger and Anatomy
November 2, 2008
Anger and Anatomy
by: Shannon Munford
They say that youth is wasted on the young. I’m only 34 years old so depending on the crowd I’m in I still consider my self to be pretty young. One of the traits of the young and strong is that they rarely think about their health. That’s why they can drink to excess, take up arms in the sexual revolution, sky dive, bungee jump and never think “Hey this may kill me!” Don’t get me wrong I like a little adventure and I try to keep in shape, I work out, try and eat right but that’s just so I can continue to see my shoes below my stomach. The truth is I don’t really think about my mortality much. Heart Disease, Cancer, Chronic Pain are not things that stay on my mind.
The reality is everything you do today will determine the type of life you live tomorrow. This is true when it comes to anger and what it can do to your body. I’m not a doctor and I honestly can’t stand the sight of blood. If my wife cuts her finger washing dishes you will find me running in terror into the other room. Medical terminology puts me to sleep and I don’t know an artery from an adrenal gland but I have to admit and you probably do too that there is a direct link between our emotions and our bodies.
Educate Yourself - LASIK Eye Surgery Could Be For You
November 1, 2008
Educate Yourself - LASIK Eye Surgery Could Be For You
by: Nicola Kennedy
It might be the case that you are tired of wearing glasses, or you believe that it cramps your style. You also don’t want to use contact lenses, in order to avoid infection or inflammation due to overuse. In such a scenario, you are likely to consider LASIK eye surgery, which is one of the most prevalent vision correction procedures. And therefore, you require some basic LASIK education, in order to get a clear picture of what you can expect from LASIK if you want to know whether you should do eye laser surgery.
If the light rays don’t focus on the retina (light-sensing cells), the image you see is blurry. This is termed as refractive error, and may be caused due to an irregularly shaped cornea. LASIK surgery involves carving of the cornea in order to give it the perfect shape, thereby making light rays focus on the retina. LASIK surgery employs a high-precision laser, named Excimer, which is an ultraviolet chemical laser.
LASIK Surgery - How The Excimer Laser Works
October 31, 2008
LASIK Surgery - How The Excimer Laser Works
by: Nicola Kennedy
The Excimer laser is a form of ultraviolet chemical laser, and is the key element that has made laser eye surgery possible. Though Excimer laser was originally used in semiconductor manufacturing in the 1970s, its use in eye surgery is now fairly widespread. While working at the IBM research laboratories in 1982, Dr. Rangaswamy Srinivasin and his research team discovered the potential of the Excimer laser in interacting with biological tissue. An ophthalmologist, Dr. Steven Trokel, explained its connection with the corneal tissue. And this was how LASIK eye surgery came into existence.
There are several types of lasers, but excimer is the preferred choice when it comes to corrective eye surgery. This is due to the fact that excimer is the most technologically advanced laser type. The excimer laser is, literally, a cool laser. That is, it precisely removes the desired part of the corneal tissue, without heating up or damaging the adjacent tissue. Quite amazingly, the excimer laser is so precise that it is capable of removing 0.5% of a human hair’s width at a time. That fact itself is enough for patients to believe that excimer-assisted eye surgery is not a gimmick, but a true technology leveraged procedure.
Alternative Medicines That Work For Me
October 30, 2008
Alternative Medicines That Work For Me
by: Steve Gillman
There is a lot of hype about alternative medicines, and some of them are certainly without much value. Of course there is a lot of hype about regular medicines, many of which do as much harm as good. The fact that natural remedies and treatments rarely hurt people as much as prescription drugs is one reason to at least try them. Here are a few that I can vouch for from experience.
Tea Tree Oil
I had a lump on the side of my nose, growing slowly, bleeding at times. I had it for years, and the one time I asked a doctor about it, he wasn’t sure if it was actually cancerous. I read somewhere that tee tree oil might work. I bought a bottle at a health-food store for $6. I applied a drop to the lump each day, and in less than six weeks, the lump was gone completely.
Coincidence? After having the growth for years? I don’t think so. In fact I had another growth years later on my neck, and for several years, I couldn’t remember what I had used the first time. When I found a clue in some old notes, I used tea tree oil on that growth, which was even larger than the first one. It was gone in about six weeks.
