Ich betreibe nun das Öl-Ziehen seit mehr als drei Monaten her. Ich verpasste bisher nur einen Tag - an jenem Tag kam ich von einer Reise aus Indien nach Deutschland zurück.
Was ich in dieser Zeit des regelmäßigen Öl-Ziehens beobachtet habe ist interessant, ich habe bis jetzt folgende Ergebnisse zur Kenntnis genommen:
- Weißere Zähne
- Frischer Atem
- Der Mund bleibt frei von Infektionen - kein Zahnfleischbluten
- Das Hautbild wird besser
- Die 20 Minuten Zeit, sich bewusst zu konzentrieren oder zu entspannen, bringen mir
Freude, Ruhe und Kraft
Ich habe vor, dass Öl-Ziehen für einige Jahre zu testen. Ich leide seit meiner Kindheit unter Ekzemen. Personen, die Öl-Ziehen bereits seit einigen Jahren betreiben, sagten mir, dass es bei Ekzemen hilft, dies aber neun bis zwölf Monate dauern kann - ich lasse mich überraschen.
Öl-Ziehen soll sehr gut bei Hämorrhoiden oder Magen-Geschwüren helfen. Ich verbinde das Öl-Ziehen mit einer Stoffwechsel berücksichtigten individuellen Diät.
Im Januar und Februar werde Ich toxikologische Untersuchungen durchführen lassen und bin bereits jetzt auf die Ergebnisse gespannt. Wenn ich die Ergebnisse vorliegen habe, werde ich Sie informieren.
Ich wünsche Ihnen allen ein friedliches, gesundes, glückliches und erfolgreiches neues Jahr 2010!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
It is more than 3 months since I am doing oil pulling. I missed it only one day, on that day when we came from India to Germany.
What I experienced in all these days? It is interesting if you do oil pulling regularly. I have noted the following benefits till now and they include:
• White teeth
• Fresh breath
• Mouth is free from infections – no gum bleeding
• The skin is becoming better
• These 20 minutes are time to concentrate or to relax, both give me pleasure, peace and strength
I would like to test oil pulling for few years. I am suffering from eczema from my childhood. People doing oil pulling for several years told me that it helps but takes nine to twelve months. Let me see what happens with my skin.
Oil pulling does very good if you have piles or ulcers. Here I combine oil pulling with metabolism based individual diet.
January and February I am thinking of doing the toxicological studies and very much excited to see the results. When I have the results I inform you all.
Wish you All a Peaceful, Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New year 2010…
Lady’s fingers has different local names like okra, bhindi, vendakkai etc. This is a very good source of protein. Tryptophan, cysteine and other sulphur containing amino acids are present there.
Vitamin C is is present as a main antioxidant. It is rich in fibre also. It is rich in folic acid and vitamin A and B6. It is also rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron.
Lady’s fingers are useful in
• It help to stabilize bood sugar levels
• It is useful in the detoxification
• It is a good natural laxative and prevents constipation
• It binds excess cholesterol in bile acids
• The fibre present in Lady’s fingers is good for the bacteria anus thus contributes the health of the intestine
• It gives enery and acts against depression
• It is used to heal ulcers
• It helps the joints to be healthy
• It is a very good alkaline food
• It helps healing in acid reflux
• It helps reducing cancer, especially the colo-rectal cancer
Lday’s fingers must be cooked as little as possible to retain the nutrients present. Cooking with low heat or lightly steamed or raw is the best way to get all the benefits.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Drumsticks are rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, E, calcium, iron and phosphorous. Thus it is a good vegetable for healthy vision, skin and bones.
They are rich in antioxidants like flavonoids and phenolic acids and the leaves contain glycoflavones.
Drumsticks and their leaves are good because they are rich in calcium, magnesium and other elements which are important to prevent osteoporosis. Apart from other vitamins, enough amount of vitamin A is also present. It is a good food for postmenopausal women.
100 g fresh drumstic contains 79.2 g water, 432 g calcium, 134 mg phosphorous, 0.26 mg iron and 139 mg vitamin C. It has less oxalic acid compared to many vegetables, 11.2 mg.
The ripe drumstic seeds are dried and roasted. These taste like roasted groundnut.
It is generally a very good food for children also because of the high amont of beta-corotene, from which vitamin A is produced.
I am an analytical chemist who understands a lot about these estimations in food industry or in environment or in the medicine or anywhere. There is nobody to control all these because most of the national nutrition associations work closely with the food industry.
I furnish you some of the values which give you some important information. Potatoes had in 1978, 87 calories/100g, but it was 68 calories in 1990, carrots 1978, 35 calories and in 1990 only 24. Ragi, in 1978, 240 calories and in 1990 only 194 and avocado, 240 in 1978 and in 1990, 205 calories, if we measure now it may be also different.
It can be because of modern analytical methods or the allowed fluctuations in the measurements. With standard deviations and variation coefficients the allowed ranges are measured where 72 is equal to 98 or vice versa.
There are several other factors which influence the calorie valus. How ripe are the vegetables or fruits during harvest. The bananas are not even half ripe when they are harvested in South America. In Europe we add acetylene so that it ripes in the lorry with the necessary temperature. It is different if the lorry has to travel 200 or 800 km.
Think of our raw mangos and the hot stone or calcium carbide.
Moreover carbohydrates mean simple sugar to very complecated starch molecules with numerous sugar molecules. Till date there are no satisfactory methods to estimate all. In food, protein and fat are estimated and from that the carbohydrate values are calculated.
Another big unknown factor is what is happening in our stomach and intestine. Not verything are digested or absorbed to blood. The calories which are coming out must also be measured. This could be never right because the bacteria in our intestine system also consumes or destroys.
Counting calories can make one desperate because what you count is always not correct. I knew many who had permanent stress counting their unending calories and at the end put on more weight before.
Consider the amount and it is easy to calculate and the success is almost pre-planned.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Grapefruit and its juice are rich in nutrients including vitamin C, lycopene and minerals. But phytochemicals present in the grapefruit or its juice could interfere with the metabolism of many drugs.
Grapefruit juice as well as its pulp could cause problems with several drugs because the phytochemicals present are also metabolized by the same enzyme in the liver like many drugs. If the body gets lot of grapefruit juice or pulp, the enzyme system is completely blocked; the liver is so busy with the metabolism of these phytochemicals that it cannot metabolize the drugs. The result can be very high levels of these drugs in the blood. It is a risk which could increase the serious side effects and this is bad for our health.
The list of drugs which have problems with grapefruit juice or pulp is long, more than 50 drugs from the following groups, drugs to treat depression, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, cancer, pain, allergies and impotence.
Avoid grapefruit juice or pulp when you take these drugs.
Pomelos and Seville oranges often used to make marmalade and compotes can also have the similar effect of interferring with drugs.
Take the advice of your doctor here and he can inform you clearly.
Christopher Columbus called papaya the “Fruit of the Angels” and this is acceped by all who have tasted this delicious fruit.
Papaya is rich in vitamin A,C, K, E, B vitamins including folic acid, carotenoids and flavonoids. Thus, it is rich in many antioxidants including lycopene. It has calcium, iron, phosphorous, potassium and magnesium and is also rich in fibre. The enzymes papain and chymopapain are present in papaya which is important for protein digestion. Papaya has almost no fat (0.1 g fat in 100 g) and 10 g carbohydrates in 100 g. Thus it is also a good food for persons with diabetes. 100 g ripe fruit has less than 40 calories and this make it ideal food for all. All these make papaya very healthy.
There are many health benefits from papaya and they include:
• Protects against heart diseases
• Helps digestive health
• Has anti-inflammatory effects
• Protection against vision loss in old people
• Promotes lung health
• It is helpful to prevent prostate problems
• It supports our imune system
• It prevents nausea including morning sickness and motion scikness
• The seeds have bitter taste and is good for expelling the worms from the intestines
• Could prevent colon cancer
Papaya is available throughout the year and you could eat as much as you like. The orange or red coulour papaya could be consumed immediately. The yellow ones must be kept for few days before eating and the green ones you could cook.
Monday, December 28, 2009
The contraction of voluntary muscles in human beings take places by the mutual sliding of two sets of interdigitating filaments. The thick one containing the protein myosin and the thin one containing the protein actin.
Muscle contraction is controlled by the central nervous system, this means brain and spinal cord. Brain initiates the voluntary muscle contractions and spinal cord initiates the involuntary reflexes.
There are three types of muscle tissues in our body and they are skeletal, cardiac and smooth, the blood vessels muscles. The skeletal muscles are in charge of our movement.
Coming to the problem of Sakthikkumaran V. the back pain in the lower part has many reasons, overweight and obesity and less physical activity.
The human beings are created by God to walk with four legs. The spinal cord is produced by God to this purpose. In the evolution we have two legs and two hands. This has several advantages and few disadvantages. The major disadvantage is the problems with the spinal cord. It is actually the problems of the small muscles supporting the spines. Because of its unnatural upright position these muscles hardens and gets damaged. There starts the problem with the nerves touch the sharp bones. We have to stretch our spinal cord everyday. The 160 muscles what we have in the back must work everyday properly and we must help them by stretching.
You have to talk to your orthopaedic doctor and physiotherapist. In cases where the damage is already there the neorologist is the expert to do the treatment with others together.
For the last 60 years I am physically handicapped with almost no muscles in my legs. Even today, with 62 years I have no back pain. The reason is the good physiotherapist who taught me this simple exercises after my foot-correction operation in 1974. It is only five minutes exercise of stretching the spinal cord and the small muscles which support it.
Am I expecting too much from you all for your health? 2010 is going to begin soon and start doing this exercise from 1st January 2010.
Lactose, the milk sugar is a molecule with glucose and galactose. This must be split into glucose and galactose, otherwise the absorption of lactose is not possible in the small intestine.
Lactase, the enzyme in charge to do this is present in the lining of the small intestine. If lactase is present in small amount or it is absent the splitting of lactose is prevented partially or completely.
Lactose intolerance is therefore an inability to digest and absorb lactose, the milk sugar by people who have no lactase. If milk or milk products are consumed gastrointestinal symptoms is the result.
The unabsorbed lactose passes through the small intestine into the colon. The bacteria present there split the lactose into glucose and galactose. In this process of utilization of glucose and lactose by the bacteria hydrogen and methane gas. A part is absorbed into the body and the rest is expelled from the body. There is still no 100% splitting and the rest could absorb water from the body which could cause diarrhea.
The symptoms of lactose intolerance include:
• Abdominal pain
• Abdominal bloating
• Abdominal swelling
• Diarrhea
• Flatulence
• Nausea
These symptoms are also common in other gastrointestinal diseases and so even most of the doctors miss this. I have helped several patients. If the intake of milk and milk products are stopped this problem vanishes immediately.
Not in all patients the lactase is 100% absent. It is individual and many can have it in different amounts. You have to test how much milk you could drink or milk products you could eat.
The best thing to master this problem is not only avoiding milk and milk products but also avoiding all the processed food where milk powder or condensed milk is present. The food which may contain hidden lactose include:
• Bread, cakes and other baked foods
• Processed breakfast cereals
• Breakfast drinks
• Ready made soups
• Margarine
• Salad dressings
• Chocolates, cabndies and other sweet snacks
• Icecreams
• Mixes for pancakes, biscuits and cookies
There are many other food where it is declared as whey, curds, milk bye-products, dry milk solids, nonfat dry milk powder etc. mean that lactose is present in these foods.
Powdered coffee creamer and whipped toppings may also contain ingredients from milk and can contain lactose. Be careful, these are normally declared as nondiary on their labels.
The long-term health consequence of lactose intolerance may be calcium deficiency which leads to osteoporosis. But without milk and milk products it is possible to manage the calcium intake if you eat the right food. Here your doctor or dietician could help you. Otherwise, it is better to take calcium supplements and these must be taken between two meals so that it will not disturb iron absorption. Before taking the supplement always consult with your doctor.
Whether it is green or black or oolong or white tea all are coming from the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Two leaves and a bud we take from the plant and prepare and cure it in different way to get all these four teas.
Tea is the most widely drunk beverage in the world after water. The way you prepare tea is important for its taste and they are
• For green tea - 80 to 85 degrees C (176 to 185 degrees F)
• For black tea - boiling water 99 degrees C (210 degrees F)
• For oolong tea 90 to 100 degrees C (194 to 212 degrees F)
• For whire tea 66 to 71 degrees C (150 to 160 degrees F)
During preparation green tea has minimum oxidation and this is the reason why it has more antioxidants. The polyphenols, catechins and epigallocatechingallate are powerful antioxidants. Green tea contain certain carotenoids, tocopherols, vitamin C, many important minerals such as chromium, manganese, selenium and zinc and several other phytochemicals which are good for our health. Green tea also has caffeine, theophylline and theobromine and these belong to the methylxanthine. Methylxanthine stimulates the nervous system, relaxes smooth muscles in the airways to the lungs, stimulates the heart and acts as a diuretic (more urine). Even today thyophylline is the best medicine for asthma.
The amount of caffeine depends the amount of tea you take and the time you have taken to prepare irrespective of green or black teas. I has, anyhow, less caffeine than coffee. One cup of tea contains about 50 mg caffeine as compared to coffee, which contains 65 to 175 mg.
Black tea is also made from the two leaves and a bud but is dried during preparation and so more oxidation happens. This drying process of black tea is called fermentation and has nothing to do with normal fermentation. This reduces the amount of the antioxidants. Black tea contains the polyphenols like catechins, anthocyanins, theaflavin, thearubigens, phenolic acids and tannin, trace elements and vitamines. Black tea has also the methyxanthine chemicals.
Green tea is richer in antioxidants, has less caffeine and doen not stain the teeth, but black tea tastes more with its fuller flavour. So my advice is drink both the teas, pure drinking water and leave all the other soft beverages except freshly pressed fruit juices. This is very healthy. The recent research says not only epigallocatechin gallate found itn green tea but also the theaflavins and thearubigens found in black tea are responsible for the health effects.
There are many studies about the good effect of tea on heart, kidneys and its anti-cancer qualities. You must have your lifestyle in such a way that there are only little risk factors. If you live unhealthy and rape your body even the best green or black teas can’t help you
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Cocoa plants do not take lead from the soil and there is no natuaral possibility. The lead contamination may have many other reasons – some countries use still leaded petrol and contamination through water or other sources.
Chocolate is a processed food. The international voluntary standard limit for lead in cocoa beans or powder is 1 microg per g. I all studies lead are found in the chocolate and if eaten in high quantities may bring problem to the children.
Particularly in India where lot of advertisements are made for brain food in the television, it is of great interest to find lead in these formulas. There are more ads for the chocolates. Parents who buy these costly brain food (?) must ask their children to limit the consumption of their cacao products. It is for chocolates, icecreams, pudding, hot drinks based on cacao.
There are two important reasons for this and they are:
• There is no known limit for lead’s effect on children’s brain function and even small quantities of lead can cause problems in neurological functions including impaired IQ. The marks of your child will not be good in the school.
• Chocolates are high in calories and one of the reasons among obesity in Children. You need not ban your child in eating chocolates but reduce it drastically. Explain them the facts.
We read a lot about the chocolates, but lead is a environmental poison present in many thing which we use daily. The cumulative effect is more important than from only the chocolates.
We must eat healthy food and this always good for our health. The parents must think and learn first about all these dangers.
Homocysteine is an amino acid found in our body. But it is not a building block of protein or muscles. It is formed as an intermediate step in the production of methionine, another essential amino acid.
The production of methionine requires many B vitamins. If these are not enough in the blood the homocysteine level increases. This is a independant risk factor for developing plaque in the arteries, thus for heart attack and stroke.
Vitamin B6, Folic acid and B12 are necessary for the production, metabolism and excretion of homocysteine. These vitamins are also in low levels in many even in Western countries. I have seen this in several blood samples in Germany.
If the level of homocysteine is high the medicine is vitamin B complex tablets. It is not necessary to buy the costly tablet which contains only vitamin B6, folic acid and B12.
The reference values in the blood are 5 to 15 mg per litre blood. I have seen in a patient more than 170 mg and with B complex tablets we could bring it to the reference values within 8 months. As we see our food is very important for our health.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
When the holes are there in your teeth there are two possibilities, our dentist can fill the holes or if it is so worn out he can make crowns or bridges.
Gold and platinum alloy is a good choice but costs more and ceramic, resin ionomers, resin composite and amalgam are the choices.
Dental amalgam is a stable alloy made of combining elemental mercury, silver, tin, copper and zinc. Many people have no problems for so many years but few have problems and some have really allergy with mercury. It is possible to measure mercury in saliva which gives an idea of the mercury vapours in the mouth.
At first we have to see that mercury is realesed from the amalgam fillings in our mouth. The saliva test for mercury is the right one for this. In the morning before brushing the teeth 3 to 5 ml of saliva is collected in a plastic container. After that sugar free chewing gum is given and ten minutes it must be chewed on the surface of the fillings and after that once again 3 to 5ml saliva is collected in a different container. From these and also from blood and urine mercury is estimated to see the general condition in the body.
Removing amalgam teeth fillings could cause problems. The dentist can remove it by drilling but the problem is a high amount of mercury goes inside the body. Most of the mercury goes inside the tissues and will be stored there.
There are different ways to remove mercury from our body. There is a DMPS (Dimaval; 2,3-dimercapoto-1-propane sulfonate sodium salt) test with which your doctor removes the mercury from your body. DMPS is a chelating agent and it forms a complex with mercury which will be excreted through kidneys. But your kidneys must be healthy. Moreover a large amount of essential elements like copper and zinc will also be excreted from the body because of DMPS chelation. Copper and zinc must also be estimated before the test and supplemented if they are low. But, it is very well manageable.
Palladium is not used for the fillings because of its toxicity. The fillings are normally safe if these are done properly even with amalgam. Gold and platinum are the best.
Galloy is a brand new material containing silver, tin, indium and gallium and it is meant for mercury-free filling material. For the industry, amalgam is supposed to be 100% safe, even then they develop an alternative to amalgam and it is very interesting.
Why should amalgam dental fillings be removed? Few have mercury allergy. A mercury allergy test should be made to see whether you have mercury allergy or not and if you have allergy it is better to remove and go for gold or gold-platinum combination.
We must have our lifestyle in such a way so that our oral health prevents teeth holes.
Friday, December 25, 2009
The displeasing sound created by human beings, machines or animals that disrupts the activity or peace of others is called noise pollution or environmental noise.
The sources of noise pollution are traffic of cars, motorbikes, buses, lorries and all the other automobiles make tremendous noise. Aircraft and railway noise is also increasing with cheap airlines and high speed trains and goods trains. Industrial machinery, building construction work, construction of new roads or highways using power tools and the audio entertainment systems are also reasons for excess noise.
Deepavali and New Year festival crackers are one of the most severe sources of noise as well as environmental pollution.
The adverse effects of noise pollution on health include damage of physiological and psychological health and it causes annoyance, aggression, stress, hypertension, tinnitus and sleep disturbance. Chronic exposure to noise may cause noise-induced hearing loss and hearing sensitivity decreases with time and age. High noise levels for hours increase blood pressure.
The impact of noise pollution on animal life has only the negative significance. It causes stress to animals, changes the delicate balance of detection and avoidance of predator and prey which increases the risk of mortality. The animals use sounds in communication especially in reproduction and navigation and this is disturbed.
There are so many possibilities to reduce the noise pollution. Noise barriers on the sides of the road, speed limitation, roadway surface produces less noise. Goods transport in trains will help to reduce the noise than transporting with monster lorries. Aircraft noise may be reduced with better jet engines and changing the flight paths away from the residential areas. In the new industrial buildings and sheds lot is done to the health of the workers but it will be never enough. Trains could reduce their speeds when they cross the residential areas as in old bridges.
We all can contribute to noise reduction. This is one of the best ways to reduce noise pollution; the people must understand louder does not mean more might. Many consider noise only as a “nuisance” and it is completely wrong and it is a very serious environmental problem which can affect our health. It need not be calm only between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., but everybody could do what they can to reduce the noise in the home, office or where ever it may be.
There are meters to measure noise and the unit is decibels. 60 decibels are considered to be good but most of the noises are over this. Imagine my electric shaver produces a noise of 72 decibels and this shows that the law-makers have only less control on noise.
Ergot, a grain fungus which grows on rye is the source of lysergic acid and Dr. Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist synthesized LSD from it. It has been used in the past as a drug for legal psychedelic therapy, now it is a recreational drug and several groups which practise meditations or psychonautics. It is also there where many young people come together for parties or music performances.
LSD has both properties, it was used very successfully for 10 years in psychoanalysis and the youth movement of 1960s has taken the drug as recreational drug, resulting its ban. Finally, Dr. Hofmann conceded that LSD can be dangerous in the wrong hands and it is even today, everywhere available. It was a great blow to him because he called his LSD as the medicine for the soul. As a chemist he is right but for weak human beings it is simply a drug to enjoy and we know he suffered a lot in this respect. When I met him in 1993, he was 85 years old at that time, I could understand his feelings.
How do you have contact with him?
It is a small story; I was in the 2nd year of B. Sc. Chemistry in Theyagarajar College, Madurai and after dinner we used to on the grass in the campus and talk about everything. On that day we had lecture about LSD, I told my friends how wonderful it would be to meet such a great scientist and that was in 1966. In 1993 our association in Germany honoured Dr. Albert Hofmann for his 85th birthday and I was so happy to meet him. It was end of April, the spring started and the sun rays were becoming slowly strong. In the queue of 350 persons to congratulate him I was the last because I wanted to talk to him a little. I stood in front of him, his shining eyes look at me, after the congratulations he asked me, young man why do you honour me, I’m the man who brought sleepless nights to forensic scientists and clinical toxicologists around the world. I replied him, "you are right, it is only because of that we honour you", and told him about my talk with my friends in Madurai. With a smile in his lips, he told "it is chemistry which binds us wherever we are".
Why sleepless nights?
LSD is abused in very small amounts and it is very difficult to find in blood or in urine; you need special instruments, well trained staff and the estimations are time consuming. Blood or urine or hair has the most complicated matrix and to separate the drug from this is very difficult. Even today more than 90% of the laboratories have no adequate instrumentation to estimate it and it is always a headache for doctors, laboratory chemists and even the administrative officers.
Dr. Hofmann has achieved a lot and deserves this honour and for the man made problems we are fighting, this is our duty. If you go through the book written by him, “LSD, my problem child”, we can read the original notes from his research as well as his sufferings from the abuse of LSD. Luck and unluck are lying so close together and we have no chance to select always.
The liquid form of LSD could be injected but the solid form is absorbed in sugar cube or gelatine or blotter paper, that is why we must be careful with stickers used to sold in front of the schools in Western countries.
We have so many designer drugs in the market, why the people prefer LSD? I asked the same question to me in 1996, started collecting data and talked to several young men who use it. Designer drugs are easy to get everywhere, also cheap but the problem is, he was silent for a minute and told, ecstasy is good in discos or rave parties, but it kills the pleasure with his girl friend, switched to LSD and things are good between them. Others also confirmed his words.
It is only 20 to 30 micrograms = millionths of a gram are enough to produce the psychotropic effect in human beings. In this minute amount, you must believe its presence because you cannot see it and you cannot touch it also.
The effects of LSD last from 6 to 12 hours and include:
• Euphoria
• Fever
• High blood sugar
• Increased heart rate
• Pupil-dilation
• Jaw clenching
• Sweating
• Increased saliva and mucus production
• Sleeplessness
• Numbness
• Trembling
• Nausea
Trip is the name used commonly for the psychological effects of LSD and it varies much from person to person, depending on his mood and the dosage. Some users report a significant change in their personality and life perspective and this is the foundation for the therapeutic usage.
The psychological symptoms are an experience of kaleidoscopic, radiant colours, coloured pattern behind the eyes or the loss of a sense of identity.
What is a flashback?
Many LSD users experience flashbacks, recurrence of certain aspects of a person’s experience, without having taken the drug again. A flashback occurs suddenly and may occur within few days or more than a year after the LSD use. Bad trips and flashbacks are part of the LSD use.
What are the street names of LSD?
The street names include:
• Acid
• Blotter
• Cid
• Lens
• L
• Lime acid
• Loony toons
• Lucy in the sky with diamonds
• Tri
There are almost more than 100 different street names are there for LSD.
Say No to drugs always...
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Milk allergy is the most common food allergies. It is suspected a particular protein present in the milk is responsible for this allergy.
An allergy is an immune response which results in inflammation in any part of the body. In the long run tissue damage is the result. Therefore it could cause several health problems.
The symptoms of milk allergy include:
• Abdominal Pain
• Acne
• Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
• Anxiety
• Arthritis
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Ear Infections
• Fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Gas
• Headaches
• Heartburn
• Indigestion
• Iron deficient anemia
• Irritability
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Joint Pain
• Lactose Intolerance
• Osteoporosis
• Poor Growth
• Poor immune function – frequent sickness
• Sinusitis
• Sores
The common symptoms in children include:
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Ear infections
• Heartburn
• Sinusitis
If you avoid milk and milk products the symptoms milk allergy could disappear. 60% of the world population have either milk allergy or lactose intolerance. Milk is not good for infants and very small children. Although it has all the nutrients except antibodies as in breast milk, the composition is entirely different which is not healthy for an infant. Avoiding milk and milk products in the first twelve months reduces the risk of all the allergies and also asthma.
Milk allergy could be determined in your blood by testing the antibodies to milk with an ELISA food allergy test
.
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) is attaining once again interest for its medical uses in the recent years. Cannabis based medicines were used for thousands of years in Asia. These were also popular in Western medicine in the mid-nineteenth century.
The results were bad because of the poor standardisation possibilities of the plants with their components. This problem is solved today by the modern techniques of plant breeding. One should always keep in mind the narrow therapeutic window with its desired benefits and the unwanted psychic effects. We know the reason of banning LSD from the medical use because the psychic effects are too much and uncontrollable.
Is there any possibility to use cannabis as medicine? Many say the single components like cannabidiol or delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) could be used wherever it is necessary. The psychic effects are produced by delta-p-THC and so cannabidiol could be used as a medicine. The oral intake is not reliable. If cannabis is smoked the components could reach the blood quickly, but there are many side effects. They include:
• Can lead to bronchitis
• May cause lung, mouth, and airways cancer in he long use
• May make problems with fertility
• Can weaken the immune system
• May alter the human DNA
Smoking 3 to 4 cannabis cigarettes a day brings the same damage to bronchial mucus membrane as more than 20 cigarettes a day.
In the 1990s cannabis receptors have been found in brain and in other organs. This led to the discovery of anandamide, the first endogenous cannabinoids. Synthesis of anandamide-like chemicals may bring a new light in the medicinal use of cannabis. In future if more cannabinoid receptors and more endogenous substances with pharmacological effects found this could lead to new therapeutical chances.
It is a known fact that cannabidiol has good antioxidant qualities. But one antioxidant alone could not change the history of mankind.
Cannabis if smoked is a good painkiller and used to bring appetite in the last stadium of AIDS. The medicinal uses discussed in the literature include the treatment of glaucoma, asthma, vomiting, hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), convulsion, muscle spasticity, anxiety, inflammation and hypertension. It is neuro protective and could be used for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, AIDS dementia, stroke, and trauma. It may be useful in all autoimmune diseases.
There are, today, many varieties of cannabis plants with very little delta-9-THC. The oil taken from these plants are used in biscuits, other snacks and used with salads in some European countries.
We should never forget the side effects of cannabis and at the same time more research is necessary to know the medicinal values.
It is bad to hope and believe with one good antioxidant to master all our health mistakes. This is not only childish but also foolish. Our lifestyle must be good always. The risk factors must be minimised. Fast food, junk food, processed food, smoking, excess alcohol and stress must be avoided. More healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains products, nuts, seeds, beans and pulses must be eaten regularly. There are many antioxidants and phytochemicals present here. Enough physical activity does not only good to the body but also to our mind. If everything is so perfect why we need cannabis?
Cannabidiol is patented already in USA but it is still present in Schedule I list and this says everything.
Before abusing cannabis ask your legal adviser the narcotic laws in your country. In some countries abusing cannabis brings death sentence.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
What is Cannabis?
The psychoactive substance of the plant cannabis sativa is also known as ganja or marijuana. The substance responsible for this effect is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The matured flowers and the leaves are the herbal form of cannabis and the resin from it is called hashish.
More than 250 million persons in our earth are using cannabis and the tendency is also going up. In most of the countries it is prohibited and in country like Holland, it is legalized and in some other countries like Germany you are allowed to keep a minimum amount of few grams for personal use, but dealing is a crime. But there are several products, from sweets, biscuits to salad oil, which contain also delta-9-tertrahydrocannabinol (THC), it is allowed in several countries where the THC concentration is low.
It is used always, I think, from the starting of our human race.
Are there any medical uses of cannabis?
Yes there are medical uses of cannabis, the literature gives many examples, but in my experience it is used as a painkiller for patients who are having intolerable pain, during the final stage of cancer or it has a very good effect in AIDS patients who has no appetite to eat. There are other research results coming from the recent research. In USA cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive substance from cannabis. It is a powerful antioxidant. I write a separate article about the medical uses of cannabis.
What are the immediate effects of cannabis?
The immediate effects of cannabis are:
• Euphoria
• Relaxation
• Confidence or over confidence
• Want to laugh and talk more
• Problem with coordination and balance
• Loss of concentration
• The feeling of anxiety and paranoia are the immediate effects of cannabis.
The effects are not the same in all persons; it depends on the concentration of THC and the way it is taken like by eating or by smoking it. The health, weight, mood and the other substances you take, like other tablets or alcohol or the environment plays a role on the effects of cannabis to a person. We have seen normally more than 20 other substances in the urine of known addicts.
What are the long time effects of cannabis?
The long time effects of cannabis are:
• Respiratory illness
• Reduced motivation
• Brain function – ability to learn, memory and concentration can be reduced
• THC can affect the production of sexual hormones, irregular menstrual periods, low sex drive and low sperm counts have been reported in several studies. This is also in accordance with our personal talk to users.
Use of all drugs can affect the functioning of our immune system.
What is the relationship between cannabis abuse and psychosis?
Cannabis causes a drug induced psychosis which can last for few days and are characterized by hallucinations, delusions, confusion and memory loss.
Does one develop dependence?
Normally, no, there are many people who use it rarely or only in the weekends or with friends in a party. The dependence is comparable or some what less than the social drink, alcohols, but the addicts like alcoholics, spend most of the time with this drug and most of them do it in their lonely way. That means, it is possible to become psychologically dependent, if you use it regularly and for those cannabis becomes the important part of their life than other activities and it is difficult to come out.
But the actual problem of cannabis is, it is mostly for young people a beginning drug, in course of time they want more kick, or friends abuse hard drugs like heroin or cocaine and the danger of taking additional drugs are always there.
Is cannabis toxic?
It is not a poison, but according to a Canadian study, cannabis smoke has 20 times more ammonia than tobacco smoke and also five times more hydrogen cyanide and nitrous oxide, moreover, do not forget the joints are also prepared in normal cigarettes with tobacco, thus increasing the danger for your health more.
If you have depression and other related disorders, the symptoms may be increased with cannabis misuse. But, there are people, artists and poets who misuse for a long time without problems; the reason is only their mental strength to control the excess or frequent use.
Is it easy to get cannabis?
Unfortunately, it is cheap compared to other drugs like heroin or cocaine and could be grown anywhere in the world, but the main problem is, it could be grown even in your living room. This makes it difficult for the police to find and catch these persons.
In Holland in coffee houses you can buy it and in many countries if you have cannabis only for your personal use it is not a crime. It is but important to know, in case of driving a car, operating a machine, if some accident happens; it is your mistake if you are under the influence of cannabis. In many countries, the driving licences of these persons are taken away by the police for a limited time which is given in the traffic laws for offences immediately by the police and in the court of law you have to face the consequences.
Is it easy to find out whether you have smoked cannabis?
If the smoke is fresh, you can smell it and in the urine of users it is easy to find, with modern methods, it takes only few minutes. But, the problem is, THC accumulates in our tissues and it takes 10 to 12 weeks to disappear from your body completely. There are the possibilities of wrong positive results, this we inform regularly the patients and they have to wait three months to prove that they are clean.
Is there no method to find the fresh abuse?
The fresh abuse could be estimated and confirmed by very complicated but 100% sure methods because the concentration you have to measure is approximately 1 microgram per litre of blood. The amount of blood what you get is always limited and this means if you have 1 ml blood, the expected amount in that is 1 nano gram, loss during the sample preparation is always there and finally you have to dissolve it in a solvent to inject in your instrument. But the modern technology allows us to do this analysis very efficiently and we are happy for this.
Screening methods could be manipulated to make positive results to negative results and vice versa, is it so?
Most of the persons who abuse drugs are very intelligent and they have the knowledge of all the methods available in the market for drug screening and also the shortfall of these screening methods. But, we are professionals and know all these tricks, mostly few more than the patients and these are the secrets of our job.
I will tell you one example, a person came to us to give fresh urine to this test and he comes back from the toilet and says he could not do it now. Three hours had gone, I thought of a hair analysis for cannabis, but his hairs were so short and it was impossible to get the needed 200 to 500 mg hair, finally we suggest for a pubic hair analysis. He laughed at us and told, his girl friend liked him without hair and I could see the shining in his face because he was going to win. I smiled at him and asked him to cut his nails from the fingers and toes. We found in nails cannabis, we could not say when he abused, but now, the ball is in his court and he has to prove that he is innocent and his eyes, I still remember it.
There are several incidents which are very interesting to know the intelligence of our patients but we are always better than them.
Will you tell these tips to anybody?
In internet you can find a few, some try to sell something, which promises to make all the drug test negative for good money. We are careful to find the manipulation with simple methods. Our duty is to help these patients to come out from their addiction and not to support them. People often used to ask us, but they get never a reply, we recommend them only to stop the abuse.
Could you be so strict, you are always so helpful?
There are circumstances where I must be very strict, when I say no then I mean this seriously. It is our duty. When to help them in other things is a different question and I do this happily if it is necessary at any time.
What are the street names of cannabis?
Some of the street names of cannabis include:
• Grass
• Pot
• Weed
• Reefer
• Mary Jane
• Dope
• Indo
• Hydro
• Bud
• Hash
• Mull
• Joint
• Stick
• Buckets
• Cones
• Skunk
Say always no to drugs…
You are clever, it makes one addict and when everybody knows that you are cocaine addict your social status is gone, the court of law can punish you and in many cases the partner leaves you and even the court can ban you to see your children. Is it worth? The answer is certainly no.
The adverse health effects are worse and they are:
Seizures, respiratory failure, heart attack, stroke and violent behaviour are the expected problems. Deaths are also reported in combination with heroin and several other drugs and tablets. Muscle weakness is also the effect of long time abuse. The psychological effects could not be neglected. The euphoria can be followed by depression and the feeling of discomfort, the result is you abuse further.
Cocaine amplifies sexual interest and enjoyment, but the big problem is it can also lead to impotence with frequent usage. There are other legal drugs to make you happier, but you must also be careful with social drugs also.
Every medal has two sides and there are only few exceptions for this truth.
Frequent intranasal intake can bring problems to cartilage separating the nostrils and this may lead to severe pain. To mask this lidocaine is mixed with cocaine and we have seen this in tens of thousands of samples from patients. Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic.
Both women and men abuse cocaine and this is also same in all countries or cultures. Think of Maradona, the soccer idol of Argentina. In every country respectable people from all the fields abuse it.
The most common names of cocaine include:
• Snow
• Flake
• Coke
• Blow
• Powder lines
• Free base
• C
• Rock
• Nose candy
• Dust
Say always no to drugs…
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Cocaine is a crystalline alkaloid from the leaves of coca plant and it is stimulant of the central nervous system as well as an appetite suppressant. It is a powerful addictive drug if it is snorted, injected, sniffed or smoked.
It is normally rich man’s drug; most of the successful personalities in every field of life are abusing; students, heroin addicts, sportsmen, star cooks, stars from cine field and many successful persons in our world. They want to show off, that is why the traces of cocaine found in the 1000 DM currencies which are used to sniff the cocaine. I have experienced several persons, who abuse cocaine, most of them are also afraid of their increasing age and it is mostly all artists.
62 years old man leaves his business and takes a eighteen year old girl friend, uses this to increase his potency and his son who found this in his father’s office room brought me for analysis. You may ask how we get this information, it is very easy because a mother, a wife or parents find some unknown substances from their beloved and they bring this substance to us with the request to make a screening to find out what it is. We search among 2000 substances, once we have the result; they seek our advice and counselling for the whole family. In this speech you get all the information and we give the necessary advice. Sometimes the concerned persons are also willing to talk to us and from these experiences we learn a lot which is not written in any text book.
The usual request of first users is, make my result negative, otherwise my house owner throw me out or my father will kill me, but there will be no help from our side. They must stop abusing.
Crack is a cocaine free base produced from cocaine hydrochloride to smoke.
Cocaine makes one feel euphoric, very energetic, alert, thus less sleepy, confident, and excited and this is the reason for its abuse. If taken with alcohol, the toxicity is increased.
As a chemist I may have a different opinion, but here I am the clinical toxicologist who wants to help the addicts. Look, most of the scientists are for me innocent fanatics who lived and live for chemistry and extract or synthesize substances, but they see only the positive health aspects of the substance as mood enhancers, but the marketing manager comes in picture and sees this in a different way. For him, only one thing is important, that is the huge profit. Do not forget the chemist and clinical toxicologist need not have the same opinion in everything. In the office I am only a clinical toxicologist and in my leisure time, I am a chemist as well as clinical toxicologist, smile.
Could you tell me, why should not I use this drug which can make me to feel euphoric and energetic?
You are clever, it makes one addict and when everybody knows that you are cocaine addict your social status is gone, the court of law can punish you and in many cases the partner leaves you and even the court can ban you to see your children. Is it worth? The answer is certainly no.
The adverse health effects are worse and they are:
Seizures, respiratory failure, heart attack, stroke and violent behaviour are the expected problems. Deaths are also reported in combination with heroin and several other drugs and tablets. Muscle weakness is also the effect of long time abuse. The psychological effects could not be neglected. The euphoria can be followed by depression and the feeling of discomfort, the result is you abuse further.
Cocaine amplifies sexual interest and enjoyment, but the big problem is it can also lead to impotence with frequent usage. There are other legal drugs to make you happier, but you must also be careful with social drugs also.
Every medal has two sides and there are only few exceptions for this truth.
Frequent intranasal intake can bring problems to cartilage separating the nostrils and this may lead to severe pain. To mask this lidocaine is mixed with cocaine and we have seen this in tens of thousands of samples from patients. Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic.
Both women and men abuse cocaine and this is also same in all countries or cultures. Think of Maradona, the soccer idol of Argentina. In every country respectable people from all the fields abuse it.
The most common names of cocaine include:
• Snow
• Flake
• Coke
• Blow
• Powder lines
• Free base
• C
• Rock
• Nose candy
• Dust
Say always no to drugs…
Is this form of tobacco consumption safer than smoking? No, it is not at all safer than smoking. All forms of tobacco consumption are dangerous to our health.
Chewing or dipping has the risks like mouth cancer, pulling away of the gum from the tooth, decay of the exposed roots and white patches or red sores in the mouth which may turn to cancer. It plays also a vital role in heart disease, stroke and in other cancers.
Chewing tobacco brings more nicotine into blood because they reach the stomach and the absorption takes place in the intestines. It is much more efficient than from the inhalation of the smoke.
The different kinds of smokeless tobacco include:
Chewing tobacco is a loose leaf, twists or plugs and it is chewed.
Snuff is the dry or moist loose leaf or in small pouches like tea bags and a pinch of snuff is placed between lower lips and gum or the cheek and the gum. It is inhaled also into the nostrils.
Betel quid is a product of India, Asia and Africa. It consists of a dried paste which includes tobacco, areca nuts, catechu and different scent or flavouring. It is placed in the mouth, between the cheek and gum and gently chewed or sucked.
In India many are addicted to chewing tobacco wrapped in betel leaves, all social categories are represented here in large numbers. Even the majority of the college students have this bad habits and the health risk is high.
Even doctors use this and this is a bad habit which we export very well because the young Indian migrating to other countries use this also throughout the world.
Gutka is industrially manufactured smokeless tobacco product which is a specifically an Indian problem. Areca nut, an important constituent of gutka causes oral mucous fibrosis, a dangerous disease with no cure, which also the precursor of oral cancer.
In cigarette smoking this may take years to reach this but in gutka this happens within short time and with the popularization of gutka the oral cancer rate among young persons are increasing in India. It is never too late to stop using tobacco.
It is difficult to ban because they get their rights from the court of law because we do not have strict laws. The public must ask for the ban and put pressure on the political parties for which they vote. It is also advisable to put extra tax which could be used to patients for their medical treatments and rehabilitation. Increase the prices of the ingredients so drastically that gutka becomes very costly for many people.
There is no safe tobacco product in our world.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Which are more dangerous to our health, cigarettes or cigars? Both are dangerous but cigars are more dangerous than cigarettes. 75% of the cigar smokers are occasional smokers than cigarette smokers and this is the reason why cigar smokers are exposed to smaller amounts of the poisons and carcinogens. It is the only reason for the fewer instances of disease and fatality due to cigar smoking.
Normally a single cigarette contains less than a gram of tobacco, but cigars vary in size and may have between 5 and 20 grams of tobacco. So to say, one cigar, in extreme case, may be equal to one pack with 20 king size cigarettes.
The manufacturing process of cigars differs from cigarettes and the tobacco must be fermented and this produces more tobacco specific nitrosamines which are the most carcinogenic (cancer causing) compounds known. Moreover, cigar wrappers are not as porous as cigarette wrappers which make the combustion incomplete. These two factors are the reason for higher concentrations of ammonia, carbon monoxide, tar and nitrogen oxides in cigars than in cigarettes.
Cigar contains much more nicotine than a cigarette, an average cigarette contains between one to two mg of nicotine and that of an average cigar has 100 to 200 mg, some with more than 400 mg. Cigar smoke is more alkaline than cigarette smoke; it readily breaks down in saliva which allows the easy absorption of nicotine through the lining of the mouth in quantities sufficient to cause addiction.
Smoking one cigar a day increases the risk for cancer; the cancers noted include lip, tongue, mouth, throat and larynx, so to say the whole oral cavity. Lung cancer and pancreas and bladder cancers are the other diseases which are often noted.
The risk for early tooth loss is very high.
Cigar smokers have twice the risk to have erectile dysfunction or impotent as non-smokers. This is because of the adverse effects of the smoke on circulation, nervous system and hormones.
Passive smoking has the same adverse effects, including the erectile dysfunction; the best solution is stop smoking cigar.
There is no safe tobacco product in our world.
Tobacco, hand rolled in Tendu leaves, are called Beedies. It is the cheapest cigarettes produced in Asia and more than 85% is produced in India and from the 240 millions of tobacco users approximately more than 100 million people are smoking beedies.
Beedies are more dangerous than cigarettes because they contain more tar, nicotine and other cancer producing substances, carbon monoxide, ammonia and also contain the cancer producing nitrosamines. One third of 6,00,000 TB deaths in India go to the account of Beedi smoking. But, surprisingly, they have less tobacco than in cigarettes.
Beedies have three times more nicotine, produce three times more carbon monoxide and have 5 times more tar than cigarettes. The lack of filter and also the lack of porosity of the leaves used for wrapping may be the reason for this.
The risk of the cancer of the lung, mouth, oesophagus and stomach is higher than those of a non-smoker.
The risk for chronic bronchitis is four times increased and there is also three times higher risk of heart attack than the non-smokers.
The illiterate and poor in India are the majority of beedi smokers. Others also smoke beedies.
The argument of economy and jobs allow us to produce tobacco, opium from poppy seeds e.g. in Afghanistan and also cocaine in South America. Who all earn huge money out of this nobody knows but the poor man is suffering and dying. Unfortunately money and moral starts with “m”. Try to be clean and if many think like this we could solve any problem.
That is why it is very important to generate awareness.
The risk of passive smoking is same like in cigarettes; it is equally bad or more than bad as in normal beedi smoking. Particularly, it is very bad for children and pregnant.
There are more than 2,90,000 beedi growers in India and around 4.5 million people are employed in beedi industry, without suitable alternative job opportunities, it is impossible to ban it immediately. Moreover, these are the jobs of rural India. But, it should be started slowly with right projects so that within a decade we could ban it.
The tobacco industry tries to lure women and youth to smoke in India. As a clinical toxicologist I have seen lot of problems in these groups. With the ban in different countries, they do still very aggressive advertisements to get young, new customers.
Beedies are banned in some countries and in most of the countries it is available even with different flavours. I used to laugh when they try to convince me by saying that it is healthy because it is not rolled in paper but in a leaf, a natural product. Of course, it is with a natural product, but brings unnatural death for most of the smokers.
What are the occupational hazards of the beedi industries? Mostly the women and the girls in rural India do this job; they suffer a lot, not because they are smoking but because they breathe the dust there. Moreover, this is the most unorganized industry in India without any control from any side. Most of this work is done in the home by women and girls and the result is child labour and large number of school dropouts among girls. Boys are not at all involved in this work, what a funny world?
Here it is not only the beedi smokers who should be helped but also the girls and women engaged in this industry. It is our national duty to do lot for the health of women and girls who may be the double losers as passive smokers as well as due to their occupational risks.
There is no safe tobacco product in our world.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is defined as the cessation of airflow for 10 seconds or more during sleep. Apnoeic episodes could happen many times during the sleep.
It is mostly a male disorder and 1,25% men have this problem. It is not common in premenopausal women. All OSAS patients have narrow upper airways. There are many risk factors for OSAS and they include:
• Hypothyroidism, decreased T3, T4 and increaed TSH
• Narrow upper airway
• High blood pressure and other heart problems
• Cardiac arrhthmias – the heart beat may be rapid or too slow and may be regular or irregular
• Overweight and Obesity
Snoring is a sign of partial upper airway obstruction and it ceases when the obstruction is complete.
The symptoms of OSAS include:
• Morning headache
• Tiredness
• Poor physical performance
• Poor intellectual performance
• Loud and intermittent snoring
• Daytime sleepiness or excess sleep – reason for serious social and economic consequences which include loss of job, road accidents and divorce.
• Impotence
• Libido problems or loss of libido
Today there are many methods to make the necessary distinction between type, frequency and severity of apnoeatic episodes. Go to your doctor and he will do the tests and direct you to the right sleep laboratory.
There are medical and surgicals ways for your doctor to treat this. Medicines are also used. The use breathing machines like the nasal continuous positive airway pressure is effective, but here patient compliance is poor. The use of tongue retaining device is also good and this prevents retrolapse of the tongue during sleep.
Many people benefit from sleeping at a 30 degree elevation of the upper body. By doing so we could prevent the gravitational collapse of the airway. Sleeping on a side as opposed to sleeping on the back is recommended as a treatment for sleep apnoea. It is because the gravitational component is smaller in the side position.
But the most important things to change one’s lifestyle. Losing weight, avoiding alcohol and tobacco and medicines like muscle relaxants help a lot. By many the snoring is vanished. Here a healthy food is very important. Try my metabolism based individual diet to reduce and maintain your weight.
Uterus is an inverted-pear-shaped organ of the female reproductive system. It has three main functions: to prpare a bed for the fertilized egg, to nourish the developing embryo during pregnanmcy and deliver the child at the end of pregnancy.
Bladder, bowel, pelvic bones and organs are supported by uterus. The bladder is in its right position above the pubic bone with the help of the uterus. It lies over and behind the bladder. Normally it is tilted slightly foreward. It is 6 cm bis 8 cm long and about 6 cm across the top. Here on the sides the fallopian tubes enter it. At the other end is the cervix and it extends down into the vagina.
Endometrium, the uterine lining, a moist mucous membrane, changes its thickness during menstruation. It is the thickest during ovulation and is ready to accept the fertilized egg. The uterine wall is about 2.5 cm thick and expands and becomes thinner as a foetus develops inside. The cervix can expand to about 10 cm for the delivery of the child.
The function of the uterus is govened by the female hormones estrogens and progesterone and if the fertilization doesn’t take place the concentration of the hormones decreases.
Diseases of the Uterus are
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Endometrial Polyps
• Uterine Prolapse
• Endometriosis
• Fibroid Tumours
Chronic pelvic pain – due to large number of possible causes of pelvic pain, the diagnosis begins by process of elimination. Your doctor do a series of test to diagnose and treat you.
Endometrial Polyps – About 25% of all women experience uterine polyps, an overgrowth of tissues in the endometrium. These are also called endometrial polyps. These are usually soft, small, bulb-shaped masses of endometrial tissue attached to the uterus. The symptoms are abnormal uterine bleeding and in this case a visit to the doctor is a must because it may also be a serious condition of emdometrial cancer.
Uterine Prolapse – Uterine prolapse is sliding or falling of the uterus from its normal position in the pelvic cavity into the vaginal canal. Connective tissue, muscle and special ligaments in the pelvis keep the uterus in position. When these connectie tissues and muscles weaken the uterus drops. Vaginal births, aging and lack of estrogens during menopause may be the reasons for uterine prolapse. Chronic constipation can worsen uterine prolapse.
Uterine prolapse usually happens in women who have had one or more vaginal births. Normal aging and lack of estrogen hormone after menopause may also cause uterine prolapse, as can chronic cough (such as a smoker's cough) and obesity. Uterine prolapse can also be caused by a pelvic tumor, although this is rare. The symptoms include:
• Vaginal bleeding
• Backache
• Painful or difficult sexual intercourse
• Heaviness or pulling sensation in the pelvis
• Coming out from the vaginal openning
• Mostly a feeling of sitting on a small ball
A visit to your doctor is important for the right diagnosis and treatment.
Endometriosis – Because of its location and the different symptoms to every woman it is a elusive disease. The symptoms of endometriosis include:
• Pain before and/or after menstruation
• Severe menstrual cramps
• Irregular and heavy menstrual bleeding
• Painful intercourse and orgasm
• Infertility
• Cycles of diarrhea and constipation
• Nausea, bloating, vomiting
• Fatique
• Pelvic pain
• Bladder pain
• Lower back pain
The problem is also that some women with endometriosis have no symptoms. It is a serious condition and you have to go for diagnosis and treatment to an experienced doctor.
Fibroid Tumours – 25 to 50 % women have this problem and it is confirmed in more than 80% after the tissue analysis.
Fibroid tumours are estrogens dependent. The problem could come only after a woman starts to menstruate, thus after the production of estrogens, the female sexual hormones. That is why during menopause fibroid tumours disappear automatically. Its growth during pregnancy is very fast because of the very high levels of estrogens.
The syptoms are excessive uterine bleeding, a feeling of pelvic pressure which brings urinary and bowel problems and painful intercourse. There are different kinds of fibroid tumours. But, it is extremely rare that these tumours are cancerous. It is about 0.002 t0 0.003% only.
Subserosal fibroids grow on the outer wall of the uterus and usually there are no symptoms. The symptoms will be there if they grow large and interfere with other organs.
Here also it is a must to go to the doctor for diagnosis and treatment.
Before taking a decision for hysterrectomy it is always better to get an second opinion if you have no life-threatening situation because many doctors see uterus is only an orgen to get a child. Since hysterectomy has long-term effects on woman’s health and sexuality it is vital to understand all possible consequences. It should be done when it is necessary to save your life.
Hysterectomy is a must in the following conditions
• Invasive cancer in the uterus, cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes or vagina
• Severe and uncontolled bleeding
• Severe infection which does not respond to medicines and treatment
• Complications during childbirthe, for example a ruptured uterus
In all the other conditions such as endometriosis, fibroid tumours, severe pelvic infections, uterine prolapse and others your medical condition is the basis for the decision for a hysterectomy.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Antioxidants and phytochemicals rich food lower the risk of heart diseases as well as cancer. We must eat enough vegetables and fruits everyday.
The colour of fruits and vegetables are coing from the antioxidants and phytochemicals and the are
• Red colour – Lycopene, food rich is tomato, watermelon, pink grapefruit etc.
• Orange colour – Beta-carotene, rich in carrot, mango etc.
• Yellow colour – Beta-cryptothanxin, rich in pineapple, peach, orange etc.
• Green colour – Indoles, rich in cabbage, broccoli, kale etc.
• Purple colour – Anthocyanins, rich in grapes, blueberries, egg plants etc.
• White colour – Allicin, rich in garlic, onion, chives etc.
Eating everyday the vegetables and fruits containing these antioxidants and phytochemicals are very healthy.
Cholesterol, bilirubin and uric acid are the natural antoxidants in our body. If somebody is eating only junk, fast and processed food, te intake of antioxidants are minimum from their food.
Antioxidants are very important in the detoxification and in the management of dangerous free radicals. Free radicals are the weapons to destroy the bacteria and virus which enter inside our body, but in excess they destroy our healthy cells, joints and organs.
In this extreme case the levels of cholesterol, bilirubin and uric acid are increased to do the antioxidantal functionsa also. 25 years before we had no explanation for that, but today these are well understood.
Fresh vegetables and fruits are very important for our health. Our food must contain always vegetables and fruits. I could understand the argument that sometimes without processed food it is not possible to adjust. But, there will be always time and place for carrots, cucumbers, apples and other vegetables and fruits. With this good action the bad effects from the processed are not completely eleminated, but you give the body the necessary antioxidants so that the natural antioxidants from the body need not do this work also.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Scientific studies show that there is specific pharmacological activity of foods. It is not clear, which concentration we need to get the desired effect and also the significance of these effects in our health problems.
There are thousands of phytochemicals which may be very important for our health. Much research must be done to understand clearly about our food. So you can inform, take these foods but nobody can give you a promise to the cure but the cumulative effect of taking vegetables and fruits help us surely.. It is not only useful but also interesting to know about these foods and many persons told me it has helped, this is the practical side of these important substances.
In some of the food, the active chemicals are identified and the mechanism is also understood but in many foods, we do not yet understand the mechanism although there are pharmacological activities.
The drugs in foods can act in different diseases and they are as follows:
• As antioxidants to protect our cells
• As anticancer agents
• As antibiotics against bacteria
• As antiviral agents
• As anticoagulants
• As antihypertensive agents
• In giving relief in gas troubles
• As diuretics to increase the urine flow
• Regulation of estrogen
• As stimulant for immune function
• In clearing the sinuses and lungs
• As painkillers
A minimum of 400 g vegetables and 40 g fruits in 3 to 4 servings will do good to you. These are far better than the food supplements. As we know too much of vitamin C could become prooxidant and dangerous. About beta-carotene, the synthetic beta-carotene could cause lung cancer, but the natural one is healthy.
Eat as much vegetables as you can as raw and this is very good for your health.
Salt is important to live. Cooking salt is sodium chloride. Sodium and chloride are important to our body. It controls the functions of the muscles and nerves in our body. It is also important to regulate the water and mineral balance in our body without which the cell could not get nutrients and the wastes could not be removed from the cells.
The daily recommended intake amount is two to three grams per day. But unfortunately people are taking 3 to 10 times more. Particularly our south Indian food contains lot of salt. Think about the salted fish, the lemon or mango or chilly or vegetables or fish pickles…these have tons of salt. The biggest problem is without salt our food is not at all tasty.
The big danger is not only fast, junk and processed foods but also the sweets including cakes, biscuits and even corn flakes. These contain also lot of salt. A good sweet will not be tasty without salt. If we have problems with blood pressure or other problems with the heart it is better to avoid fast, junk and processed food totally. In Tamil Nadu we make lot of dried chillies or other vegetables or onion vadagams with lot of salt. These must also be avoided.
If it is so important where are the problems? There are two important problems and they are
• Sodium retains water in our body and this is not good for the heart as well as for the cells. Lot of water in the body means more work for the heart.
• Too much of salt narrows the arteries and this means once again more work for the heart. In both cases the blood pressure shoots up and this is one of the serious risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
It is better to put half the amount of salt to your meals. It is not at all necessary to put salt to the rice because we use salt in all other side preparations.
Never keep table salt during your meals.
Before excretion between the connection between kidneys and brain a part of sodium is absorbed back to body. This shows clearly the importance of salt for our body to live.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Fenugreek belongs to the family of legumes. The yellow to amber coloured fenugreek seeds are extensively used in India for food and medicinal purposes.
The leaves of the plants are also used as spice. These seeds are mixed in various food preparations. It is useful in many ways to us and they include:
• Fenugreek is used as a milk producing food for breastfeeding mothers and it increases the milk quantity.
• It reduces cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoproteins (LDL).
• It reduces the blood pressure.
• It also has the effect of reducing the sugar in diabetic persons.
• It may also prevent colon and breast cancer.
• Very often it is used as digestive aid.
• It is useful to treat sinus.
• It reduces inflammation and also fights against infection.
• It is served as a sweet tea in Egypt.
• From my personal experience I could say that it reduces also the body heat.
Lot of research has been done to find out the substances present in fenugreek. The uses are not only based on the experience but also tested and mostly found from scientific research.
Do you say that fenugreek is a very good food because of the above told reasons? The answer is a big NO. Sometimes we use the word food but the correct word is spice because such a food spice with several other active substances should not be used very leniently. We must use this as spice in very limited quantities. This I know as an idly and dosai eating human being.
We must consider several things if we use fenugreek generously. All these things are well documented in the scientific literatures. As I say always self-medication is most of the times wrong because we do not know normally what all the metabolic processes are affected in our body. Ask your family doctor and he will certainly say how to do it correctly.
What may be the problems and what cautions we should take?
Mothers or individuals taking fenugreek must be careful; the possibility that the blood sugar levels go very low is there which is dangerous. The amount of fenugreek must be controlled and in the beginning stages the blood sugar levels must be estimated. At the same time the blood pressure and cholesterol levels should also be monitored. This helps us to avoid low blood pressure and low blood sugar values, both are life threatening.
There are negative reports about asthma and the inhalation of fenugreek powder.
Fenugreek is considered as promoter of menstrual flow and it may cause breakthrough bleeding. So if you have such problems then more caution is needed with fenugreek.
About migraines and fenugreek there are controversial reports and we have to wait for the future research.
With heart diseases and problems we should not think that this will do everything, this is wrong and we need doctor’s help. It is a good support to reduce the medications.
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Dr.K.Padmanaban Ph.D
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