UNO International Corporation

UNO Business Official Video Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:02:00 +0000

CONGRATULATIONS MANNY "PACMAN" PACQUIAO!!!

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:10:00 +0000

UNO 4TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY @ ARANETA COLISEUM

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:21:00 +0000

UNO 4TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 03:19:00 +0000

UNO Featured in ABS-CBN Kabuhayang Swak na Swak (Jan.16, 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 06:13:00 +0000

UNO Official AVP 2010 - The No. 1 Network Marketing Business

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 04:56:00 +0000

UNO INT'L CORP. GRAND SALES RALLY @ CUNETA ASTRODOME!!!

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:26:00 +0000

UNO featured in MOMents with Ms. Gladys Reyes (NET25)

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:07:00 +0000

UNO featured in Umagang Kay Ganda (ABS-CBN)

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:04:00 +0000

UNO @ ABS-CBN's KABUHAYANG SWAK NA SWAK

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:54:00 +0000

UNO 3rd YEAR ANNIVERSARY

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:24:00 +0000

THE BIGGEST AND GRANDEST!

THE MOST AWAITED EVENT OF THE YEAR 2010!!!

UNO's 3rd Year Anniversary:

May 8, 2010, Saturday, 2PM @ Araneta Coliseum

Mark this date mga ka-UNO!!

It's going to be HISTORY in the MAKING!!!

DON'T DARE BE LEFT BEHIND!!!!

See you there...!!!!

6 IN 1 HAIR TREATS WITH ALOE VERA

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:19:00 +0000

CLICK PRODUCT PHOTO FOR DETAILS

KOJIC ACID SOAP

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:02:00 +0000

CLICK PRODUCT PHOTO FOR DETAILS

UNO Philippines New Head Office

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:53:00 +0000

UNO Products Miracle

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:58:00 +0000

10 Tips to Jumpstart your Metabolism!

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:44:00 +0000

Now that 2010 is in full swing, it’s time to shed off the extra holiday pounds. The best way to see fast results is to JUMPSTART YOUR METABOLISM!

Metabolism is how your body ‘builds’ itself by breaking down nutrients and turning that into energy. When your body’s metabolism goes into full gear, you will burn calories more efficiently and you’ll see that Christmas ham on your hips melt away FAST.

Here are 10 ways to get your metabolism going wild:
1) Water, water, water. Hydrate yourself with water to encourage optimal bodily function and speed up the metabolism.
2) Eat small meals every 2-3 hours. That means six meals a day not three.
3) Burn fat efficiently by adding essential fatty acids like flaxseed and unsaturated oils to the diet.
4) Fiber fills you up, sustaining you for longer than foods without it. Drinking Psyllium Husk (look for C-Lium in the drugstore) along with your breakfast will keep you full all morning. Other fibrous foods: seaweed, singkamas, prunes, apples, celery.
5) Vitamins and minerals complement a clean diet, protecting against deficiencies and boosting the immune system. One a day is the standard.
6) Don’t go past the point of hunger. Skipping a meal triggers a starvation response in the metabolism, making it slow down. Keep healthy snacks at hand: nuts (don’t eat too much though!), seaweed strips, fruit or veggie sticks (be careful with the dip!).
7) Each meal should include a 4 or 5 ounce portion of lean protein (about the size of your palm) from chicken, turkey, egg whites, pork tenderloin or white fish sources. Whey is another great source of protein. You can combine this with half a cup of complex carbs like brown rice or whole grain bread.
8 ) Sugar is the white poison, sending the metabolism into a slow tailspin. All simple sugars – refined sugars – must be avoided to keep the metabolism burning quickly.
9) Complex carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables satisfy the needs of an active body. Each meal should include one serving.
10) Certain foods have a high glycemic index. This means they induce a similar negative effect on metabolism to eating sugar. Rice cakes, carrots, potatoes and fruit juices have a high glycemic index and should be consumed in moderation.

Weight Loss

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:21:00 +0000

How do you "lose" weight?

The most effective method for weight loss is reducing the number of calories you consume while increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity. To lose 1 pound, you need an expenditure of approximately 3,500 calories. You can achieve this either by cutting back on your food intake, by increasing physical activity, or ideally, by doing both.

For example, if you consume 500 extra calories per day for one week without changing your activity level, you will gain 1 pound in weight (seven days multiplied by 500 calories equals 3,500 calories, or the number of calories resulting in a 1-pound weight gain). Likewise, if you eat 500 fewer calories each day for a week or burn 500 calories per day through exercise for one week, you will lose 1 pound.

Examples of calorie content of some popular foods and beverages include:

one slice original-style crust pepperoni pizza - 230 calories
one glass dry white wine - 160 calories
one can cola - 150 calories
one quarter-pound hamburger with cheese - 500 calories
one jumbo banana nut muffin - 580 calories

Any activities you do throughout the day are added to your BMR (basal metabolic rate) to determine the total number of calories you burn each day. For example, a 170-pound person who spends 45 minutes walkingCalories Burned During Fitness Activities article. briskly will burn about 300 calories. The same time spent on housecleaning burns about 200 calories, and mowing the lawn for 45 minutes consumes around 275 calories. For more, please read the

How fast should you expect to lose weight?

Most experts agree that a safe, healthy rate of weight loss is one to 1 ½ pounds per week. Modification of eating habits along with regular exercise is the most effective way to lose weight over the long term. It is also the ideal way to ensure that the weight stays off.

Starvation diets may result in rapid weight loss, but this weight loss is almost impossible to maintain for most people. When food intake is severely restricted (below approximately 1,200 calories per day), the body begins to adapt to this state of poor nutrition by reducing its metabolic rate, potentially making it even more difficult to lose weight. It is also possible to experience hunger pangs, bouts of hypoglycemia, headaches, and mood changes from overly stringent dieting. These symptoms can result in binge eating and weight gain. Since a highly restrictive diet is almost impossible to maintain for a long time, people who attempt to starve themselves thin often start to gain weight again when they stop dieting.

The no-diet approach to weight control

By adopting sensible eating habits and practicing portion control, you can eat nutritious foods so that you take in as many calories as you need to maintain your health and well-being at your ideal weight. Often, weight loss occurs on its own simply when you start making better food choices, such as avoiding

processed foods,
sugar-laden foods,
white bread and pasta (substitute whole-grain varieties instead),
foods with a high percentage of calories from fat, and
alcoholic drinks.

While nothing is absolutely forbidden, when you do succumb to temptation, keep the portion size small and add a bit more exercise to your daily workout.

By replacing some unwise food choices with healthy ones, you'll be cutting back on calories. If you add some moderate physical activity, you have the perfect weight-loss plan without the need for special or inconvenient (and often expensive) diet plans.

Let's look at an example of a successful no-diet weight loss program:

A 45-year-old woman complains that she has gradually put on 12 pounds over the past year. In the last month, she's faced a stressful work deadline and added another 4 pounds to her frame.
This individual's goal is to lose the 16 pounds she has gained. Since her weight has been gradually increasing, she knows that she is consuming more calories than she is burning, especially with her sedentary job. She decides that a weight loss of 1 pound per week (equal to a deficit of about 3,500 calories, or cutting 500 calories per day) would be acceptable and would allow her to reach her goal in about four months.
She decides to make some changes that will allow her to cut back an average of 250 calories per day.

Skipping a large glass of sweetened iced tea will save about 200 calories.

Substituting mineral water for the cola she regularly drinks during meetings can save another 150 calories.

Foregoing her morning muffin snack (or eating only half a muffin) can also save 250 calories or more.

To reach her goal of a 500-calorie-per-day savings, she adds some exercise.

Getting up early for a 20-minute walk before work and adding a 10-minute walk during her lunch break add up to a half hour of walking per day, which can burn about 200 calories.

On weekends, she plans to walk for 60 minutes one day and spend one hour gardening the next day for even greater calorie burning. If walking for 60 minutes is too much, two 30-minute walks one day would burn the same number of calories.

Twice per week she plans to stop at the gym on the way home from work, even if only for a half hour of stationary cycling or swimming (each burning up to 250 calories).

By making just some of the dietary cutbacks mentioned and starting some moderate exercise, this individual can easily "save" the 3,500 calories per week needed for a 1-pound weight loss, leading to a healthy rate of weight loss without extreme denial or deprivation. Furthermore, her changes in diet and lifestyle are small and gradual, modifications that she can maintain over time.

Why is weight loss important?

Maintenance of a healthy body weight is important for maintaining both physical and emotional well-being and preventing disease. Excess weight and obesity have been associated with an increased risk for numerous medical conditions, including

heart disease,
high blood pressure,
stroke,
diabetes,
osteoarthritis,
some types of cancers,
sleep apnea, and
elevated blood cholesterol levels.

It should be noted that reduction in weight for those who are overweight can make a major impact on the conditions listed above. Many overweight people also report improved mood, increased in self-esteem and motivation, and feeling healthier in general after they have lost weight.

7 tips for successful weight loss

The desire to lose weight must come from the individual. If you're truly ambivalent about making changes in your lifestyle or are doing this to please someone else, you're likely to fail. When making changes, decide what's right for your lifestyle. Your best friend's diet and exercise plan may be completely wrong for your habits and interests. The key is to find a system that works for you.

Don't blame yourself if you aren't perfect. If you once fail at your attempt to curtail your overeating, it doesn't mean you are a failure at weight control and that you should just give up. Accept that you made a poor choice, but don't let that poor choice influence the rest of your plan. The same holds true with exercise. Skipping a few workouts doesn't mean you can't get back on track. Weight control does not involve making perfect choices all the time; rather, it's about attempting to make good choices more often than poor ones.

Avoid surroundings where you know you're tempted to make poor food choices. Everyone has a time when we're most likely to overeat, whether it's the morning coffee break or after-work gathering with friends. Try to plan other activities or distractions for those times, or plan in advance how you're going to handle them and stick to it.

Surround yourself with people who support your efforts. Even our good friends can knowingly or unknowingly sabotage weight-loss attempts. Spend time with those people who will not pressure you to make poor food choices.

Decide on some nonfood rewards for yourself when you reach interim goals. For examples, at the end of the first week of healthy eating or after the first 5 pounds lost, buy yourself a new CD or book.

Stock your pantry and refrigerator with healthy foods. Get rid of the high-calorie, low-nutrition snacks like chips and candy. But don't forget to have plenty of healthier options available as well, such as popcorn (hold the butter, try Parmesan cheese sprinkles), low-fat cheese and yogurt, fruit, instant cocoa without added sugar, sugar-free popsicles or puddings, or whatever appeals to you when you're hungry for a snack.

Set small goals and focus on these rather than the "big picture." Decide where you want to be in a week or in a month, rather than focusing on the total amount of weight you'd like to lose.

NATURAL SUPPLEMENTS:

FitRight

Cirrhosis (Cirrhosis of the Liver)

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:15:00 +0000

What is cirrhosis?

Cirrhosis is a complication of many liver diseases that is characterized by abnormal structure and function of the liver. The diseases that lead to cirrhosis do so because they injure and kill liver cells, and the inflammation and repair that is associated with the dying liver cells causes scar tissue to form. The liver cells that do not die multiply in an attempt to replace the cells that have died. This results in clusters of newly-formed liver cells (regenerative nodules) within the scar tissue. There are many causes of cirrhosis; they include chemicals (such as alcohol, fat, and certain medications), viruses, toxic metals (such as iron and copper that accumulate in the liver as a result of genetic diseases), and autoimmune liver disease in which the body's immune system attacks the liver.

Why does cirrhosis cause problems?

The liver is an important organ in the body. It performs many critical functions, two of which are producing substances required by the body, for example, clotting proteins that are necessary in order for blood to clot, and removing toxic substances that can be harmful to the body, for example, drugs. The liver also has an important role in regulating the supply to the body of glucose (sugar) and lipids (fat) that the body uses as fuel. In order to perform these critical functions, the liver cells must be working normally, and they must have an intimate relationship with the blood since the substances that are added or removed by the liver are transported to and from the liver by the blood.

What are the symptoms and signs of cirrhosis?

Patients with cirrhosis may have few or no symptoms and signs of liver disease. Some of the symptoms may be nonspecific, that is, they don't suggest that the liver is their cause. Some of the more common symptoms and signs of cirrhosis include:

Yellowing of the skin (jaundice) due to the accumulation of bilirubin in the blood
Fatigue
Weakness
Loss of appetite
Itching
Easy bruising from decreased production of blood clotting factors by the diseased liver.

Patients with cirrhosis also develop symptoms and signs from the complications of cirrhosis that are discussed next.

What are the complications of cirrhosis?

Edema and ascites

As cirrhosis of the liver becomes severe, signals are sent to the kidneys to retain salt and water in the body. The excess salt and water first accumulates in the tissue beneath the skin of the ankles and legs because of the effect of gravity when standing or sitting. This accumulation of fluid is called edema or pitting edema. (Pitting edema refers to the fact that pressing a fingertip firmly against an ankle or leg with edema causes an indentation in the skin that persists for some time after release of the pressure.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP)

Fluid in the abdominal cavity (ascites) is the perfect place for bacteria to grow. Normally, the abdominal cavity contains a very small amount of fluid that is able to resist infection well, and bacteria that enter the abdomen (usually from the intestine) are killed or find their way into the portal vein and to the liver where they are killed. In cirrhosis, the fluid that collects in the abdomen is unable to resist infection normally. In addition, more bacteria find their way from the intestine into the ascites.

Bleeding from esophageal varices

In the cirrhotic liver, the scar tissue blocks the flow of blood returning to the heart from the intestines and raises the pressure in the portal vein (portal hypertension). When pressure in the portal vein becomes high enough, it causes blood to flow around the liver through veins with lower pressure to reach the heart. The most common veins through which blood bypasses the liver are the veins lining the lower part of the esophagus and the upper part of the stomach.

Hepatic encephalopathy

Some of the protein in food that escapes digestion and absorption is used by bacteria that are normally present in the intestine. While using the protein for their own purposes, the bacteria make substances that they release into the intestine. These substances then can be absorbed into the body. Some of these substances, for example, ammonia, can have toxic effects on the brain. Ordinarily, these toxic substances are carried from the intestine in the portal vein to the liver where they are removed from the blood and detoxified.

Hepatorenal syndrome

Patients with worsening cirrhosis can develop the hepatorenal syndrome. This syndrome is a serious complication in which the function of the kidneys is reduced. It is a functional problem in the kidneys, that is, there is no physical damage to the kidneys. Instead, the reduced function is due to changes in the way the blood flows through the kidneys themselves. The hepatorenal syndrome is defined as progressive failure of the kidneys to clear substances from the blood and produce adequate amounts of urine even though some other important functions of the kidney, such as retention of salt, are maintained. If liver function improves or a healthy liver is transplanted into a patient with hepatorenal syndrome, the kidneys usually begin to work normally. This suggests that the reduced function of the kidneys is the result of the accumulation of toxic substances in the blood when the liver fails. There are two types of hepatorenal syndrome. One type occurs gradually over months. The other occurs rapidly over a week or two.

Hepatopulmonary syndrome

Rarely, some patients with advanced cirrhosis can develop the hepatopulmonary syndrome. These patients can experience difficulty breathing because certain hormones released in advanced cirrhosis cause the lungs to function abnormally. The basic problem in the lung is that not enough blood flows through the small blood vessels in the lungs that are in contact with the alveoli (air sacs) of the lungs. Blood flowing through the lungs is shunted around the alveoli and cannot pick up enough oxygen from the air in the alveoli. As a result the patient experiences shortness of breath, particularly with exertion.

Hypersplenism

The spleen normally acts as a filter to remove older red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets (small particles that are important for the clotting of blood.). The blood that drains from the spleen joins the blood in the portal vein from the intestines. As the pressure in the portal vein rises in cirrhosis, it increasingly blocks the flow of blood from the spleen. The blood "backs-up" and accumulates in the spleen, and the spleen swells in size, a condition referred to as splenomegaly. Sometimes, the spleen is so swollen that it causes abdominal pain.

Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma)

Cirrhosis due to any cause increases the risk of primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma). Primary refers to the fact that the tumor originates in the liver. A secondary liver cancer is one that originates elsewhere in the body and spreads (metastasizes) to the liver.

What are the common causes of cirrhosis?

Alcohol is a very common cause of cirrhosis, particularly in the Western world. The development of cirrhosis depends upon the amount and regularity of alcohol intake. Chronic, high levels of alcohol consumption injure liver cells. Thirty percent of individuals who drink daily at least eight to sixteen ounces of hard liquor or the equivalent for fifteen or more years will develop cirrhosis. Alcohol causes a range of liver diseases; from simple and uncomplicated fatty liver (steatosis), to the more serious fatty liver with inflammation (steatohepatitis or alcoholic hepatitis), to cirrhosis.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to a wide spectrum of liver diseases that, like alcoholic liver disease, ranges from simple steatosis, to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), to cirrhosis. All stages of NAFLD have in common the accumulation of fat in liver cells. The term nonalcoholic is used because NAFLD occurs in individuals who do not consume excessive amounts of alcohol, yet, in many respects, the microscopic picture of NAFLD is similar to what can be seen in liver disease that is due to excessive alcohol. NAFLD is associated with a condition called insulin resistance, which, in turn, is associated with the metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus type 2.

Cryptogenic cirrhosis (cirrhosis due to unidentified causes) is a common reason for liver transplantation. It is termed cryptogenic cirrhosis because for many years doctors have been unable to explain why a proportion of patients developed cirrhosis. Doctors now believe that cryptogenic cirrhosis is due to NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) caused by long standing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and insulin resistance. The fat in the liver of patients with NASH is believed to disappear with the onset of cirrhosis, and this has made it difficult for doctors to make the connection between NASH and cryptogenic cirrhosis for a long time. One important clue that NASH leads to cryptogenic cirrhosis is the finding of a high occurrence of NASH in the new livers of patients undergoing liver transplant for cryptogenic cirrhosis.

Chronic viral hepatitis is a condition where hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus infects the liver for years. Most patients with viral hepatitis will not develop chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. For example, the majority of patients infected with hepatitis A recover completely within weeks, without developing chronic infection. In contrast, some patients infected with hepatitis B virus and most patients infected with hepatitis C virus develop chronic hepatitis, which, in turn, causes progressive liver damage and leads to cirrhosis, and, sometimes, liver cancers.

Inherited (genetic) disorders result in the accumulation of toxic substances in the liver which lead to tissue damage and cirrhosis. Examples include the abnormal accumulation of iron (hemochromatosis) or copper (Wilson's disease). In hemochromatosis, patients inherit a tendency to absorb an excessive amount of iron from food. Over time, iron accumulation in different organs throughout the body causes cirrhosis, arthritis, heart muscle damage leading to heart failure, and testicular dysfunction causing loss of sexual drive.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a liver disease caused by an abnormality of the immune system that is found predominantly in women. The abnormal immunity in PBC causes chronic inflammation and destruction of the small bile ducts within the liver. The bile ducts are passages within the liver through which bile travels to the intestine. Bile is a fluid produced by the liver that contains substances required for digestion and absorption of fat in the intestine, as well as other compounds that are waste products, such as the pigment bilirubin. (Bilirubin is produced by the breakdown of hemoglobin from old red blood cells.).

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an uncommon disease found frequently in patients with ulcerative colitis . In PSC, the large bile ducts outside of the liver become inflamed, narrowed, and obstructed. Obstruction to the flow of bile leads to infections of the bile ducts and jaundice and eventually causes cirrhosis. In some patients, injury to the bile ducts (usually as a result of surgery) also can cause obstruction and cirrhosis of the liver.

Autoimmune hepatitis is a liver disease caused by an abnormality of the immune system that is found more commonly in women. The abnormal immune activity in autoimmune hepatitis causes progressive inflammation and destruction of liver cells (hepatocytes), leading ultimately to cirrhosis.

Infants can be born without bile ducts (biliary atresia) and ultimately develop cirrhosis. Other infants are born lacking vital enzymes for controlling sugars that leads to the accumulation of sugars and cirrhosis. On rare occasions, the absence of a specific enzyme can cause cirrhosis and scarring of the lung (alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency).

Less common causes of cirrhosis include unusual reactions to some drugs and prolonged exposure to toxins, as well as chronic heart failure (cardiac cirrhosis). In certain parts of the world (particularly Northern Africa), infection of the liver with a parasite (schistosomiasis) is the most common cause of liver disease and cirrhosis.

How is cirrhosis treated?

Treatment of cirrhosis includes 1) preventing further damage to the liver, 2) treating the complications of cirrhosis, 3) preventing liver cancer or detecting it early, and 4) liver transplantation.

Cirrhosis At A Glance

Cirrhosis is a complication of liver disease which involves loss of liver cells and irreversible scarring of the liver.
Alcohol and viral hepatitis B and C are common causes of cirrhosis, although there are many other causes.
Cirrhosis can cause weakness, loss of appetite, easy bruising, yellowing of the skin (jaundice), itching, and fatigue.
Diagnosis of cirrhosis can be suggested by the history, physical examination and blood tests, and can be confirmed by liver biopsy.
Complications of cirrhosis include edema and ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, bleeding from varices, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, hepatopulmonary syndrome, hypersplenism, and liver cancer.
Treatment of cirrhosis is designed to prevent further damage to the liver, treat complications of cirrhosis, and preventing or detecting liver cancer early.
Transplantation of the liver is becoming an important option for treating patients with advanced cirrhosis.

NATURAL PREVENTION:

Glutathione

Kryptorganic

Stress

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:56:00 +0000

What is stress?

Stress is simply a fact of nature—forces from the outside world affecting the individual. The individual responds to stress in ways that affect the individual as well as their environment. Hence, all living creatures are in a constant interchange with their surroundings (the ecosystem), both physically and behaviorally. This interplay of forces, or energy, is of course present in the relationships between all matter in the universe, whether it is living (animate) or not living (inanimate). However, there are critical differences in how different living creatures relate to their environment. These differences have far-reaching consequences for survival. Because of the overabundance of stress in our modern lives, we usually think of stress as a negative experience, but from a biological point of view, stress can be a neutral, negative, or positive experience.

In general, stress is related to both external and internal factors. External factors include the physical environment, including your job, your relationships with others, your home, and all the situations, challenges, difficulties, and expectations you're confronted with on a daily basis. Internal factors determine your body's ability to respond to, and deal with, the external stress-inducing factors. Internal factors which influence your ability to handle stress include your nutritional status, overall health and fitness levels, emotional well-being, and the amount of sleep and rest you get.

Stress has driven evolutionary change (the development and natural selection of species over time). Thus, the species that adapted best to the causes of stress (stressors) have survived and evolved into the plant and animal kingdoms we now observe. Man is the most adaptive creature on the planet because of the evolution of the human brain, especially the part called the neo-cortex. This adaptability is largely due to the changes and stressors that we have faced and mastered. Therefore, we, unlike other animals, can live in any climate or ecosystem, at various altitudes, and avoid the danger of predators. Moreover, most recently, we have learned to live in the air, under the sea, and even in space, where no living creatures that we know of have ever survived. So then, what is so bad about stress?

What are the signs and symptoms of poorly managed stress?

Excess stress can manifest itself in a variety of emotional, behavioral, and even physical symptoms, and the symptoms of stress vary enormously among different individuals. Common somatic (physical) symptoms often reported by those experiencing excess stress include sleep disturbances, muscle tension, headache, gastrointestinal disturbances, and fatigue. Emotional and behavioral symptoms that can accompany excess stress include nervousness, anxiety, changes in eating habits including overeating, loss of enthusiasm or energy, and mood changes. Of course, none of these signs or symptoms means for certain that there is an elevated stress level since all of these symptoms can be caused by other medical and/or psychological conditions.

It is also known that people under stress have a greater tendency to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as excessive use or abuse of alcohol and drugs, cigarette smoking, and making poor nutritional choices, than their less-stressed counterparts. These unhealthy behaviors can further increase the severity of symptoms related to stress, often leading to a "vicious cycle" of symptoms and unhealthy behaviors.

The experience of stress is highly individualized. What constitutes overwhelming stress for one person may not be perceived as stress by another. Likewise, the symptoms and signs of poorly managed stress will be different for each person.

Who is most vulnerable to stress?

Stress comes in many forms and affects people of all ages and all walks of life. No external standards can be applied to predict stress levels in individuals—one need not have a traditionally stressful job to experience workplace stress, just as a parent of one child may experience more parental stress than a parent of several children. The degree of stress in our lives is highly dependent upon individual factors such as our physical health, the quality of our interpersonal relationships, the number of commitments and responsibilities we carry, the degree of others' dependence upon us, expectations of us, the amount of support we receive from others, and the number of changes or traumatic events that have recently occurred in our lives.

Some generalizations, however, can be made. People with adequate social support networks report less stress and overall improved mental health in comparison to those without adequate social contacts. People who are poorly nourished, who get inadequate sleep, or who are physically unwell also have a reduced capacity to handle pressures and stresses of everyday life and may report higher stress levels. Some stressors are particularly associated with certain age groups or life stages. Children, teens, working parents, and seniors are examples of the groups who often face common stressors related to life transitions.

What is the healthy response to stress?

A key aspect of a healthy adaptational response to stress is the time course. Responses must be initiated rapidly, maintained for a proper amount of time, and then turned off to ensure an optimal result. An over-response to stress or the failure to shut off a stress response can have negative biological consequences for an individual. Healthy human responses to stress involve three components:

The brain handles (mediates) the immediate response. This response signals the adrenal medulla to release epinephrine and norepinephrine.

The hypothalamus (a central area in the brain) and the pituitary gland initiate (trigger) the slower maintenance response by signaling the adrenal cortex to release cortisol and other hormones.

Many neural (nerve) circuits are involved in the behavioral response. This response increases arousal (alertness, heightened awareness), focuses attention, inhibits feeding and reproductive behavior, reduces pain perception, and redirects behavior.

How can we manage stress?

If we think about the causes of stress, the nature of the stress response, and the negative effects of some types of stress (prolonged, unexpected, or unmanageable stress), several healthy management strategies become clear. A first step in stress management is exercise. You see, since the stress response prepares us to fight or flee, our bodies are primed for action. Unfortunately, however, we usually handle our stresses while sitting at our desk, standing at the watercooler, or behind the wheel stuck in traffic. Exercise on a regular basis helps to turn down the production of stress hormones and neurochemicals. Thus, exercise can help avoid the damage to our health that prolonged stress can cause. In fact, studies have found that exercise is a potent antidepressant, anxiolytic (combats anxiety), and sleeping aid for many people.

Stress At A Glance

Stress is a normal part of life that can either help us learn and grow or can cause us significant problems.
Stress releases powerful neurochemicals and hormones that prepare us for action (to fight or flee).
If we don't take action, the stress response can create or worsen health problems.
Prolonged, uninterrupted, unexpected, and unmanageable stresses are the most damaging types of stress.
Stress can be managed by regular exercise, meditation or other relaxation techniques, structured time-outs, and learning new coping strategies to create predictability in our lives.
Many behaviors that increase in times of stress and maladaptive ways of coping with stress—drugs, pain medicines, alcohol, smoking, and eating—actually worsen the stress and can make us more reactive (sensitive) to further stress.
While there are promising treatments for stress, the management of stress is mostly dependent on the willingness of a person to make the changes necessary for a healthy lifestyle.

NATURAL PREVENTION:

Ultima-C (Sodium Ascorbate)

Insomnia

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:49:00 +0000

What is insomnia?

Insomnia is defined as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both, despite adequate opportunity and time to sleep, leading to impaired daytime functioning. Insomnia may be due to poor quality or quantity of sleep.

Insomnia is very common and occurs in 30% to 50% of the general population. Approximately 10% of the population may suffer from chronic (long-standing) insomnia.

Insomnia affects people of all ages including children, although it is more common in adults and its frequency increases with age. In general, women are affected more frequently than men.

Insomnia may be divided into three classes based on the duration of symptoms.

Insomnia lasting one week or less may be termed transient insomnia;
short-term insomnia lasts more than one week but resolves in less than three weeks; and
long-term or chronic insomnia lasts more than three weeks.

Insomnia can also be classified based on the underlying reasons for insomnia such as sleep hygiene, medical conditions, sleep disorders, stress factors, and so on.

It is important to make a distinction between insomnia and other similar terminology; short duration sleep and sleep deprivation.

Short duration sleep may be normal in some individuals who may require less time for sleep without feeling daytime impairment, the central symptom in the definition of insomnia.
In insomnia, adequate time and opportunity for sleep is available, whereas in sleep deprivation, lack of sleep is due to lack of opportunity or time to sleep because of voluntary or intentional avoidance of sleep.

What causes insomnia?

Insomnia may have many causes and, as described earlier, it can be classified based upon the underlying cause.

Situational and stress factors leading to insomnia may include:

jet lag,
physical discomfort (hot, cold, lighting, noise, unfamiliar surroundings),
working different shifts,
stressful life situations (divorce or separation, death of a loved one, losing a job, preparing for an examination),
illicit drug use,
cigarette smoking,
caffeine intake prior to going to bed,
alcohol intoxication or withdrawal, or
certain medications.

Most of these factors may be short-term and transient, and therefore insomnia may resolve when the underlying factor is removed or corrected.

Sleep hygiene

Sleep hygiene can play an important role in insomnia. Poor sleep hygiene includes physical factors such as:

using the bedroom for things other than sleeping,
eating or exercising prior to sleep,
going to bed hungry,
sleeping in a room with too much noise or lighting, or
doing work in bed.

Medical and psychiatric conditions

Medical and psychiatric conditions may also contribute to insomnia.

Some of these common medical conditions may include:

breathing problems from chronic heart or lung disease (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),
congestive heart failure,
obstructive sleep apnea),
obesity,
acid reflux,
hyperthyroidism,
urinary problems (frequent urination, urinary incontinence),
chronic pain,
fibromyalgia,
Parkinson's disease, or
dementia.

Common psychiatric problems can be responsible for insomnia including:

depression,
psychosis,
mania,
anxiety, or
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Some common physiologic conditions can lead to insomnia such as:

menopause,
menstrual cycle,
pregnancy,
fever, or
pain.

Other causes of insomnia may be related to sleep disorders including:

sleep walking,
sleep apnea,
restless leg syndrome (creeping sensations in the leg during sleep, relieved by leg movement),
periodic limb movement disorder (involuntary repeated leg movement during sleep), or
circadian sleep disturbance (unusual sleep time due to disturbed biological clock).

What are other causes of insomnia?

Besides the conditions listed previously, there are other types of insomnia that are not necessarily linked to an underlying condition. Some of the common types of insomnia are listed in this section.

Psychophysiological insomnia

Psychophysiological insomnia or primary insomnia is a type of insomnia in which learned behaviors prevent sleep. Individuals with this condition are unable to relax their minds (racing thoughts) and have an increased mental function when they try to fall sleep. This may become a long-term issue, and going to bed becomes associated with an increased level of anxiety and mental arousal, leading to chronic insomnia. This condition may be present in about 15% of people who undergo formal sleep studies for evaluation of chronic insomnia.

Idiopathic insomnia

Idiopathic insomnia (without an obvious cause) (childhood onset insomnia or life-long insomnia) is a less common condition (1% of young adults or adolescents) that starts in childhood and may continue into adulthood. These individuals have difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep and have chronic daytime fatigue. Other more common conditions need to be evaluated and ruled out before this diagnosis is made. This condition may run in families.

Paradoxical insomnia

Paradoxical insomnia is also called subjective insomnia or sleep state misconception. In this condition, individuals may report and complain of insomnia;, however, they would have a normal pattern of sleep if they were to have a formal overnight sleep study done.

What are the risk factors for insomnia?

There are no specific risk factors for insomnia because of the variety of underlying causes that may lead to insomnia. The medical and psychiatric conditions listed earlier may be considered risk factors for insomnia if untreated or difficult to treat. Some of the emotional and environmental situations that were also mentioned above may act as risk factor for insomnia.

What are the symptoms of insomnia?

Impairment of daytime functioning is the defining and the most common symptom of insomnia.

Other common symptoms include:

daytime fatigue,
daytime sleepiness,
mood changes,
poor attention and concentration,
lack of energy,
anxiety,
poor social function,
headaches, and
increased errors and mistakes.

How is insomnia treated?

The treatment of insomnia depends largely on the cause of the problem. In cases where an obvious situational factor is responsible for the insomnia, correcting or removing the cause generally cures the insomnia. For example, if insomnia is related to a transient stressful situation, such as jet lag or an upcoming examination, then insomnia will be cured when the situation resolves.

Generally speaking, the treatment of insomnia can be divided into non-medical or behavioral approaches and medical therapy. Both approaches are necessary to successfully treat insomnia, and combinations of these approaches may be more effective than either approach alone.

When insomnia is related to a known medical or psychiatric condition, then appropriate treatment of that condition is in the forefront of therapy for insomnia in addition to the specific therapy for insomnia itself. Without adequately addressing the underlying cause, insomnia will likely go on despite taking aggressive measures to treat it with both medical and non-medical therapies.

What are non-medical treatments for insomnia?

There are several recommended techniques used in treating people with insomnia. These are non-medical strategies and are generally advised to be practiced at home in combination with other remedies for insomnia, such as medical treatments for insomnia and treatment for any underlying medical or psychiatric disorders.

Some of the most important of these behavioral techniques are sleep hygiene, stimulus control, relaxation techniques, and sleep restriction.

What is sleep hygiene?

Sleep hygiene is one of the components of non-medical treatments for insomnia and includes simple steps that may improve initiation and maintenance of sleep. Sleep hygiene consists of the following strategies:

Sleep as much as possible to feel rested, then get out of bed (do not over-sleep).
Maintain a regular sleep schedule.
Do not force yourself to sleep.
Do not drink caffeinated beverages in the afternoon or evening.
Do not drink alcohol prior to going to bed.
Do not smoke, especially in the evening.
Adjust the bedroom environment to induce sleep.
Do not go to bed hungry.
Resolve stress and anxiety before going to bed.
Exercise regularly, but not 4-5 hours prior to bed time.

Insomnia At A Glance

Insomnia is a condition characterized by poor quality or quantity of sleep, despite adequate opportunity to sleep, which could lead to daytime functional impairment.
Many medical and psychiatric conditions may be responsible for causing insomnia.
Insomnia may, at times, be unrelated to any underlying condition.
There are several useful non-medical behavioral techniques available for treating insomnia.
Medications are widely used to treat insomnia in conjunction with non-medical strategies.
Sleep specialists are medical doctors who can play an important role in evaluating and treating long-standing (chronic) insomnia.

NATURAL PREVENTION:

Ultima-C (Sodium Ascorbate)

Glaucoma

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:39:00 +0000

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a disease of the major nerve of vision, called the optic nerve. The optic nerve receives light from the retina and transmits impulses to the brain that we perceive as vision. Glaucoma is characterized by a particular pattern of progressive damage to the optic nerve that generally begins with a subtle loss of side vision (peripheral vision). If glaucoma is not diagnosed and treated, it can progress to loss of central vision and blindness.

Glaucoma is usually, but not always, associated with elevated pressure in the eye (intraocular pressure). Generally, it is this elevated eye pressure that leads to damage of the eye (optic) nerve. In some cases, glaucoma may occur in the presence of normal eye pressure. This form of glaucoma is believed to be caused by poor regulation of blood flow to the optic nerve.

How common is glaucoma?

Worldwide, glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness. In fact, as many as 6 million individuals are blind in both eyes from this disease. In the United States alone, according to one estimate, over 3 million people have glaucoma. As many as half of the individuals with glaucoma, however, may not know that they have the disease. The reason they are unaware is that glaucoma initially causes no symptoms, and the loss of vision on the side (periphery) is hardly noticeable.

What causes glaucoma?

Elevated pressure in the eye is the main factor leading to glaucomatous damage to the eye (optic) nerve. Glaucoma with normal intraocular pressure is discussed below in the section on the different types of glaucoma. The optic nerve, which is located in back of the eye, is the main seeing nerve for the eye. This nerve transmits the images we see back to the brain for interpretation. The eye is firm and round, like a basketball. Its tone and shape are maintained by a pressure within the eye (the intraocular pressure), which normally ranges between 8 and 22 mm (millimeters) of mercury. When the pressure is too low, the eye becomes softer, while a too high pressure causes the eye to become harder. It turns out that the optic nerve is the most susceptible part of the eye to high pressure because the delicate fibers in this nerve are easily damaged.

The front of the eye is filled with a clear fluid called the aqueous humor, which provides nourishment to the structures in the front of the eye. This fluid is produced constantly by the ciliary body, which surrounds the lens of the eye. The aqueous humor then flows through the pupil and leaves the eye through tiny channels called the trabecular meshwork. These channels are located at what is called the filtering, or drainage angle of the eye. This angle is where the clear cornea, which covers the front of the eye, attaches to the base (root or periphery) of the iris, which is the colored part of the eye. The cornea covers the iris and the pupil, which are in front of the lens. The pupil is the small, round, black-appearing opening in the center of the iris. Light passes through the pupil, on through the lens, and to the retina at the back of the eye. Please see the figure, which is a diagram that shows the filtering angle of the eye.

Legend for figure: This diagram of the front part of the eye is in cross section to show the filtering, or drainage angle. This angle is between the cornea and the iris, which join each other right where the drainage channels (trabecular meshwork) are located. The arrow shows the flow of the aqueous fluid from the ciliary body, through the pupil, and into the drainage channels.

What are the risk factors for glaucoma?

Glaucoma is often called "the sneak thief of sight." This is because, as already mentioned, in most cases, the intraocular pressure can build up and destroy sight without causing obvious symptoms. Thus, awareness and early detection of glaucoma are extremely important because this disease can be successfully treated when diagnosed early. While everyone is at risk for glaucoma, certain people are at a much higher risk and need to be checked more frequently by their eye doctor. The major risk factors include:

Age over 45 years
Family history of glaucoma
Black racial ancestry
Diabetes
History of elevated intraocular pressure
Nearsightedness (high degree of myopia), which is the inability to see distant objects clearly
History of injury to the eye
Use of cortisone (steroids), either in the eye or systemically (orally or injected)
Farsightedness (hyperopia), which is seeing distant objects better than close ones (Farsighted people may have narrow filtering angles, which predispose them to acute (sudden) attacks of closed-angle glaucoma.)

What are the different types of glaucoma?

There are many different types of glaucoma. Most, however, can be classified as either open-angle glaucomas, which are conditions of long duration (chronic), or closed-angle (angle closure) glaucomas, which include conditions occurring suddenly (acute). The glaucomas usually affect both eyes, but the disease can progress more rapidly in one eye than in the other. Involvement of just one eye occurs only when the glaucoma is brought on by factors such as a prior injury, inflammation, or the use of steroids in that eye.

Open-angle glaucoma

Chronic open-angle glaucoma (COAG) is by far the most common type of glaucoma. Moreover, its frequency increases greatly with age. This increase occurs because the drainage mechanism gradually may become clogged with aging. As a consequence, the aqueous fluid does not drain from the eye properly. The pressure within the eye, therefore, builds up painlessly and without symptoms. Furthermore, as mentioned previously, since the resulting loss of vision starts on the side (peripherally), people are usually not aware of the problem until the loss encroaches on their central visual area.

Normal tension (pressure) glaucoma is a variant of open-angle glaucoma that is being recognized more frequently than in the past. It is thought to be due to decreased blood flow to the optic nerve. This condition is characterized by progressive optic nerve damage and loss of peripheral vision (visual field) despite intraocular pressures in the normal range or even below normal. This type of glaucoma can be diagnosed by repeated examinations by the eye doctor to detect the nerve damage or the visual field loss. Currently, normal pressure glaucoma is receiving a lot of research attention because its cause and treatment are uncertain.

Congenital (infantile) glaucoma is a relatively rare, inherited type of open-angle glaucoma. In this condition, the drainage area is not properly developed. This results in increased pressure in the eye that can lead to the loss of vision from optic nerve damage and to an enlarged eye. The eye of a young child enlarges in response to increased intraocular pressure because it is more pliable than the eye of an adult. Early diagnosis and treatment with medicine and/or surgery are critical in these infants and children to preserve their sight.

Secondary glaucoma is another type of open-angle glaucoma. It can result from an eye (ocular) injury, even one that occurred many years ago. Other causes of secondary glaucoma are inflammation in the iris of the eye (iritis), diabetes, cataracts, or in steroid-susceptible individuals, the use of topical (drops) or systemic (oral or injected) steroids (cortisone). It can also be associated with a retinal detachment or retinal vein occlusion or blockage. (The retina is the layer that lines the inside of the back of the eye.) The treatments for the secondary glaucomas vary, depending on the cause.

Pigmentary glaucoma is a type of secondary glaucoma that is more common in younger men. In this condition, for reasons not yet understood, granules of pigment detach from the iris, which is the colored part of the eye. These granules then may block the trabecular meshwork, which, as noted above, is the drainage system of the eye. Finally, the blocked drainage system leads to elevated intraocular pressure, which results in damage to the optic nerve.

Exfoliative glaucoma (pseudoexfoliation) is another type of glaucoma that can occur with either open or closed angles. This type of glaucoma is characterized by deposits of flaky material on the front surface of the lens (anterior capsule) and in the angle of the eye. The accumulation of this material in the angle is believed to block the drainage system of the eye and raise the eye pressure. While this type of glaucoma can occur in any population, it is most prevalent in older people and people of Scandinavian descent.

Closed-angle glaucoma
Closed-angle glaucoma is a relatively rare type of glaucoma. In this condition, the patient's intraocular pressure, which ordinarily is normal, can go up very suddenly (acutely). This sudden pressure increase occurs because the filtering angle becomes closed and blocks off the drainage channels. This type of glaucoma can occur when the pupil dilates (widens or enlarges). As a result, the peripheral edge of the iris can become bunched up against its corneal attachment, thereby causing the filtering angle to close. Thus, the problem in closed-angle glaucoma is the difficulty with access of the eye fluid to the drainage system (trabecular meshwork). In contrast, remember that the problem in open-angle glaucoma is clogging within the drainage system itself.

How is glaucoma treated?

General approach

Although nerve damage and visual loss from glaucoma cannot usually be reversed, glaucoma is a disease that can generally be controlled. That is, treatment can make the intraocular pressure normal and, therefore, prevent or retard further nerve damage and visual loss. Treatment may involve the use of eye drops, pills (rarely), laser, or surgery.

In the United States, eye drops are usually used first in treating most types of open-angle glaucoma. In contrast, in Europe, laser or surgery is sometimes the first choice, at least more often than it is in the United States. One or more types of eye drops may have to be taken up to several times a day to lower intraocular pressure. These drops work either by reducing the production of the aqueous fluid (shutting the faucet) or by increasing the drainage of the fluid out of the eye. Each type of therapy has its benefits and potential complications.

Glaucoma At A Glance

Glaucoma is a disease that is often associated with elevated intraocular pressure, in which damage to the eye (optic) nerve can lead to loss of vision and even blindness.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the world.
Glaucoma usually causes no symptoms early in its course, at which time it can only be diagnosed by regular eye examinations (screenings with the frequency of examination based on age and the presence of other risk factors).
Intraocular pressure increases when either too much fluid is produced in the eye or the drainage or outflow channels (trabecular meshwork) of the eye become blocked.
While anyone can get glaucoma, some people are at greater risk.
The two main types of glaucoma are open-angle glaucoma, which has several variants and is a long duration (chronic) condition, and closed-angle glaucoma, which is a sudden (acute) condition.
Damage to the optic nerve and impairment of vision from glaucoma are irreversible.
Several painless tests that determine the intraocular pressure, the status of the optic nerve and drainage angle, and visual fields are used to diagnose glaucoma.
Glaucoma is usually treated with eye drops, although lasers and surgery can also be used. Most cases can be controlled well with these treatments, thereby preventing further loss of vision.
Much research into the causes and treatment of glaucoma is being carried out throughout the world.
Early diagnosis and treatment is the key to preserving sight in people with glaucoma.

NATURAL PREVENTION:

Ultima-C (Sodium Ascorbate)

Grapeseed Extract

Alcoholism

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:29:00 +0000

What is alcoholism?

Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disease that includes the following four symptoms:

Craving—A strong need, or urge, to drink.
Loss of control—Not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun.
Physical dependence—Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking.
Tolerance—The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get "high."

Is alcoholism a disease?

Yes, alcoholism is a disease. The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems.

Like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, meaning that it lasts a person's lifetime; it usually follows a predictable course; and it has symptoms. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person's genes and by his or her lifestyle.

Is alcoholism inherited?

Research shows that the risk for developing alcoholism does indeed run in families. The genes a person inherits partially explain this pattern, but lifestyle is also a factor. Currently, researchers are working to discover the actual genes that put people at risk for alcoholism. Your friends, the amount of stress in your life, and how readily available alcohol is also are factors that may increase your risk for alcoholism.

But remember: Risk is not destiny. Just because alcoholism tends to run in families doesn't mean that a child of an alcoholic parent will automatically become an alcoholic too. Some people develop alcoholism even though no one in their family has a drinking problem. By the same token, not all children of alcoholic families get into trouble with alcohol. Knowing you are at risk is important, though, because then you can take steps to protect yourself from developing problems with alcohol.

Can alcoholism be cured?

No, alcoholism cannot be cured at this time. Even if an alcoholic hasn't been drinking for a long time, he or she can still suffer a relapse. Not drinking is the safest course for most people with alcoholism.

Can alcoholism be treated?

Yes, alcoholism can be treated. Alcoholism treatment programs use both counseling and medications to help a person stop drinking. Treatment has helped many people stop drinking and rebuild their lives.

Does alcohol affect older people differently?

Alcohol's effects do vary with age. Slower reaction times, problems with hearing and seeing, and a lower tolerance to alcohol's effects put older people at higher risk for falls, car crashes, and other types of injuries that may result from drinking.

Older people also tend to take more medicines than younger people. Mixing alcohol with over-the-counter or prescription medications can be very dangerous, even fatal. In addition, alcohol can make many of the medical conditions common in older people, including high blood pressure and ulcers, more serious. Physical changes associated with aging can make older people feel "high" even after drinking only small amounts of alcohol. So even if there is no medical reason to avoid alcohol, older men and women should limit themselves to one drink per day.

Does alcohol affect women differently?

Yes, alcohol affects women differently than men. Women become more impaired than men do after drinking the same amount of alcohol, even when differences in body weight are taken into account. This is because women's bodies have less water than men's bodies. Because alcohol mixes with body water, a given amount of alcohol becomes more highly concentrated in a woman's body than in a man's. In other words, it would be like dropping the same amount of alcohol into a much smaller pail of water. That is why the recommended drinking limit for women is lower than for men.

In addition, chronic alcohol abuse takes a heavier physical toll on women than on men. Alcohol dependence and related medical problems, such as brain, heart, and liver damage, progress more rapidly in women than in men.

Is alcohol good for your heart?

Studies have shown that moderate drinkers are less likely to die from one form of heart disease than are people who do not drink any alcohol or who drink more.

If you are a nondrinker, however, you should not start drinking solely to benefit your heart. You can guard against heart disease by exercising and eating foods that are low in fat. And if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, have been diagnosed as alcoholic, or have another medical condition that could make alcohol use harmful, you should not drink.

If you can safely drink alcohol and you choose to drink, do so in moderation. Heavy drinking can actually increase the risk of heart failure, stroke, and high blood pressure, as well as cause many other medical problems, such as liver cirrhosis.

When taking medications, must you stop drinking?

Possibly. More than 150 medications interact harmfully with alcohol. These interactions may result in increased risk of illness, injury, and even death. Alcohol's effects are heightened by medicines that depress the central nervous system, such as sleeping pills, antihistamines, antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and some painkillers. In addition, medicines for certain disorders, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, can have harmful interactions with alcohol. If you are taking any over-the-counter or prescription medications, ask your doctor or pharmacist if you can safely drink alcohol.

Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism At A Glance

Alcoholism is a very common disease.
Alcohol abuse affects one in 13 U.S. adults.
Alcoholism involves physical dependence.
Alcoholism is a treatable but not a curable disease.

NATURAL PREVENTION:

Ultima-C (Sodium Ascorbate)

Cataracts

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:14:00 +0000

What is a cataract?

A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision. Most cataracts are related to aging. Cataracts are very common in older people. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.

A cataract can occur in either or both eyes. It cannot spread from one eye to the other.

What is the lens?

The lens is a clear part of the eye that helps to focus light, or an image, on the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.

In a normal eye, light passes through the transparent lens to the retina. Once it reaches the retina, light is changed into nerve signals that are sent to the brain.

The lens must be clear for the retina to receive a sharp image. If the lens is cloudy from a cataract, the image you see will be blurred.

Are there other types of cataract?

Yes. Although most cataracts are related to aging, there are other types of cataracts:

Secondary cataract. Cataracts can form after surgery for other eye problems, such as glaucoma. Cataracts also can develop in people who have other health problems, such as diabetes. Cataracts are sometimes linked to steroid use.

Traumatic cataract. Cataracts can develop after an eye injury, sometimes years later.

Congenital cataract. Some babies are born with cataracts or develop them in childhood, often in both eyes. These cataracts may be so small that they do not affect vision. If they do, the lenses may need to be removed.

Radiation cataract. Cataracts can develop after exposure to some types of radiation.

What causes cataracts?

The lens lies behind the iris and the pupil (see diagram). It works much like a camera lens. It focuses light onto the retina at the back of the eye, where an image is recorded. The lens also adjusts the eye's focus, letting us see things clearly both up close and far away. The lens is made of mostly water and protein. The protein is arranged in a precise way that keeps the lens clear and lets light pass through it.

But as we age, some of the protein may clump together and start to cloud a small area of the lens. This is a cataract. Over time, the cataract may grow larger and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see.

Researchers suspect that there are several causes of cataracts, such as smoking and diabetes. Or, it may be that the protein in the lens just changes from the wear and tear it takes over the years.

How can cataracts affect my vision?

Age-related cataracts can affect your vision in two ways:

Clumps of protein reduce the sharpness of the image reaching the retina.

The lens consists mostly of water and protein. When the protein clumps up, it clouds the lens and reduces the light that reaches the retina. The clouding may become severe enough to cause blurred vision. Most age-related cataracts develop from protein clumpings.

When a cataract is small, the cloudiness affects only a small part of the lens. You may not notice any changes in your vision. Cataracts tend to "grow" slowly, so vision gets worse gradually. Over time, the cloudy area in the lens may get larger, and the cataract may increase in size. Seeing may become more difficult. Your vision may get duller or blurrier.

The clear lens slowly changes to a yellowish/brownish color, adding a brownish tint to vision.

As the clear lens slowly colors with age, your vision gradually may acquire a brownish shade. At first, the amount of tinting may be small and may not cause a vision problem. Over time, increased tinting may make it more difficult to read and perform other routine activities. This gradual change in the amount of tinting does not affect the sharpness of the image transmitted to the retina.

If you have advanced lens discoloration, you may not be able to identify blues and purples. You may be wearing what you believe to be a pair of black socks, only to find out from friends that you are wearing purple socks.

When are you most likely to have a cataract?

The term "age-related" is a little misleading. You don't have to be a senior citizen to get this type of cataract. In fact, people can have an age-related cataract in their 40s and 50s. But during middle age, most cataracts are small and do not affect vision. It is after age 60 that most cataracts steal vision.

Who is at risk for cataracts?

The risk of cataract increases as you get older. Other risk factors for cataracts include:

Certain diseases, such as diabetes.
Personal behavior, such as smoking and alcohol use.
The environment, such as prolonged exposure to sunlight.

What are the symptoms of a cataract?

The most common symptoms of a cataract are:

Cloudy or blurry vision.
Colors seem faded.
Glare. Headlights, lamps, or sunlight may appear too bright. A halo may appear around lights.
Poor night vision.
Double vision or multiple images in one eye. (This symptom may clear as the cataract gets larger.)
Frequent prescription changes in your eyeglasses or contact lenses.
These symptoms also can be a sign of other eye problems. If you have any of these symptoms, check with your eye care professional.

How is a cataract detected?

A cataract is detected through a comprehensive eye exam that includes:

Visual acuity test. This eye chart test measures how well you see at various distances.

Dilated eye exam. Drops are placed in your eyes to widen, or dilate, the pupils. Your eye care professional uses a special magnifying lens to examine your retina and optic nerve for signs of damage and other eye problems. After the exam, your close-up vision may remain blurred for several hours.

Tonometry. An instrument measures the pressure inside the eye. Numbing drops may be applied to your eye for this test.

Your eye care professional also may do other tests to learn more about the structure and health of your eyes.

How is a cataract treated?

The symptoms of early cataracts may be improved with new eyeglasses, brighter lighting, anti-glare sunglasses, or magnifying lenses. If these measures do not help, surgery is the only effective treatment. Surgery involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial lens.

A cataract needs to be removed only when vision loss interferes with your everyday activities, such as driving, reading, or watching TV. You and your eye care professional can make this decision together. Once you understand the benefits and risks of surgery, you can make an informed decision about whether cataract surgery is right for you. In most cases, delaying cataract surgery will not cause long-term damage to your eye or make the surgery more difficult. You do not have to rush into surgery.

Sometimes a cataract should be removed even if it does not cause problems with your vision. For example, a cataract should be removed if it prevents examination or treatment of another eye problem, such as age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. If your eye care professional finds a cataract, you may not need cataract surgery for several years. In fact, you might never need cataract surgery. By having your vision tested regularly, you and your eye care professional can discuss if and when you might need treatment.

If you choose surgery, your eye care professional may refer you to a specialist to remove the cataract.

If you have cataracts in both eyes that require surgery, the surgery will be performed on each eye at separate times, usually four to eight weeks apart.

Many people who need cataract surgery also have other eye conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration or glaucoma. If you have other eye conditions in addition to a cataract, talk with your doctor. Learn about the risks, benefits, alternatives, and expected results of cataract surgery.

What are the different types of cataract surgery?

There are two types of cataract surgery. Your doctor can explain the differences and help determine which is better for you:

Phacoemulsification, or phaco. A small incision is made on the side of the cornea, the clear, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye. Your doctor inserts a tiny probe into the eye. This device emits ultrasound waves that soften and break up the lens so that it can be removed by suction. Most cataract surgery today is done by phacoemulsification, also called "small incision cataract surgery."

Extracapsular surgery. Your doctor makes a longer incision on the side of the cornea and removes the cloudy core of the lens in one piece. The rest of the lens is removed by suction.

After the natural lens has been removed, it often is replaced by an artificial lens, called an intraocular lens (IOL). An IOL is a clear, plastic lens that requires no care and becomes a permanent part of your eye. Light is focused clearly by the IOL onto the retina, improving your vision. You will not feel or see the new lens.

Some people cannot have an IOL. They may have another eye disease or have problems during surgery. For these patients, a soft contact lens, or glasses that provide high magnification, may be suggested.

What are the risks of cataract surgery?

As with any surgery, cataract surgery poses risks, such as infection and bleeding. Before cataract surgery, your doctor may ask you to temporarily stop taking certain medications that increase the risk of bleeding during surgery. After surgery, you must keep your eye clean, wash your hands before touching your eye, and use the prescribed medications to help minimize the risk of infection. Serious infection can result in loss of vision.

Cataract surgery slightly increases your risk of retinal detachment. Other eye disorders, such as high myopia (nearsightedness), can further increase your risk of retinal detachment after cataract surgery. One sign of a retinal detachment is a sudden increase in flashes or floaters. Floaters are little "cobwebs" or specks that seem to float about in your field of vision. If you notice a sudden increase in floaters or flashes, see an eye care professional immediately. A retinal detachment is a medical emergency. If necessary, go to an emergency service or hospital. Your eye must be examined by an eye surgeon as soon as possible. A retinal detachment causes no pain. Early treatment for retinal detachment often can prevent permanent loss of vision. The sooner you get treatment, the more likely you will regain good vision. Even if you are treated promptly, some vision may be lost.

Talk to your eye care professional about these risks. Make sure cataract surgery is right for you.

Is cataract surgery effective?

Cataract removal is one of the most common operations performed in the United States. It also is one of the safest and most effective types of surgery. In about 90% of cases, people who have cataract surgery have better vision afterward.

What happens before surgery?

A week or two before surgery, your doctor will do some tests. These tests may include measuring the curve of the cornea and the size and shape of your eye. This information helps your doctor choose the right type of IOL.

You may be asked not to eat or drink anything 12 hours before your surgery.

What happens during surgery?

At the hospital or eye clinic, drops will be put into your eye to dilate the pupil. The area around your eye will be washed and cleansed.

The operation usually lasts less than one hour and is almost painless. Many people choose to stay awake during surgery. Others may need to be put to sleep for a short time.

If you are awake, you will have an anesthetic to numb the nerves in and around your eye.

After the operation, a patch may be placed over your eye. You will rest for a while. Your medical team will watch for any problems, such as bleeding. Most people who have cataract surgery can go home the same day. You will need someone to drive you home.

What happens after surgery?

Itching and mild discomfort are normal after cataract surgery. Some fluid discharge is also common. Your eye may be sensitive to light and touch. If you have discomfort, your doctor can suggest treatment. After one or two days, moderate discomfort should disappear.

For a few days after surgery, your doctor may ask you to use eye drops to help healing and decrease the risk of infection. Ask your doctor about how to use your eye drops, how often to use them, and what effects they can have. You will need to wear an eye shield or eyeglasses to help protect your eye. Avoid rubbing or pressing on your eye.

When you are home, try not to bend from the waist to pick up objects on the floor. Do not lift any heavy objects. You can walk, climb stairs, and do light household chores.

In most cases, healing will be complete within eight weeks. Your doctor will schedule exams to check on your progress.

Can problems develop after surgery?

Problems after surgery are rare, but they can occur. These problems can include infection, bleeding, inflammation (pain, redness, swelling), loss of vision, double vision, and high or low eye pressure. With prompt medical attention, these problems can usually be treated successfully.

Sometimes the eye tissue that encloses the IOL becomes cloudy and may blur your vision. This condition is called an after-cataract. An after-cataract can develop months or years after cataract surgery.

An after-cataract is treated with a laser. Your doctor uses a laser to make a tiny hole in the eye tissue behind the lens to let light pass through. This outpatient procedure is called a YAG laser capsulotomy. It is painless and rarely results in increased eye pressure or other eye problems. As a precaution, your doctor may give you eye drops to lower your eye pressure before or after the procedure.

When will my vision be normal again?

You can return quickly to many everyday activities, but your vision may be blurry. The healing eye needs time to adjust so that it can focus properly with the other eye, especially if the other eye has a cataract. Ask your doctor when you can resume driving.

If you received an IOL, you may notice that colors are very bright. The IOL is clear, unlike your natural lens that may have had a yellowish/brownish tint. Within a few months after receiving an IOL, you will become used to improved color vision. Also, when your eye heals, you may need new glasses or contact lenses.

What can I do if I already have lost some vision from a cataract?

If you have lost some sight from a cataract or cataract surgery, ask your eye care professional about low vision services and devices that may help you make the most of your remaining vision. Ask for a referral to a specialist in low vision. Many community organizations and agencies offer information about low vision counseling, training, and other special services for people with visual impairments. A nearby school of medicine or optometry may provide low vision services.

NATURAL PREVENTION:

Ultima-C (Sodium Ascorbate)

Grapeseed Extract

Asthma

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:55:00 +0000

What is asthma?

Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes (airways) that causes swelling and narrowing (constriction) of the airways. The result is difficulty breathing. The bronchial narrowing is usually either totally or at least partially reversible with treatments.

Bronchial tubes that are chronically inflamed may become overly sensitive to allergens (specific triggers) or irritants (nonspecific triggers). The airways may become "twitchy" and remain in a state of heightened sensitivity. This is called "bronchial hyperreactivity" (BHR). It is likely that there is a spectrum of bronchial hyperreactivity in all individuals. However, it is clear that asthmatics and allergic individuals (without apparent asthma) have a greater degree of bronchial hyperreactivity than nonasthmatic and nonallergic people. In sensitive individuals, the bronchial tubes are more likely to swell and constrict when exposed to triggers such as allergens, tobacco smoke, or exercise. Amongst asthmatics, some may have mild BHR and no symptoms while others may have severe BHR and chronic symptoms.

Asthma affects people differently. Each individual is unique in their degree of reactivity to environmental triggers. This naturally influences the type and dose of medication prescribed, which may vary from one individual to another.

How does asthma affect breathing?

Asthma causes a narrowing of the breathing airways, which interferes with the normal movement of air in and out of the lungs. Asthma involves only the bronchial tubes and does not affect the air sacs or the lung tissue. The narrowing that occurs in asthma is caused by three major factors: inflammation, bronchospasm, and hyperreactivity.

Inflammation

The first and most important factor causing narrowing of the bronchial tubes is inflammation. The bronchial tubes become red, irritated, and swollen. This inflammation increases the thickness of the wall of the bronchial tubes and thus results in a smaller passageway for air to flow through. The inflammation occurs in response to an allergen or irritant and results from the action of chemical mediators (histamine, leukotrienes, and others). The inflamed tissues produce an excess amount of "sticky" mucus into the tubes. The mucus can clump together and form "plugs" that can clog the smaller airways. Specialized allergy and inflammation cells (eosinophils and white blood cells), which accumulate at the site, cause tissue damage. These damaged cells are shed into the airways, thereby contributing to the narrowing.

Bronchospasm

The muscles around the bronchial tubes tighten during an attack of asthma. This muscle constriction of the airways is called bronchospasm. Bronchospasm causes the airway to narrow further. Chemical mediators and nerves in the bronchial tubes cause the muscles to constrict. Bronchospasm can occur in all humans and can be brought on by inhaling cold or dry air.

Hyperreactivity (hypersensitivity)

In patients with asthma, the chronically inflamed and constricted airways become highly sensitive, or reactive, to triggers such as allergens, irritants, and infections. Exposure to these triggers may result in progressively more inflammation and narrowing.

The combination of these three factors results in difficulty with breathing out, or exhaling. As a result, the air needs to be forcefully exhaled to overcome the narrowing, thereby causing the typical "wheezing" sound. People with asthma also frequently "cough" in an attempt to expel the thick mucus plugs. Reducing the flow of air may result in less oxygen passing into the bloodstream, and if very severe, carbon dioxide may dangerously accumulate in the blood.

Which triggers cause an asthma attack?

Asthma symptoms may be activated or aggravated by many agents. Not all asthmatics react to the same triggers. Additionally, the effect that each trigger has on the lungs varies from one individual to another. In general, the severity of your asthma depends on how many agents activate your symptoms and how sensitive your lungs are to them. Most of these triggers can also worsen nasal or eye symptoms.

Triggers fall into two categories:

allergens ("specific") and
nonallergens -- mostly irritants (nonspecific).

Once your bronchial tubes (nose and eyes) become inflamed from an allergic exposure, a re-exposure to the offending allergens will often activate symptoms. These "reactive" bronchial tubes might also respond to other triggers, such as exercise, infections, and other irritants. The following is a simple checklist.

Common Asthma Triggers:

Allergens

"seasonal" pollens
year-round dust mites, molds, pets, and insect parts
foods, such as fish, egg, peanuts, nuts, cow's milk, and soy
additives, such as sulfites
work-related agents, such as latex

Allergy fact

About 80% of children and 50% of adults with asthma also have allergies.

Irritants

respiratory infections, such as those caused by viral "colds," bronchitis, and sinusitis
drugs, such as aspirin, other NSAIDs (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs), and beta blockers (used to treat blood pressure and other heart conditions)
tobacco smoke
outdoor factors, such as smog, weather changes, and diesel fumes
indoor factors, such as paint, detergents, deodorants, chemicals, and perfumes
nighttime
GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disorder)
exercise, especially under cold dry conditions
work-related factors, such as chemicals, dusts, gases, and metals
emotional factors, such as laughing, crying, yelling, and distress
hormonal factors, such as in premenstrual syndrome

What medications are used in the treatment of asthma?

Most asthma medications work by relaxing bronchospasm (bronchodilators) or reducing inflammation (corticosteroids). In the treatment of asthma, inhaled medications are generally preferred over tablet or liquid medicines, which are swallowed (oral medications). Inhaled medications act directly on the airway surface and airway muscles where the asthma problems initiate. Absorption of inhaled medications into the rest of the body is minimal. Therefore, adverse side effects are fewer as compared to oral medications. Inhaled medications include beta-2 agonists, anticholinergics, corticosteroids, and cromolyn sodium. Oral medications include aminophylline, leukotriene antagonists, beta-2 agonists, and corticosteroid tablets.

Historically, one of the first medications used for asthma was adrenaline (epinephrine). Adrenaline has a rapid onset of action in opening the airways (bronchodilation). It is still often used in emergency situations for asthma. Unfortunately, adrenaline has many side effects, including rapid heart rate, headache, nausea, vomiting, restlessness, and a sense of panic.

Medications chemically similar to adrenaline have been developed. These medications, called beta-2 agonists, have the bronchodilating benefits of adrenaline without many of its unwanted side effects. Beta-2 agonists are inhaled bronchodilators which are called "agonists" because they promote the action of the beta-2 receptor of bronchial wall muscle. This receptor acts to relax the muscular wall of the airways (bronchi), resulting in bronchodilation. The bronchodilator action of beta-2 agonists starts within minutes after inhalation and lasts for about four hours. Examples of these medications include albuterol (Ventolin HFA, Proventil HFA), levalbuterol (Xopenex), metaproterenol (Alupent), pirbuterol acetate (Maxair), and terbutaline sulfate (Brethaire). Recently, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been removed from all MDI inhalers because of the environmental effects on the ozone layer. These have been replaced by a new propellant, hydroflouroalkane (HFA). Patients may notice that the jet they feel in the back of their throat is less intense when compared with the CFC inhaler. They should be instructed that they are still receiving the same amount of medication though it may feel different than their older inhaler. Another very important point that patients must be aware of is that "floating" these new inhalers does not help in determining the amount of medication left in the MDI. In the past, the CFC devices could be floated in a bowl of water. With more medicine in the inhaler, the canister would sink and gradually float as it emptied. This is not the case with the HFA inhalers, as floating will actually clog the inhaler. The number of accuations must be counted to determine if medication is still left in the inhaler. Shaking the inhaler is not an effective method of determining how much medication is left. Often propellant (HFA) will continue to come out of the inhaler even after the medication is used up. At the present, only one albuterol inhaler comes with a counter device and this is Ventolin HFA.

A new group of long-acting beta-2 agonists has been developed with a sustained duration of effect of 12 hours. These inhalers can be taken twice a day. Salmeterol xinafoate (Serevent) and formoterol (Foradil) are examples of this group of medications. The long-acting beta-2 agonists should not used for acute attacks. Beta-2 agonists can have side effects, such as anxiety, tremor, palpitations or fast heart rate, and lowering of blood potassium. There is data to suggest that taking long-acting beta-2 agonists alone may be life-threatening. They are best taken along with inhaled corticosteroids (see below).

Just as beta-2 agonists can dilate the airways, beta blocker medications impair the relaxation of bronchial muscle by beta-2 receptors and can cause constriction of airways, aggravating asthma. Therefore, beta blockers, such as the blood pressure medications propranolol (Inderal) and atenolol (Tenormin), should be avoided by asthma patients if possible.

The anticholinergic agents act on a different type of nerves than the beta-2 agonists to achieve a similar relaxation and opening of the airway passages. These two groups of bronchodilator inhalers when used together can produce an enhanced bronchodilation effect. An example of a commonly used anticholinergic agent is ipratropium bromide(Atrovent). Ipratropium takes longer to work as compared with the beta-2 agonists, with peak effectiveness occurring two hours after intake and lasting six hours. These agents are more effective in patients with COPD.

When symptoms of asthma are difficult to control with beta-2 agonists, inhaled corticosteroids (cortisone) are often added. Corticosteroids can improve lung function and reduce airway obstruction over time. Examples of inhaled corticosteroids include beclomethasone dipropionate (Beclovent, Qvar, and Vanceril), triamcinolone acetonide (Azmacort), budesonide (Pulmocort), and flunisolide (Aerobid). The ideal dose of corticosteroids is still unknown. The side effects of inhaled corticosteroids include hoarseness, loss of voice, and oral yeast infections. Early use of inhaled corticosteroids may prevent irreversible damage to the airways.

To decrease the deposition of medications on the throat and increase the amount reaching the airways, spacers can be helpful. Spacers are tube-like chambers attached to the outlet of the MDI canister. Spacer devices can hold the released medications long enough for patients to inhale them slowly and deeply into the lungs. A spacing device placed between the mouth and the MDI can improve medication delivery and reduce the side effects on the mouth and throat. Rinsing out the mouth after use of a steroid inhaler also can decrease these side effects.

Combination inhaler therapy is now available for the treatment of asthma. These medications include Advair (fluticasone and salmeterol) and Symbicort (budesonide and formoteral). Symbicort uses the standard MDI inhaler device (a counter device will be added in the near future). Advair has a unique powdered delivery system with a built-in counter.

Cromolyn sodium (Intal) prevents the release of certain chemicals in the lungs, such as histamine, which can cause asthma. Exactly how cromolyn works to prevent asthma needs further research. Cromolyn is not a corticosteroid and is usually not associated with significant side effects. Cromolyn is useful in preventing asthma but has limited effectiveness once acute asthma starts. Cromolyn can help prevent asthma triggered by exercise, cold air, and allergic substances, such as cat dander. Cromolyn may be used in children as well as adults.

Theophylline (Theodur, Theoair, Slo-bid, Uniphyl, Theo-24) and aminophylline are examples of methylxanthines. Methylxanthines are administered orally or intravenously. Before the inhalers became popular, methylxanthines were the mainstay of treatment of asthma. Caffeine that is in common coffee and soft drinks is also a methylxanthine drug! Theophylline relaxes the muscles surrounding the air passages and prevents certain cells lining the bronchi (mast cells) from releasing chemicals, such as histamine, which can cause asthma. Theophylline can also act as a mild diuretic, causing an increase in urination. For asthma that is difficult to control, methylxanthines can still play an important role. Dosage levels of theophylline or aminophylline are closely monitored. Excessive levels can lead to nausea, vomiting, heart-rhythm problems, and even seizures. In certain medical conditions, such as heart failure or cirrhosis, dosages of methylxanthines are lowered to avoid excessive blood levels. Drug interactions with other medications, such as cimetidinecalcium channel blockers (Procardia), quinolones (Cipro), and allopurinol (Xyloprim) can further affect drug blood levels. (Tagamet),

Corticosteroids are given orally for severe asthma unresponsive to other medications. Unfortunately, high doses of corticosteroids over long periods can have serious side effects, including osteoporosis, bone fractures, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, thinning of the skin and easy bruising, insomnia, emotional changes, and weight gain.

Expectorants help thin airway mucus, making it easier to clear the mucus by coughing. Potassium iodide is not commonly used and has the potential side effects of acne, increased salivation, hives, and thyroid problems. Guaifenesin (Entex, Humibid) can increase the production of fluid in the lungs and help to decrease the apparent thickness of the mucus but can also be an airway irritant for some people.

In addition to bronchodilator medications for those patients with atopic asthma, avoiding allergens or other irritants can be very important. In patients who cannot avoid the allergens, or in those whose symptoms cannot be controlled by medications, allergy shots are considered. The benefits of allergy shots (desensitization) in the prevention of asthma has not been firmly established. Some doctors are still concerned about the risk of anaphylaxis, which occurs in one in 2 million doses given. Allergy shots most commonly benefit children allergic to house dust mites. Other benefits can be seen with pollens and animal dander.

In some asthma patients, allergy antibodies of one form known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) may play a key role. If these substances are elevated in the blood, a new form of medication may be helpful for severe asthma. An antibody to IgE, known as omalizumab (Xolair) has been developed. This must be administered by injection in a doctor's office. This is extremely expensive. However, for patients with asthma that is difficult to manage, this option may be helpful.

In some asthma patients, avoidance of aspirin, or other NSAIDs (commonly used in treating arthritisweight loss, dietary changes, and stopping cigarettes, coffee, and alcohol. Examples of medications used to reduce reflux include omeprazole (Prilosec) and ranitidine (Zantac). Patients with severe reflux problems causing lung problems may need surgery to strengthen the esophageal sphincter in order to prevent acid reflux (fundoplication surgery). inflammation) is important. In other patients, adequate treatment of backflow of stomach acid (esophageal reflux) prevents irritation of the airways. Measures to prevent esophageal reflux include medications,

Asthma at a Glance

Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes (airways) that causes swelling and narrowing (constriction) of the airways. The bronchial narrowing is usually either totally or at least partially reversible with treatments.
Asthma is now the most common chronic illness in children, affecting one in every 15.
Asthma involves only the bronchial tubes and usually does not affect the air sacs or the lung tissue. The narrowing that occurs in asthma is caused by three major factors: inflammation, bronchospasm, and hyperreactivity.
Allergy can play a role in some, but not all, asthma patients.
Many factors can precipitate asthma attacks and they are classified as either allergens or irritants.
Symptoms of asthma include shortness of breath, wheezing, cough, and chest tightness.
Asthma is usually diagnosed based on the presence of wheezing and confirmed with breathing tests.
Chest X-rays are usually normal in asthma patients.
Avoiding precipitating factors is important in the management of asthma.
Medications can be used to reverse or prevent bronchospasm in patients with asthma.

NATURAL PREVENTION:

Ultima-C (Sodium Ascorbate)

Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO)
Kryptorganic

Arthritis

noreply@blogger.com (UNO International) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:41:00 +0000

What is arthritis? What causes arthritis?

Arthritis is a joint disorder featuring inflammation. A joint is an area of the body where two different bones meet. A joint functions to move the body parts connected by its bones. Arthritis literally means inflammation of one or more joints.

Arthritis is frequently accompanied by joint pain. Joint pain is referred to as arthralgia.

There are many types of arthritis (over 100 and growing). The types range from those related to wear and tear of cartilage (such as osteoarthritis) to those associated with inflammation resulting from an overactive immune system (such as rheumatoid arthritis).

The causes of arthritis depend on the form of arthritis. Causes include injury (leading to osteoarthritis), metabolic abnormalities (such as gout and pseudogout), hereditary factors, infections, and unclear reasons (such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus).

Arthritis is classified as one of the rheumatic diseases. These are conditions that are different individual illnesses, with differing features, treatments, complications, and prognoses. They are similar in that they have a tendency to affect the joints, muscles, ligaments, cartilage, and tendons, and many have the potential to affect other internal body areas.

What are symptoms of arthritis?

Symptoms of arthritis include pain and limited function of joints. Inflammation of the joints from arthritis is characterized by joint stiffness, swelling, redness, and warmth. Tenderness of the inflamed joint can be present.

Many of the forms of arthritis, because they are rheumatic diseases, can cause symptoms affecting various organs of the body that do not directly involve the joints. Therefore, symptoms in some patients with certain forms of arthritis can also include fever, gland swelling (lymph node), weight loss, fatigue, feeling unwell, and even symptoms from abnormalities of organs such as the lungs, heart, or kidneys.

Who is affected by arthritis?

Arthritis sufferers include men and women, children and adults. Approximately 350 million people worldwide have arthritis. Nearly 40 million people in the United States are affected by arthritis, including over a quarter million children!

More than 27 million Americans have osteoarthritis. Approximately 1.3 million Americans suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.

More than half of those with arthritis are under 65 years of age. Nearly 60% of Americans with arthritis are women.

How is arthritis diagnosed, and why is a diagnosis important?

The first step in the diagnosis of arthritis is a meeting between the doctor and the patient. The doctor will review the history of symptoms, examine the joints for inflammation and deformity, as well as ask questions about or examine other parts of the body for inflammation or signs of diseases that can affect other body areas. Furthermore, certain blood, urine, joint fluid, and/or X-ray tests might be ordered. The diagnosis will be based on the pattern of symptoms, the distribution of the inflamed joints, and any blood and X-ray findings. Several visits may be necessary before the doctor can be certain of the diagnosis. A doctor with special training in arthritis and related diseases is called a rheumatologist (see below).

Many forms of arthritis are more of an annoyance than serious. However, millions of patients suffer daily with pain and disability from arthritis or its complications.

Earlier and accurate diagnosis can help to prevent irreversible damage and disability. Properly guided programs of exercise and rest, medications, physical therapy, and surgery options can idealize long-term outcomes for arthritis patients.

It should be noted that both before and especially after the diagnosis of arthritis, communication with the treating doctor is essential for optimal health. This is important from the standpoint of the doctor, so that he/she can be aware of the vagaries of the patient's symptoms as well as their tolerance of and acceptance of treatments. It is important from the standpoint of patients, so that they can be assured that they have an understanding of the diagnosis and how the condition does and might affect them. It is also crucial for the safe use of medications.

How is arthritis treated?

The treatment of arthritis is very dependent on the precise type of arthritis present. An accurate diagnosis increases the chances for successful treatment. Treatments available include physical therapy, splinting, cold pack application, paraffin wax dips, antiinflammation medications, immune-altering medications, and surgical operations.

What is a Rheumatologist?

A rheumatologist is a medical doctor who specializes in the nonsurgical treatment of rheumatic illnesses, especially arthritis.

Rheumatologists have special interests in unexplained rash, fever, arthritis, anemia, weakness, weight loss, fatigue, joint or muscle pain, autoimmune disease, and anorexia. They often serve as consultants, acting like medical detectives at the request of other doctors.

Arthritis at a Glance

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints.
Symptoms of arthritis include pain and limited function of joints.
Arthritis sufferers include men and women, children and adults.
A rheumatologist is a medical arthritis expert.
Earlier and accurate diagnosis can help to prevent irreversible damage and disability.

NATURAL PREVENTION:

Ultima-C (Sodium Ascorbate)

Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO)