Natural Relief For Arthritis And Joint Pain?
May 23, 2007
Natural Relief For Arthritis And Joint Pain?
by: Laura Turner
The years of teaching high impact aerobics are catching up with me. Sure it’s been great for the ticker, but the knees on the other hand are showing signs of age and making icky noises. What my Physical Therapist friends call “creep” and “crepitus” (which is just nice technical way of saying “grinding”) had become loud enough to be heard by the naked ear! At the rate I was going - I was sure I’d need a knee replacement by 40. Of course this just won’t do. So I’ve taken to doing leg extensions regularly and taking glucosamine.
Glucosamine - What’s That?
“Glucosamine” is a natural constituent of cartilage which has been shown to stimulate the production of connective tissue! In more technical terms, glucosamine is considered an “amino sugar.” An amino sugar is the component of a carbohydrate which does not contribute to the body’s energy - instead it gets incorporated into body tissues, forming such structures as tendons, ligaments, bones, skin, nails, eyes and heart valves.
What is Glucosamine Used For?
Streamlining Sleep Apnea Diagnoses
May 22, 2007
Streamlining Sleep Apnea Diagnoses
by: AllMed Healthcare Management
Doctors perform sleep studies or polysomnography (PSG) to diagnose sleep related illness or symptoms. Traditionally, patients have a diagnostic study performed for an entire night to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Once the doctor confirms OSA, he sets up a separate therapeutic study. During this second study the doctor adjusts (or titrates) continuous or bilevel positive airway pressure (CPAP or BiPAP) to levels that eliminate or significantly reduce the number of respiratory abnormalities (apneas and hypopneas).
Doctors perform therapeutic PSG with CPAP titration if patients have a diagnostic study demonstrating an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). They may also perform it if the patient’s respiratory disturbance index (RDI) of at least 20 events per hour regardless of symptoms or an AHI/RDI of 10 events per hour associated with excessive daytime somnolence (EDS).
To reduce costs and improve efficiency many centers now combine the diagnostic and therapeutic studies into a single night, called a split-night study. Research by Yamashiro and Kryger, as well as Rodway and Sanders have demonstrated the effectiveness of this strategy especially in patients with significant elevations in AHI/RDI. Split night studies are now incorporated into the guidelines for treatment of OSA published by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).
Treating ADD With Behavior Therapy
May 21, 2007
Treating ADD With Behavior Therapy
by: Sarah K. Jenkins
While medication has long been used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, Behavioral Therapy has proven to be incredibly effective as well and is now being used in combination with its long utilized counterpart. There are many aspects of Behavior Therapy, but the overall purpose is to train the individual to improve their behavior and be more effective.
There are basically three principles to a behavior therapy approach: set goals that are specific, provide consequences and rewards, and consistently utilize consequences and rewards. Basically, you should lay specific groundwork for acceptable and unacceptable behavior; when either is realized, the consequences, be them positive or negative, should be utilized consistently and continually.
Examples of consequences are time-out, which removes the child from their surroundings for a specific period of time; positive reinforcement, which rewards positive behavior; or a token reward system; which can be added to or taken away from depending on behavior.
Insulin
May 20, 2007
Insulin has two critical roles in the body that we cannot live without, yet it can be the root of many health problems, including diabetes. Insulin carries sugar (glucose), fat and protein into your cells where they are used for energy and the repair of your cells. When you eat, a certain amount of the food will be converted into glucose and enter the bloodstream. As the sugar levels rise, the body senses it and the pancreas secretes insulin to lower the sugar. This is insulin’s second main function.
If you eat too much of any food, especially carbohydrates (starch and sugar) the levels of glucose in the blood rise to very high levels. In turn this triggers a large release of insulin from the pancreas. Your cells will take what they need and then insulin will begin the process of converting the excess glucose, fat and protein into fat and then put it all away in your fat cells. By combining foods the right way for your body, you will maintain optimum levels of insulin throughout the day.
Photorefractive Keratectomy Laser Eye Surgery
May 20, 2007
Photorefractive Keratectomy Laser Eye Surgery
by: Nicola Kennedy
Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) is a laser eye surgery procedure that is carried out with the key intent to correct a patient’s vision. PRK permanently changes the shape of the frontal corneal tissue using an excimer laser, which is a high-precision ultraviolet chemical laser. The outer layer of the cornea (epithelium) is removed, and then a small amount of the corneal tissue is burnt off using the laser. Such an ablation renders the desired shape to the cornea and allows for optimal refraction.
PRK is a technologically advanced surgical procedure. For instance, a computer system tracks the eye position around 4,000 times per second, redirecting laser pulses for precise ablation. As mentioned above, the epithelium is removed prior to ablation. This does not hamper the patient’s vision, since the epithelium is a soft and regenerating layer, which is capable of completely replacing itself within a matter of days. However, the deeper layers, once burnt off, will remain that way because they possess limited regenerative capability. This theory is the cornerstone of the Photorefractive keratectomy surgical procedure.
Are Your Cells Talking To Each Other?
May 19, 2007
Are Your Cells Talking To Each Other?
Communication! It permeates our lives. We communicate for many reasons such as: 1) to get what we want, 2) to get rid of what we don’t want, 3) to let people know how we feel, 4) to show people we care, 5) to work productively with co-workers, etc. As members of the human race we are fortunate to have various ways to communicate our needs and desires. We can talk, use body language, write our requests or key them into the computer.
But what would happen if we spoke one language and the intended receiver of our message spoke another language. Or perhaps we are speaking on the phone to a friend and static interfers so much that they only hear some of our words or we say one word and they hear it as a different word. Perhaps we are sending our message via computer but some of the keys are either missing or mixed up. That could cause some confusion, right? And the more static or more keys that are missing, the more confused the message is. On the other hand the better we can communicate with other people, the higher level we can function at.
Shopping For A Treadmill
May 18, 2007
Shopping For A Treadmill
by: E. Alton Hall
Treadmills are the aerobic exercise machine of choice for good reasons. They are probably the most enjoyable exercise machines, whether you typically like a slow, comfortable walk or a long run. Regardless of your age or fitness level, treadmills are suited for both intense and mild training, and therefore are one of the most effective pieces of exercise equipment you can buy. A study that compared exercisers who worked out equally hard for the same time on several different types of machines found that they generally burned the most calories on a treadmill. Consumer Reports research has shown that they’re less likely to gather dust than other types of exercise machines.
A treadmill is judged in several ways. Before you buy any treadmill, take it for a test run and check for the following attributes. In addition, look at features, such as whether the treadmill offers preset programs, or is capable of “memorizing” a program you’ve created for yourself. Some machines can monitor the user’s heart rate and adjust speed and incline to keep heart rate within a specified range.
The merit of some of these features, like handrails, will vary with the exerciser’s body and motion.
It’s All About the Calories and Exercising
May 17, 2007
It’s All About the Calories and Exercising
by: Dennis Watson
Like most people when I was younger it seemed I could eat anything and not really ever gain weight. Well now that I’m in my forties it appears that those undisciplined days are over for good. After doing a little research I’ve come to the conclusion that my lack of activity and slowing metabolism is to blame.
Wanting to lose some weight I went out to look for that magic weight loss plan that would offer a painless process for losing weight. After reading and trying several programs I realized that they all seemed to have the same common theme - lower your caloric intake and get off your butt and do something.
If you need to lose some weight, I recommend that you pay close attention to what you eat during the day. Go ahead and count up all of those calories you take in and calculate how many minutes you exercise. It won’t take very many days for you to figure out that you take in to many calories and don’t exercise enough. Use the information below to help you figure out where you want or need to be.
Carb Blocker, A Solution to Weight Loss?
May 16, 2007
Carb Blocker, A Solution to Weight Loss?
by: Kristy Haugen
Low carb diets restrict the consumption of carbohydrates. The difference between the Atkins and the South Beach diet is within the amount of restriction. The induction phase of the Atkins diet restricts most carbohydrates while the South Beach diet allows ‘good’ carbohydrate consumption. These diets can really put one’s will power to the test. Why?
The human body’s primary source of energy is glucose. Glucose is derived from the breakdown or hydrolysis of carbohydrates that are consumed. Limiting carbohydrate consumption forces the body to use fat or protein as an energy source. Decreased carbohydrate consumption may leave you feeling tired and easily fatigued until the body adjusts to the change.
The word carbohydrate arose because molecular formulas of these compounds can be expressed as hydrates of carbons which yield a basic carbohydrate empiric formula of (CH2O)n. Carbohydrates consist mainly of the combination of two chemistry functional groups: the carbonyl and the hydroxyl group. Carbohydrates exist in different forms such as monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides.
Monosaccharides are usually called simple sugars. These simple sugars cannot be broken down or hydrolyzed into a simpler form (glucose). A complex carbohydrate refers to one or more linked simple sugars that require digestion for absorption.
Eating Carbs Actually Leads to Weight Loss and Health
May 15, 2007
Eating Carbs Actually Leads to Weight Loss and Health
by: Mark Hyman MD
Carbohydrates are the single most important food you can eat.
That statement probably goes against everything you’ve ever heard, so let me explain.
If you don’t believe me, take this little test. Think of a carb!
If you’re like most Americans, bread, pasta, soft drinks, French fries, sugar, and similar foods probably flew into your mind. Yes, these foods are carbs — highly processed and refined ones.
And if these are the kinds of carbs you consume on a regular basis, let me warn you, (unless you regularly run marathons), you’re most likely either overweight or heading down the road to weight gain.
You may like them, you may consider them “comfort foods,” you may think that they couldn’t be so bad since they are so predominant in our current diet. But the biological bottom line is that human beings have not evolved to metabolize these types of carbohydrates.
They slow down your metabolism and contribute to every one of the major diseases associated with aging including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and cancer.
