Health A-Z

Running 5 Minutes a Day Could Add Years to Your Life

Running 5 Minutes a Day Could Add Years to Your Life

According to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, running 5 minutes per day can reduce an individual’s risk of premature death by about 3 years. Researchers found that people who ran less than an hour per week also saw an increase in lifespan, not just a decrease in risk of premature death. The study took place over the course of 15 years, testing participants ranging in age from 18-100.

Separate research found that running more than 20 miles per week could take years off an individual’s life, providing further evidence that less can be more with regard to exercise. According to that research, individuals who exhibit consistent but moderate workout patterns are likely to live the longest

Source; Time

63% of Americans Actively Avoid Soda

The soda craze is going flat–at least, according to a new Gallup poll, which found that almost two-thirds of Americans actively avoid soda in their diet.

avoid soda drinking

While 41% percent of those polled in 2002 said that they try to steer clear of soda, that number has now jumped to 63%. Gallup’s poll shows that generally Americans are making more effort to have healthier diets. More than nine out of ten Americans try to include fruits and vegetables in their diets, and 52% said that they are trying to avoid sugars.

Don’t start pouring one out for the dying soda business just yet, though. A 2012 Gallup poll also found that 48% of Americans drink at least one glass of soda a day

Source: TIME

3 Reasons Not to Sleep With Your Phone in the Bed

Ever fall asleep while Insta-scrolling on your smartphone—or purposely leave it on your bed while you snooze? You’re not alone: 44% of cell phone owners have snoozed with their phone next to their bed to make sure they didn’t miss any crucial calls or texts, according to the Pew Internet Project. But while you may have good intentions, snuggling up to your phone could be hazardous to your health. Here’s why:

You could set your pillow on fire
A Texas teen recently woke up to a burning smell. The cause? Her Samsung Galaxy S4, which was under her pillow, had partially melted and it scorched her sheets and mattress, too. More specifically, it seems like a non-Samsung replacement phone battery was to blame: the phone’s instruction manual warns against using incompatible cell phone batteries and chargers. The manual also notes that there’s a risk of a fire if the gadget is covered by bedding or other thick material. Bottom line: Stick to phone accessories from the original manufacturer, and don’t leave your cell on your bed.

3 Reasons Not to Sleep With Your Phone in the Bed

You could keep yourself awake
Cell phones (and tablets, TVs, and other gadgets with LED screens) give off what’s known as blue light—a type that studies suggest can inhibit the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and disrupt our circadian rhythms. This may be because blue light emits wavelengths similar to daylight, which can make our bodies think it’s daytime, at any time. To fall asleep when you want (and need) to, power down all electronics two hours before bedtime. Better yet, keep your phone and laptop in another room while you slumber.

The health risks of cell phones are murky
There’s been no research that proves cell phone use causes cancer; in fact, the links to any kind of health risk aren’t yet clear. In general, cell phones are said to give off such small doses of electromagnetic radiation—which is also emitted from X-rays and microwaves and can lead to tumor growth in high amounts—that they’re perfectly safe to handle. Still, the World Health Organization warned in 2011 that usage may be possibly carcinogenic to humans, especially in children, whose scalps and skulls are thinner than adults’, and more vulnerable to radiation. So if you’re at all worried about the possible cancer risk, try to text instead of call, hold the phone away from your ear, or use an earpiece or the speakerphone setting as much as possible—and definitely don’t sleep with the phone next to your head.

Source: health

3 Warning Signs That Your Body is Dehydrated

You do not need to be an expert to recognize the signs of dehydration, but is sometimes so difficult to understand the reason of the current malaise and bad condition.

Dehydration is a shock to your body and can lead to many complications. It often happens that some people think that they are not dehydrated because they don’t have the feeling of thirst, but there are signs that we will introduce to you right now.

natural-headache-relief

Dehydration is one of the most common obstacles to the exercises, but also when you’re not compensate fluid that you have lose through sweating and urination. This is the reason why doctors always advise to drink plenty of water.

Here are most common signs that your body is dehydrated:

Headache

The body loses fluid constantly and with it essential salts that are responsible for the blood count. The more fluid you lose; lower blood pressure falls and causes less oxygen to the brain. Hence the occurrence of headaches and the intensity varies depending on how much water you lose.

Yellow urine

You cannot miss to notice when your urine is very yellow, and it is a sure sign that the salt concentration is higher than normal. This yellow color is a sign for a large concentration of harmful substances and that you should increase the intake of water, but be careful, experts say that also urine shouldn’t be transparent.

Constipation

Water helps to expel harmful substances through the colon. When there is no water as should be, it is logical to have constipation. Food is a long time retained in the intestines, and therefore can’t be excluded and bloating.

Source: for health benefits

The Cure For Cancer Found 65 Years Ago, While Pharmacists Keep Quiet

For the first time, vitamin B17 began being promoted as medicine against cancer in early the 1950’s by Dr. Ernst Krebs. The theory about the treatment of cancer with the help of vitamin B17 is based on the fact that according to Krebs, cancer is a disease that is caused by inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals that are needed in the body.

The fact is that today the modern man is exposed far more to this disease as opposed to primitive cultures in the past. Dr. Krebs as a possible explanation says that old tribes had very different habits related to nutrition. For example, representative of the tribe Hunza, have an intake of 250 to 3000 milligrams of vitamin B17, as opposed to the average American or European, who through industrial processed food eats intakes barely 2 milligrams of the vitamin daily.

seetha

The Hunza tribe is an old tribe based in Northern Pakistan. Members of the tribe live over 100 years and the disease cancer is completely unknown to them. The reason for this is the fact that this tribe feeds on apricot seeds daily, it is their most abundant fruit and is part of their daily diet.

Up until his death in 1996, Dr. Krebs argued that by increasing the daily dose of vitamin B17, the risk of getting sick from cancer would be reduced significantly by 100%.

Now you know the secret, so eat apricot seeds because they contain the highest concentration of vitamin B17.

Source: for healthy life style

Little Risk: Ebola’s Just One Flight Away, But Risk is Low

The Ebola virus, which has infected two U.S. humanitarian workers in Liberia, is only a short plane ride from any city on Earth. But federal health officials say it’s not a big worry for most Americans.

Ebola is causing the worst outbreak ever seen right now, in three West African countries — Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. It’s infected at least 1,200 people and killed more than 670 of them. Among those infected are a doctor working with the charity group Samaritan’s Purse, and a colleague working with a related group called Serving In Mission.

bilde

Ebola has also been carried outside the region, by a traveler on a flight that ended in Lagos, Nigeria — a mega city of 21 million people. The traveler, a Liberian citizen named Patrick Sawyer, was isolated soon after he collapsed, and he later died.

It’s the first time this virus has moved by jet, even though public health experts love to warn that any disease is just a flight away from anywhere with an airport.

But it’s unlikely to come as far as the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

“Ebola poses little risk to the U.S. general population,” Stephan Monroe of CDC’s National Center for Emerging & Zoonotic Infectious Diseases told reporters in a conference call. It’s because you have to be in direct contact with someone who is ill to become infected.

“Transmission is through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person,” Monroe said. That includes vomit, blood or diarrhea. “Individuals who are not symptomatic are not contagious,” he said.

The incubation period can last for as long as 21 days, meaning it can take 21 days for someone to develop symptoms after being in contact with an infected person. So in theory, someone could be infected and get on a plane to travel to the U.S. before he or she got sick. But the odds of this are low.

Liberia closed some borders over the weekend to help control the spread of the virus, but the World Health Organization doesn’t recommend any travel restrictions yet. Liberia left its airport in Monrovia open, as well as major border crossings where there are facilities to watch for people with possible symptoms of Ebola, which include fever and vomiting.

There’s no need to control travel in and out of the U.S. CDC says. It has quarantine stations in major airports and agents can forcibly isolate or quarantine people with symptoms of Ebola and other diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis, plague or bird flu.

Careful questioning can usually rule out a disease such as Ebola. In this case, it would be asking people if they’ve been to West Africa in recent weeks or in close contact with someone who had been and who was ill.

U.S. health experts pulled this off with MERS — the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus, which was carried into the country twice by travelers, both of whom recovered fully without infecting anybody else.

“The likelihood of this spreading out of West Africa is very low,” Monroe said. While it’s possible someone ill could get on a plane, they couldn’t spread the virus to someone who just happened to be sitting nearby. “It is very unlikely they would be able to spread disease to their fellow passengers,” Monroe said. CDC worries more about airborne viruses such as measles, which can spread silently.

“People are not infectious prior to becoming symptomatic,” he stressed. And once in the U.S., doctors should isolate a patient quickly. “We are fairly confident that the standard of care in the U.S. would prevent much of the transmission of the virus were to show up here,” Monroe said.

“We do not anticipate this will spread in the US if an infected person is hospitalized here but we are taking action now by alerting healthcare workers in the US and reminding them how to isolate and test suspected patients while following strict infection control procedures.” CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden added in a statment.

Experience in Africa shows those who become infected have been caring for a patient with Ebola, or preparing the body for burial, both of which can bring then into contact with body fluids. Accidental needle sticks have also infected scientists and health care workers.

But Ebola, like any virus, is tricky. They can all look the same — people have fever, they feel terrible and they may be throwing up. Only about half of all Ebola cases show the bleeding that so frightened people, and that’s only in very advanced cases.

So the standard is the same with any infectious disease. People showing symptoms such as fever, cough or vomiting should be isolated as soon as they come into a medical facility, and all staff who come into contact should be gloved, gowned and masked.

Just to be sure, CDC has issued a “level 2” alert, which cautions people in the affected region to avoid contact with anyone who seems infected.

CDC also issued a health alert, a reminder to doctors in the U.S. “Ebola virus disease poses little risk to the U.S. general population at this time. However, U.S. healthcare workers are advised to be alert for signs and symptoms of Ebola virus disease in patients with compatible illness who have a recent (within 21 days) travel history to countries where the outbreak is occurring, and should consider isolation of those patients meeting these criteria, pending diagnostic testing,” it reads.

Source: nbcnews

College students build bionic arm for 6-year-old, free of charge

An engineering student at University of Central Florida is making a six-year-old’s dream of being a normal kid, come true, by creating a new bionic arm.

The trick? All of the parts were made by a 3D printer.

UCF engineering student Albert Moreno has dreamed of making amazing things since he was 6-years old.

And he’s seen some truly amazing things during his time in the university’s engineering school.

bionic

“I’ve seen… the most incredible particle accelerators um… giant lasers… and incredible machines… ah… experiment halls,” said Moreno.

6-year old Alex Pring, on the other hand, just dreams of being a normal kid.

He was born with only half a right arm.

“He was like 2 or 3 the first time he realized. He was in preschool and they were showing him sames and differents. And he was just sitting in the car and he looked down and goes, my arms are different. And I said ‘What do you mean?’ And he goes, ‘I don’t have a hand,'” said his Mother Alyson.

Alex has even had issues with kids in school making comments about his arm, saying things like he was bitten by a shark or an alligator, or hit by a car.

And that’s where their two storylines come together. Alex’s mom was looking for someone she could get help from for her son, and Albert was looking for someone he could give help to, with all the amazing things he’s learned in school.

Albert Moreno created the team, at UCF, that created the arm.

It works with electrodes attached to his bicep.

When he flexes, his hand clinches.

Alex took to it quickly.

And after just a few fittings, he can throw a ball with the hand, and also write like any other kid.

“When he would hold the paper he’d have to turn his whole body to hold the paper. And they were worried that if he was taking a test for a long period of time he would hurt his back,” his mother said.

Not a problem anymore.

Oh by the way, Albert’s team did not make the arm using traditional machines.

The team made the arm with 3D printers and common off the shelf gears.

Normal prosthetic arms can run tens of thousands of dollars.

Alex’s new arm?

“Close to $350,” said Moreno.

Albert and his team did not do this for class credit, and they will not sell the arms.

Instead, they’ll make the plans available free for any parent who needs them.

“We have a responsibility to do this. With these degrees in engineering… if we can’t be helping people with it… then what are they worth?” said Moreno.

That’s the kind of thinking that changes lives.

Source: Foxnews

How Texas man survived 1,000 killer bees

Municipal worker who got stung by an estimated 1,000 bees while mowing a park lawn on Thursday (July 24) was in stable condition. So how did he survive the buzzing attack?

Turns out, the man’s attackers probably Africanized honeybees, according to the local fire department are not as deadly as their name may suggest. To be lethal, the bees would likely have had to sting the man several hundred more times, experts say. In addition, the victim seems not to have been allergic to the bees. (The bees also stung two other workers who tried to help the man.)

bees

Not-so-killer bees

Africanized honeybees, or “killer bees,” have been in the United States since about 1990, according to May Berenbaum, head of the department of entomology at the University of Illinois. But despite their dramatic nickname, these insects aren’t that deadly.

An estimated 40 people in the United States die every year from stings by hymenoptera species. That group of insects includes some 150,000 species of bees (and killer bees), wasps, ants and other bugs, Berenbaum said.

It’s hard to pin down specific data on the number of people attacked annually in the United States by Africanized honeybees: As Berenbaum explained, this is partly because not all attacks are reported and partly because, oftentimes, people aren’t quite sure what stung them.

Furthermore, it’s difficult to pin the blame on a particular species of bee in instances of injuries or deaths caused by insects, because some species dont leave any telltale evidence. While honeybee stingers stay behind in the body of the victim, many species take their stingers with them after attacking, Berenbaum explained.

Fierce defenders

Though Africanized honeybees don’t always attack, when they do, the results can be devastating. While the victim of Thursday’s attack in Wichita Falls, Texas, survived the incident, not all killer bee victims have been as lucky.

Last year in Waco, Texas, about three hours south of Wichita Falls, an estimated 40,000 Africanized honeybees attacked a local farmer who was mowing a neighbor’s pasture with tractor.  Larry Goodwin, 62, sustained more than 3,000 stings before collapsing to the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The number of stings that Goodwin sustained likely caused his unfortunate death, Berenbaum explained. The average person can sustain 10 bee stings per pound of body weight, both Berenbaum and the U.S. Department of Agriculture note. As such, 500 stings might be enough to kill a child, but the 1,000 stings suffered by the man in Wichita Falls did not deliver a lethal dose of venom, given his body weight.

“With honeybees, in particular, the venom isn’t really designed to kill. It’s designed to educate basically, to drive away an enemy and make sure the enemy doesn’t repeat the threat,” Berenbaum told

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Unfortunately for the victims of killer bee attacks, the insects aren’t very good at distinguishing between a true threat and an accidental nudge from a noisy mower. Africanized honeybees are extremely protective of their hive and brood, much more so than European honeybees. And their “home turf” is much larger than that of their calmer cousins. About 100 yards (91 meters), or the length of a four-lane highway, is usually a safe distance from these insects, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In addition to number of stings, other factors also play roles in determining a person’s chances of surviving a killer bee attack. These include the general health of the victims, and their weight and sensitivity to bee venom.

Furthermore, people who are allergic to bee stings can experience a severe physiological reaction after just one sting, Berenbaum said.

Called anaphylactic shock, this severe allergic reaction can prove lethal for some people attacked by bees. Berenbaum describes anaphylaxis as an “immune response running amuck,” and while she said that everyone is likely to experience some kind of allergic reaction to bee venom, only some individuals experience anaphylactic shock.

Allergic to bees or not, anyone who encounters a swarm of these defensive insects should “run away,” she said. “And don’t zigzag. That serpentine move you see in movies all the time just slows you down.”

Berenbaum also advises killer-bee targets not to jump into a pool or other body of water, which you might also have seen in movies. As she explained, the bees will just be waiting for you when you come up for a breath of air.

Source: Foxnews

How to avoid heat-related illnesses revealed

Washington: Bret Nicks, associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical, has revealed some simple steps to follow in order to avoid heat-related illnesses.

Nicks said exercising in high temperatures could limit people’s body ability to cool itself, especially if they weren’t accustom to it and that could result in serious health risks.

Heat

He further suggested that people should be proactive and should check with their doctors if any medical conditions they might have or medications that they were taking would not increase their sensitivity to the heat.

It was also revealed that people should know the symptoms like heavy sweating or inability to sweat, weakness, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, confusion, fainting and seizures, which could damage their brain, vital organs and muscles.

The expert mentioned that Wearing light-colored, loose-fitting clothes and using sun protection like sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat would be a good idea to avoid sunburn. Furthermore, people should drink water early and often and they should avoid workout at peak sun time.

Source: Zeenews

Pumpkin seeds cure many diseases

Pumpkin seeds cure many diseases

Pumpkin seeds contain anti-stress, reduce anxiety, antibacterial and even prevent cancer.

Before processing pumpkins for meals, desserts or decorating, remember to retain its seeds. Do not throw away pumpkin seeds just by how you throw a lot of nutrients and the inherent benefits of it there.

1. The nutrients and vitamins
Pumpkin seeds are a great source of nutrition, providing all the nutrients such as manganese, magnesium, iron, copper, tryptophan, zinc, phosphorus, and many other minerals and vitamins.

2. Tryptophan – an essential amino acid in protein
Composition tryptophan in pumpkin seeds helps fight depression. Once in the body, tryptophan is converted into serotonin and niacin are helpful hormone, helps combat negative feelings.

3. Glutamate
This is a necessary component to create GABA – an anti-neuron nervous tension, helps reduce anxiety and cases involving other stress.

4. Zinc
This mineral helps strengthen the immune system and prevent osteoporosis.

5. Phytosterol
This substance works to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad actors) and increase HDL (good body). Phytosterols are also effective in preventing certain cancers.

6. Rich in antioxidants
Pumpkin seeds contain a lot of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and phenolic antioxidants. It also contains vitamin E in many forms. The researchers also found in nuts contain the antioxidant minerals such as manganese, zinc, such as ferulic, protocatechuic, caffeic, vanillic, sinapic and syringic acid, hydroxybenzoiccoumaric.

7. Antibacterial properties
According to experts, the pumpkin seed extract and seed oil have been known for a long time because of their antibacterial benefits. Many studies have pointed out the role of a single protein in pumpkin seeds have antibacterial properties. The Lingnan in pumpkin seeds include lariciresinol, medioresinol, and pinoresinol also proven antimicrobial properties and especially anti-virus. Thus in folk, people often eat pumpkin seeds have eliminated the effects of helminths.

8. Diabetics Support
Several studies have demonstrated that the pumpkin seed extracts can improve insulin adjustment process and protecting the kidneys. County is especially good for diabetics.

9. Prevent Cancer
Because pumpkin seeds rich in antioxidants should be able to slow down the deterioration of cells, reduce the risk of cancer. Many works have focused on scientific research in the Lingnan nuts have discovered it has the potential to reduce the risk of breast cancer and prostate.

10. Hyperplasia Treat benign prostatic
Oil and pumpkin seed extract is used in the treatment of prostate cancer. Many studies have shown that nutrients in pumpkin seeds and its extracts have the effect of treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia properties. These compounds include lignans, phytosterols, zinc and other nutrients.

11. Protein
Besides the beneficial antioxidants and other nutrients as above, pumpkin seeds are also an excellent source of protein. Approximately 30 grams of pumpkin seeds contains 9.4 grams of protein.

 

Source: secretly healthy