Health A-Z

Natural Ways to Clean Your Lungs

Everyone knows smokers are at a much higher risk of getting cancer, lung disease, and emphysema; which is why pretty much everyone tells you not to smoke cigarettes. However, they’ re extremely addicting and some people just cannot stop. If you’re one of those people that can’t put down the cig, at least try to reduce your risks!

ways to clear lungs naturally

There are several things that can help clear and expand your airways! However, these will not fully clear your lungs of all the crap you’ve ingested from cigarettes, but they will help rid your lungs of a majority of toxins, greatly reducing your risk for disease!

Corn
Corn contains beta-cryptoxanthin, which is a strong antioxidant that will help protect the lungs. Keep in mind, most packaged corn you find will be genetically modified, so try to find organic!

Selenium

Selenium is also a powerful antioxidant which can be found in various types of fish, such as:.

  • Tuna
    Cod
    Salmon

It can also be found in things like lamb, eggs, and cereal. We would recomend avoiding meat
however!

Garlic
Garlic has several anticancer properties! A study completed the Washington University found
that garlic is 100x stronger than the best pharmaceutical antibiotics on the market!

Ginger
Ginger is an extremely useful tool for clearing your body of toxins! You can drink it as a tea,
or use it to add flavor to any of your meals! Check out this guide to using ginger as a detox!

Oranges
Oranges are an amazing source of vitamins. Plus they contain cryptoxanthin, which been found to
be quite effective against lung cancer.

Nettle
This herb is loaded with iron and is a useful disinfectant and great at fighting infection.

Pine needle tea
This tea has been traditionally used to disinfect the mouth and throat, but can also be a
helpful aid in lung health!

Source: higher perspective

Heart Attack Risk may rise if you continuously skip break fast

Skipping breakfast may increase chances of a heart attack. A study of older men found who continuously skipped breakfast had a 27 percent higher risk of a heart attack than those who have a morning meal. There’s no reason why the results wouldn’t apply to other people, too, the Harvard researchers said.

Other studies suggested a link between breakfast and obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems seen as symptoms to heart problems.

Why would skipping breakfast be a heart attack risk?

People who don’t take breakfast are hungrier later in the day and eat larger meals in the afternoon. This means the body gets a larger amount of calories in a shorter amount of time. By eating so the sugar levels in the blood will increase and perhaps clogged arteries.

But eating syrupy pancakes, eggs and bacon really better than eating nothing? “We don’t know whether it’s the timing or content of breakfast that’s important. It’s probably both,” said Andrew Odegaard, a University of Minnesota researcher who has studied a link between skipping breakfast and health problems like obesity and high blood pressure.

The new research was released Monday by the journal Circulation. It was an observational study, so it’s not designed to prove a cause and effect. But when done well, such studies can reveal important health risks.

The researchers surveyed nearly 27,000 men about their eating habits in 1992. About 13 percent of them said they regularly skipped breakfast. They all were educated health professionals — like dentists and veterinarians — and were at least 45.

Over the next 16 years, 1,527 suffered fatal or non-fatal heart attacks, including 171 who had said they regularly skipped breakfast.

In other words, over 7 percent of the men who skipped breakfast had heart attacks, compared to nearly 6 percent of those who ate breakfast.

The researchers calculated the increased risk at 27 percent, taking into account other factors like smoking, drinking, diet and health problems like high blood pressure and obesity.

18 percent of U.S. adults regularly skip breakfast, according to federal estimates. So the study could be important news for many, Rimm said.

“It’s a really simple message,” he said. “Breakfast is an important meal.”

Source: npr

Top 10 reasons to eat radish or mooli

Radishes, popularly known as mooli in India, might not top the list of your favourite vegetables but when it comes to nutrition and health benefits they definitely secure a top rank among all other vegetables. Eat them raw or add them to your healthy vegetable recipe, these nutrition-loaded root vegetables have numerous benefits to offer. Here are top 10 benefits you’ll be surprised to know.

1# Lowers cancer risk: Radish contains phytochemicals and anthocyanins that have anti-carcinogenic properties. Additionally, they have vitamin C that acts as a powerful antioxidant to prevent free radical damage to the DNA inside the cells, thus helping cancer prevention. A study published by Plants Foods for Human Nutrition offers strong evidence that radish root extract induces cell death by triggering the apoptotic pathways due to the presence of several isothiocyanates (ITCs).

2# Regulates blood pressure: Radish has anti-hypertensive properties that help regulate control high blood pressure. Radish is rich in potassium that helps maintain the sodium-potassium balance in the body, keeping blood pressure under control. A study published in Nutrition Research and Practice found that radish leaves’ lowered blood pressure extract participants having hypertension from 214 mmHg to 166 mmHg and was significantly lower than that of the normotensive and hypertensive controls.

3# Good for diabetics: Insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas is responsible in the absorption of glucose. Diabetics are either unable to absorb the insulin their body produces or unable to produce insulin at all. Because of this, they cannot eat sugary or starchy foods. High in fibre, and with a low glycemic index, diabetics can enjoy radish as it doesn’t cause blood sugar levels to rise.

4# Beats cold and cough: If you’re prone to constant cough and cold, it might be a good idea to include radish in your diet. The vegetable has anti-congestive properties which helps in clearing the mucus formed in your throat. Additionally, radish also improves your immunity which keeps infections that lead to cold and cough at bay! Here are 7 things you should avoid while suffering from cough.

5# Helps you recover from jaundice: Radish is powerful when it comes to eliminating toxins. This helps keep your liver and stomach in mint condition. What makes radish effective in controlling jaundice is that it helps regulate the amount of bilirubin in the blood and increases the oxygen supply within the body. This helps keep a check on the destruction of red blood cells caused by jaundice.

6# Fights constipation: Most people will have battled constipation in their life and it is definitely not a pleasant condition to be in. Radish has a high fibre content which helps clear the food stuck in your colon. Additionally, it helps facilitate the secretion of digestive juices and bile which again is good for your digestive system. Also try these home remedies to relieve constipation.

7# Helps with weight loss: Radish is extremely low in calories, and the fibre content in it promotes satiety. A single 100g serving of raw radish contains just 16 calories, radish can be a part of any weight loss diet.

8# Good for asthma patients: Radish has anti congestive properties that make them extremely beneficial for asthmatic patients. It also fights allergies of the respiratory system and protects the respiratory linings against infections.

9# Keeps you looking younger: Containing vitamin C and antioxidants, radish can be eaten to prevent your skin from free-radical damage. You can even apply crushed, raw radish on your skin as it has cleansing properties.

10# Keeps the kidneys healthy: The natural diurectic property of radishes makes them extremely good for improving kidney health. They help elimination of toxins from the body, acting as a natural cleanser.

All these properties make radish a must-buy next time you go grocery shopping.

Greater whole grains intake linked with lower mortality

A new research has demonstrated that eating more whole grains seems to be linked with reduced mortality, especially deaths due to cardiovascular disease (CVD), but not cancer deaths.

Hongyu Wu, Ph.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and coauthors examined the association between eating whole grains and the risk of death using data from two large studies: 74,341 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (1984-2010) and 43,744 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2010). All the participants were free of cancer and CVD when the studies began.

The authors documented 26,920 deaths. After the data were adjusted for potential confounding factors including age, smoking and body mass index, the study found that eating more whole grains was associated with lower total mortality and lower CVD mortality but not cancer deaths. The authors further estimated that every serving (28 grams/per day) of whole grains was associated with 5 percent lower total mortality or 9 percent lower CVD mortality.

The study concluded that these findings further support current dietary guidelines that recommend increasing whole grain consumption to facilitate primary and secondary prevention of chronic disease and also provide promising evidence that suggests a diet enriched with whole grains may confer benefits toward extended life expectancy.

The study is published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

Source: zee news

Weight Loss Tip – Get sufficient sleep to lose weight

If you want to lose weight, get enough sleep. Sleep is crucial for weight loss as it allows you to perform physical activities properly and improves metabolism. Sleep also significantly affects the hormones of your body that influence your appetite. When you do not get enough sleep, the
hormone, ghrehlin, can enhance your appetite leading to weight gain. It has also been observed that sleep-deprived people crave for sugary and junk foods and even experience tiredness, dizziness and lack of concentration.

Further, people who work for late night shifts or have irregular sleep patterns have been found more prone to obesity and diabetes. You can follow this weight loss diet by expert dietician.

Sleep for at least 7-8 hours in a day is a must as a proper sleep will make you feel energetic and put a check on cravings for high-calorie food, hence preventing you from being a victim of obesity. Avoid eating anything before going to bed as it may interfere with your sleep. Also avoid watching the television before sleep as you may face difficulty in getting sleeping.  Combining sleep with thirty minutes of exercise and a balanced diet can set you on the path of better health and slimmer waistline.

Source: the health site

4 reasons why eating pickles in excess is bad for your health

Pickles are an integral part of Indian cuisine and no meal is complete without them but too much of this can be extremely harmful for your health.

How do pickles harm your health?

1. High salt content: We all know that one should not consume large quantities of salt as it increases risk of hypertension and heart disease. It is also the main reason for swelling and water retention which causes the volume of blood to increase thereby causing high blood pressure.  As per WHO, the recommended dietary intake of salt is 5 g or one teaspoon, which is far less than the salt content in one teaspoon of pickle. Homemade pickles are better in quality as the table salt is used in their preservation whereas, commercially prepared pickles are preserved using various chemicals such as sodium benzoate which are very harmful. Sodium benzoate is a potential carcinogen because it deprives cells of oxygen and breaks down the immune system causing cancer.

2. Too much oil: When pickles are made, vegetables are soaked in oil as oil acts as a barrier from moisture thus preserving them. Oil also prevents the contamination of pickles by bacteria and fungus which in generally cause the decaying or rotting of food. But remember that the same oil also increases your cholesterol levels, which means you suffer the risk of contracting heart disease or worsening it. High cholesterol levels also damage the liver in the long run.

3. Pickles are known to increase the risk of gastric cancer1 : A study conducted in southern India, among people with same dietary patterns and socio economic background, has shown that the consumption of pickled vegetables increases the risk of developing gastric cancer.

4. Pickled vegetables may increase the risk of oesophageal cancer: Studies have shown that consumption of pickles doubles the chances of developing oesophageal cancer.2 Although the study did not give conclusive results but the risk factors cannot be neglected.If pickles have so many harmful effects on your body, why does the Indian tradition recommend pickle in small quantities. The reason is it is also a store of good bacteria which helps in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

Source: the health site

Health benefits of Jackfruit

Jackfruit, one of the tropical fruits available is both delicious to eat and even has a sweet taste. It is also rich in energy, dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins making it one of the most healthy summer treats to relish.

Jackfruit has many health benefits. Here are some:

Immunity: The fruit contains an excellent source of Vitamin C antioxidants which helps in building immune system in order to protect against common diseases such as cough, cold and flu.

Energy: It contains a good amount of carbohydrate, calorie and simple sugar like fructose and sucrose, providing a quick boost of energy. Also, it has no cholesterol content which makes jackfruit a healthier food option.

Maintains Blood Pressure: The good amount of potassium contained in the fruit helps to lower high blood pressure and also reduces the risk of stroke and heart attacks.

Improves Digestion: Jackfruit is good for digestion and prevents constipation because of the good amount of dietary fiber in it, making it bulk laxative.

Colon Cancer: The dietary fats contained in the fruit helps to clean toxins from the colon. Thus, it reduces the effects of toxin in the colon and protects from colon cancer.

Good for Eyes: Jackfruit contains Vitamin A, an important nutrient for eye health. It increases vision and protects from free radicals. As this fruit is a rich source of antioxidants, it is highly effective in preventing degeneration of the retina.

Source: zee news

7 scientific reasons why lack of sleep can be bad for you

Nothing in the world can beat the pleasure derived from sound sleep. Yet, with today’s modern culture, people have trained their bodies to the condition of sleep deprivation. Sleep is essential for the body to restore and regenerate its systems so that you function optimally during the day. Naturally, sleeping for less number of hours in the long run will damage your entire body, with serious effects on the nervous system, circulatory system, immune system, digestive system and reproductive system. Here are some detrimental effects of lack of sleep on the body you must know.

Lowers brain function: When you’re sleeping, your brain goes through phases of  sleep cycle. This gives enough time for busy neurons, relaying signals throughout the day, to form new pathways and reprogram themselves to deal with activities for the next morning. When you don’t sleep, you force your brain to overwork, leaving it completely exhausted. As a result, you’re unable to perform simple tasks the next day. It interferes with your level of alertness and affects your focus and concentration.

Studies have shown that those who are well rested have higher activity in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex, responsible for speech. Those who are sleep deprived have least activity in this region, which is why they are unable to process language. Neither do they understand or process what’s being said nor can they speak or express properly. The part of the brain responsible with decision making skills also gets affected. Because the neurons are not rested well, the brain’s response time to a situation gets delayed. That’s why sleep deprived people cannot make quick logical decisions or execute a plan properly.

Makes you fat: Your brain is responsible for regulation of a lot of cycles involving release of hormones and initialisation of pathways. Imagine, if the
neurons themselves are not working properly how will they regulate these pathways? One of the cycles that the brain regulates is the hunger cycle.

Ideally, lack of energy (in the form of food) signals the brain to induce hunger and when the body is provided with energy, the brain is signalled to induce a feeling of fullness. Two key hormones –leptin and ghrelin –play an important role in this cycle. When ghrelin is released in high levels and the level of leptin is low, the brain signals a feeling of hunger. When the levels are reversed, a feeling of fullness is induced.

Lack of sleep over a few nights raises the levels ghrelin, which constantly signals you that you’re hungry. Further, scientists suggest that lack of sleep
manipulates the levels of these hormones such that it triggers cravings for calorie-rich foods, leading to obesity. Studies also suggest that poor sleep
interferes with the body’s ability to metabolise sugar

Increases risk of depression: There’s a reason why you tend to feel positive and happy in the morning after a good night’s sleep. Signals for all negative thoughts originate and are processed by a small part of brain called the amygdala, while all positive thoughts are generated in the region called
hippocampus. When you don’t sleep properly at night, the activity in the hippocampus gets affected with minor or least impact on the amygdala. Therefore, during the daytime your brain just cannot retrieve pleasant or happy memories. Since amygdala is functional, thoughts originated from there mask everything else, making you depressed.

Can lead to heart disease: Lack of sleep affects the circulatory system in a very different way. When you don’t rest for a day or two, you exert stress on all organs of your body. As a result the fight-or-flight response for stress gets triggered. If you continue to exert yourself, this response does not get switched off. As a result, the level of stress hormones in the blood increases. These hormones can wreck a havoc in your circulatory system. They can increase blood pressure, damage the walls of the arteries, affect the heart rate and cause blockages in the blood vessels.

Lowers immunity: Sleeping is the time utilised by the immune system to produce antibodies, increase the number of fighting cells and cytokines in the blood. Naturally, when you don’t sleep these activities get hampered. If the number of white blood cells decreases, you’ll be susceptible to a lot of common infections and will fall sick more often. Prolonged sleep deprivation has also been linked with death, caused due to severely weakened immune system. One study states that those who sleep less than four hours daily have three times greater chances of
dying within six years

Increases risk of accidents: The fact that different parts of the brain rest during different stages of the sleep cycle indicates that you just cannot afford
to sleep for less number of hours. If a particular part of the brain doesn’t get rest for a long time, it will soon begin to shut down itself, inducing
microsleep. In this stage, a person may remain awake with eyes wide open but the brain goes into delta phase for rest. It is in this phase that a person is the most susceptible to accidents and injuries.

Lowers sexual desires: If you still need a stronger reason to sleep well, this one would probably work. Lack of sleep can literally kill sexual desires, in both men and women. You’ll feel more sluggish, tired and fatigued. You won’t have enough strength and will feel low. Lack of sleep can lower the levels of
testosterone, affecting sperm quality and reproduction in men, while in women it can affect orgasms, leading to general loss of interest in sex

Source: The health site

How to improve your dental health!

A beautiful smile is a gift endowed by nature that one must always cherish. But are you afraid that your smile will no longer draw the desired attention it once gained?

Here’s how to improve your overall teeth health.

In case you lose a whole tooth:

Science has made it possible to re-fix your tooth, the only thing expected of you is to save it the proper way. You can hold it back at the same place till you get immediate medical help or you can preserve it by wrapping it in a plastic pouch. Another way to save it is by keeping it immersed in milk while you rush to your dentist.

For sparkling white teeth:

Who doesn’t want a sparking set of teeth! If daily brushing doesn’t do the trick then feel free to try any of these tips.

  • Dip you toothbrush into a bowl of organic apple cider vinegar and brush as usual.
  • The same goes with baking soda, as you can take a pinch of baking soda and brush your teeth with it.
  • But beware of overusing any of the above mentioned products as using it on a daily basis can strip the enamel coating off your teeth. Therefore, it’s safe to use baking soda or organic apple cider only once a week.

Apart from the above mentioned tips one must make sure not to indulge in drinking any dark coloured colas as they contain chromogens and acids which are the major culprits for your teeth stains.

  • Use a straw to drink smoothies, colas and other juices to save your teeth from the harmful effects of acidic presence in the drink.
  • Smoking cigarette can wreak havoc on your teeth, so if your conscious of your smile then its time you chuck the habit.

To soothe your sore throat:

  • Gargle with ‘organic apple cider vinegar’ to soothe your sore throat. It is considered the best option for mouth’s health due to its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
  • Salt water gargle is another age-old remedy for sore throat.
  • Taking Lozenges every 3-4 hours can be soothing as it keeps the mouth moist by producing saliva which further minimises the parched feeling.
  • To keep the cavity-causing plaque off your teeth:
  • Saliva is nature’s teeth-cleaning agent, it has all the necessary properties required to keep your teeth clean enough.

Hence the question arises, why to brush if saliva is enough?

Our mouth produces least amount of saliva at night, therefore, if something sticks to your teeth during dinner and you go off to sleep without brushing then it comes under germ attack. And if you make it a habit of not brushing your teeth at night due to laziness (known to be the famous reason world-wide) then with the passing of time, it will lead to yellowing of the teeth, stains and plaque build-up.
By the time you brush your teeth in the morning, the germ attack might already have had ruined your breath and teeth health.

Selecting a mouthwash:

While shopping for a mouthwash, one must make sure it’s alcohol-free. Too much alcohol content in the mouthwash can backfire by drying out the saliva producing glands and tissues in your mouth leading to bacteria production.

To clean your tongue the best way:

Your tongue is a host for plaque causing bacteria, therefore it is imperative to clean your tongue on a daily basis.

People usually prefer cleaning their tongue with a toothbrush. Though it is the most preferred way, one should be cautious enough not to brush too hard as it can damage the taste buds.

It’s better to choose your tongue cleaners carefully. A tongue scrapper or a brush specifically designed to clean the tongue is a far better option than a regular toothbrush!

Natural ways to improve your teeth health:

  • Glass of milk a day can surely keep the dentist away!
  • Rinse your mouth after 15 minutes of every meal
  • Munch on celery and raw carrots!
  • Major myth broken!
  • Myth- Apples are good for teeth!
  • Truth- Apples contain a good amount of sugar which has the potential to degrade your teeth’s quality by raising the acid levels in the mouth.

Therefore, rinse your mouth immediately after eating an apple, or drink some water.

Source: zee news

UN committee approves USD 49.9 mn funding for Ebola response

A UN committee that deals with administrative and budgetary issues has approved a 49.9 dollar million funding for the world body’s large-scale response to tackle the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

The Fifth Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution allocating funding for the newly established UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) and the Office of the Special Envoy on Ebola. At the committee’s meeting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Chef de Cabinet, Susana Malcorra, presented his preliminary funding proposal requesting USD 49.9 million for the rest of the year.

The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) endorsed the amount and recommended that the General Assembly approve it. UNMEER teams have already deployed to the Mission headquarters in Accra, Ghana, and to offices in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“The establishment of UNMEER is the first step in the global efforts to contain the outbreak, which must be further strengthened by a wide range of actions and measures at all levels,” President of the General Assembly Sam Kutesa said, highlighting efforts to mobilize required financial, medical and humanitarian assistance. More than 6,500 people have been believed to be infected, and more than 3,300 have died since the latest outbreak of the disease was confirmed in March.

Aside from the UNMEER funding, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that it needs USD 988 million to respond to the outbreak. So far, USD 257 million – or 26 per cent – has been raised.

Meanwhile, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is warning that the Ebola health crisis must not be allowed to become a crippling socio-economic crisis as well, as two of its officials began a visit to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. “This devastating health crisis is destroying lives and communities. It is also impairing national economies, wiping out livelihoods and basic services, and could undo years of efforts to stabilize West Africa,” Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support Magdy Martínez-Solimán said.

“As we work together to end the outbreak, now is the time to ensure these countries can also continue to function and swiftly get back on their feet,” he added.

Source: first post