Warning signs
Strokes kill tens of millions every year. Survivors are left with paralysis, impaired vision, chronic pain, difficulty speaking, or cognitive or emotional problems. Often, stroke is not treated as an emergency. The problem is most among affected cannot identify any of the symptoms. That can lead to dangerous delays in getting care. Use this F.A.S.T. action plan to tell if someone may be having a stroke. You could save a life.
Face. Ask the person to smile. A stroke can cause one side of the face to droop. Abrupt dimming of vision or a sudden, severe headache with no known cause are also warning signs.
Arms. Ask the person to raise both arms. If one drifts downward, that could signal a stroke, which can trigger weakness, numbness or paralysis of an arm or leg, particularly on one side of the body. Sufferers may also have unexplained loss of balance, or a sudden fall.
Speech. Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Stroke victims may slur their words, have trouble speaking or understanding speech, or not able to speak at all.
Time. If the person has any of these symptoms, call the doctor. Stroke is a life or death emergency in which every minute counts. To have any hope of reversing the effects, a patient must get tPA within three hours.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The power of a smile
Smile, there is much more to know about this most human of facial expressions. A smile is central to our evolution and one of the most powerful tools of human behaviour. Anyone who has been around a smiling baby knows how a spontaneous grin helps build kinship, strengthen social bonds and release positive brain chemicals that helps us feel good.
Child-Development experts call the positive exchange of smile between infant and adult the “interactional dance,” which emerges as the baby’s brain develops higher functioning. A mother and baby exchange smiles in a rhythmic and synchronized way that is important for the development of attachment and intellectual development. If a parent responds to a baby’s smile with an expressionless face, the infant gets upset. This indicates how important the care-givers smile is for the infant. Infants of depressed mothers show fewer signs of happiness and smile less often than infants of non-depressed mothers.
While some people are born with happier temperaments, which set them up for success, others can become happier by being taught how to cultivate a genuine smile. Putting on a happy face not only helps us to make friends, it translates into altered brain chemistry that makes us feel better. Smile, and the whole world smiles with you, and grey skies really will clear up if you put on a happy face.
Child-Development experts call the positive exchange of smile between infant and adult the “interactional dance,” which emerges as the baby’s brain develops higher functioning. A mother and baby exchange smiles in a rhythmic and synchronized way that is important for the development of attachment and intellectual development. If a parent responds to a baby’s smile with an expressionless face, the infant gets upset. This indicates how important the care-givers smile is for the infant. Infants of depressed mothers show fewer signs of happiness and smile less often than infants of non-depressed mothers.
While some people are born with happier temperaments, which set them up for success, others can become happier by being taught how to cultivate a genuine smile. Putting on a happy face not only helps us to make friends, it translates into altered brain chemistry that makes us feel better. Smile, and the whole world smiles with you, and grey skies really will clear up if you put on a happy face.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Addicted to water
Are you an Aquaholic? If you drink over five litres of water a day and feel irritable when you can’t get a glass of water, you may have a problem. There is a very real psychiatric condition called psychogenic polydispia. For most, it is sparked when a lifestyle change like cutting out caffeine is made. Typically, someone will up their intake of water in the belief that they are cleansing their body. With time, an obsession with drinking water to purify or offset hunger creates potential harm, especially if combined with low-salt diet and excessive exercise.
Overhydration coupled with a low salt diet can gradually deplete blood salt levels, initially causing fatigue. But eventually low salt levels will impair normal cell function causing confusion, disorientation and even coma.
Aim to drink around two litre of water daily, this could be via water, coffee, tea, juice or soup. The goal is to pass a pale green or yellow urine three to four times a day. If you are going to the toilet every hour you are probably drinking too much water.
Overhydration coupled with a low salt diet can gradually deplete blood salt levels, initially causing fatigue. But eventually low salt levels will impair normal cell function causing confusion, disorientation and even coma.
Aim to drink around two litre of water daily, this could be via water, coffee, tea, juice or soup. The goal is to pass a pale green or yellow urine three to four times a day. If you are going to the toilet every hour you are probably drinking too much water.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Real-life exercise
Running on a treadmill going nowhere or pushing weights through mindless repetitions can get so boring. Try functional fitness. You can build strength, agility and stabilizing skills in a way that carries over into everyday life. You lift weights so you can tote a very heavy bag, or sprint so you can catch a bus.
Lift weights while standing up, this forces your core muscles to work. A strong core helps you lift heavy loads without hurting your back.
Set up a course with cones. Run to the first cone as fast as you can. Side- shuffle to the second. Walk-backwards to the third. Dash to the fourth. This will make you better able to dash after a zig-zagging toddler.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold a weight out in front of you and twist side to side, for better reaching and bending.
Healthy happy trails
Next weekend, leave the gym and take a hike. There are only a certain number of dumbbells, but when hiking, you have an infinite variety of workouts and levels, and better scenery than in your gym. Walking on a flat trail for an hour, a 65-kilo person can burn as much as 300 calories. Pick a more challenging spot with hills, and you burn 445 calories. Hiking also builds flexibility and strength. Going uphill firms the calves and backside muscles, while downhill jaunts tone the quadriceps.
Lift weights while standing up, this forces your core muscles to work. A strong core helps you lift heavy loads without hurting your back.
Set up a course with cones. Run to the first cone as fast as you can. Side- shuffle to the second. Walk-backwards to the third. Dash to the fourth. This will make you better able to dash after a zig-zagging toddler.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold a weight out in front of you and twist side to side, for better reaching and bending.
Healthy happy trails
Next weekend, leave the gym and take a hike. There are only a certain number of dumbbells, but when hiking, you have an infinite variety of workouts and levels, and better scenery than in your gym. Walking on a flat trail for an hour, a 65-kilo person can burn as much as 300 calories. Pick a more challenging spot with hills, and you burn 445 calories. Hiking also builds flexibility and strength. Going uphill firms the calves and backside muscles, while downhill jaunts tone the quadriceps.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Nuts
Nuts help in lowering the cholesterol levels. Studies have shown that, the more almonds people ate, the lower their levels of LDL cholesterol and the higher their levels of HDL were. Eating 37 grams of almonds a day lowered LDL cholesterol by 4.4%; eating 73 grams a day reduced it by 9.4%. Eating pistachio nuts as a snack can decrease your bad cholesterol levels.
Men who ate nuts at least twice a week had a 47% lower risk of sudden cardiac death and a 30% lower risk of dying from all types of coronary – artery disease than those who did not eat nuts. Women who ate at least 140 grams of nuts a week were 35 % less likely to suffer heart attacks than women who ate less than 28 grams a month. Healthy adults who consumed nuts five or more times a week were 50% less likely to die of a heart attack than those who hardly ever ate nuts.
Eating nuts has been linked to reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes in women. Those who ate nuts at least five times a week cut their risk of Type 2 diabetes by nearly 30%. Women who regularly ate peanut butter lowered their risk by nearly 20%.
A form of vitamin E present in walnuts and pecans appears to slow the growth of lung and prostate cancer cells. Gamma-tocopherol attacked the cancer cells while leaving the healthy cells alone. Walnuts also contain melatonin, a hormone that destroys free radicals. Free radicals are unstable compounds that are a by-product of cellular metabolism in our bodies. If they are not neutralised, they can cause cardiovascular disease and cancer. Brazil nuts contain selenium, an antioxidant that helps neutralise free radicals.
People who ate nuts frequently are thinner than those who don’t. Eating walnuts decreases hunger and causes people to eat less at meals.
Men who ate nuts at least twice a week had a 47% lower risk of sudden cardiac death and a 30% lower risk of dying from all types of coronary – artery disease than those who did not eat nuts. Women who ate at least 140 grams of nuts a week were 35 % less likely to suffer heart attacks than women who ate less than 28 grams a month. Healthy adults who consumed nuts five or more times a week were 50% less likely to die of a heart attack than those who hardly ever ate nuts.
Eating nuts has been linked to reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes in women. Those who ate nuts at least five times a week cut their risk of Type 2 diabetes by nearly 30%. Women who regularly ate peanut butter lowered their risk by nearly 20%.
A form of vitamin E present in walnuts and pecans appears to slow the growth of lung and prostate cancer cells. Gamma-tocopherol attacked the cancer cells while leaving the healthy cells alone. Walnuts also contain melatonin, a hormone that destroys free radicals. Free radicals are unstable compounds that are a by-product of cellular metabolism in our bodies. If they are not neutralised, they can cause cardiovascular disease and cancer. Brazil nuts contain selenium, an antioxidant that helps neutralise free radicals.
People who ate nuts frequently are thinner than those who don’t. Eating walnuts decreases hunger and causes people to eat less at meals.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Eat what you want
Eat what you want, when you want, stay healthy and never gain weight.
The definition of healthy eating seems to change all the time. The foods we like the most will be the most healthy for us. Since people differ in their genetics and metabolism, one diet won’t fit all. Each of us may have a personal nutrigenomic bar code, which would keep all our fundamental genetic information and nutritional needs immediately at hand. Or it may be possible to scan your finger to detect biomarkers in the oil in your skin; they could show whether you are low in particular nutrients. These new sensors will help us to choose the right foods not only for the next 24 hours but the next few days or weeks.
We all crave food that tastes good, and fat often tastes wonderful. Genetic modification will allow us to eat our favourite fatty foods, or something that looks and tastes just like them, without fear or shame. Fat makes foods taste good, so if you change the type of fat, you can make the foods people like more healthy, without affecting the quality. Our ability to manipulate the sensory components of foods-the tastes, smells and textures-is improving by leaps and bounds. In the decades to come, this will allow us to maximize eating pleasure by matching flavour with nutrition to a degree we have never known before.
The definition of healthy eating seems to change all the time. The foods we like the most will be the most healthy for us. Since people differ in their genetics and metabolism, one diet won’t fit all. Each of us may have a personal nutrigenomic bar code, which would keep all our fundamental genetic information and nutritional needs immediately at hand. Or it may be possible to scan your finger to detect biomarkers in the oil in your skin; they could show whether you are low in particular nutrients. These new sensors will help us to choose the right foods not only for the next 24 hours but the next few days or weeks.
We all crave food that tastes good, and fat often tastes wonderful. Genetic modification will allow us to eat our favourite fatty foods, or something that looks and tastes just like them, without fear or shame. Fat makes foods taste good, so if you change the type of fat, you can make the foods people like more healthy, without affecting the quality. Our ability to manipulate the sensory components of foods-the tastes, smells and textures-is improving by leaps and bounds. In the decades to come, this will allow us to maximize eating pleasure by matching flavour with nutrition to a degree we have never known before.
Eat what you want
Eat what you want, when you want, stay healthy and never gain weight.
The definition of healthy eating seems to change all the time. The foods we like the most will be the most healthy for us. Since people differ in their genetics and metabolism, one diet won’t fit all. Each of us may have a personal nutrigenomic bar code, which would keep all our fundamental genetic information and nutritional needs immediately at hand. Or it may be possible to scan your finger to detect biomarkers in the oil in your skin; they could show whether you are low in particular nutrients. These new sensors will help us to choose the right foods not only for the next 24 hours but the next few days or weeks.
We all crave food that tastes good, and fat often tastes wonderful. Genetic modification will allow us to eat our favourite fatty foods, or something that looks and tastes just like them, without fear or shame. Fat makes foods taste good, so if you change the type of fat, you can make the foods people like more healthy, without affecting the quality. Our ability to manipulate the sensory components of foods-the tastes, smells and textures-is improving by leaps and bounds. In the decades to come, this will allow us to maximize eating pleasure by matching flavour with nutrition to a degree we have never known before.
The definition of healthy eating seems to change all the time. The foods we like the most will be the most healthy for us. Since people differ in their genetics and metabolism, one diet won’t fit all. Each of us may have a personal nutrigenomic bar code, which would keep all our fundamental genetic information and nutritional needs immediately at hand. Or it may be possible to scan your finger to detect biomarkers in the oil in your skin; they could show whether you are low in particular nutrients. These new sensors will help us to choose the right foods not only for the next 24 hours but the next few days or weeks.
We all crave food that tastes good, and fat often tastes wonderful. Genetic modification will allow us to eat our favourite fatty foods, or something that looks and tastes just like them, without fear or shame. Fat makes foods taste good, so if you change the type of fat, you can make the foods people like more healthy, without affecting the quality. Our ability to manipulate the sensory components of foods-the tastes, smells and textures-is improving by leaps and bounds. In the decades to come, this will allow us to maximize eating pleasure by matching flavour with nutrition to a degree we have never known before.
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