health tips

What allergy, asthma sufferers need to keep in mind

35 million Americans suffer from allergies, which in the fall begin in late August and peak in September.

With summer coming to a close, and kids heading back to school and preparation for fall begins, we shouldn’t forget to consider fall allergies.

An estimated 35 million Americans suffer from allergies, which in the fall begin in late August and peak in September.

For those with fall allergies, three triggers typically occur – ragweed, indoor allergens and infections.

“During the summer, people experience the lowest incidence of allergies and asthma so they feel better and stop taking their allergy medications. But they should start taking them again in early September to prevent symptoms before they start,” David Rosenstreich, M.D., director of the allergy and immunology division at Montefiore Medical Center, said.

“If allergy sufferers make the mistake of waiting until after their symptoms are in full swing, it’s much harder to stop the allergic reaction than to prevent it from even beginning,” he said.

One of the biggest culprits for fall allergies is ragweed.

In the fall, ragweed releases pollen into the air and this continues until frost kills the plant closer to winter.

Most prevalent in the Eastern and Midwest states, ragweed causes an allergic reaction commonly called hay fever and results in symptoms that include itchy eyes, nose and throat, sneezing, stuffy or runny nose, tearing or dark circles under the eyes.

An allergy symptom is the result of the immune system overreacting.

Another trigger for allergies during the fall is due to people staying indoors more and they are therefore exposed to allergens like pet dander, dust and mold.

Several precautions to consider includes maintaining an allergen free environment at home, focus on your bedroom: keep your pets out, eliminate the rug because it collects dust and avoid feather pillows.

Make sure the fireplace is well-ventilated and be careful of any leakage and keep basement and bathroom dry to avoid mold growing in these damp areas of the house. Have your heating system cleaned to avoid dust mites when you first turn on the heat.

The third trigger is infections and the flu, which affect the body’s immune system and cause it to release antibodies and histamines to fight them off.

The flu vaccine is recommended to help reduce the risk of getting sick, but it’s even more important for people who suffer from asthma or other lung conditions.

Source: Zee News

Irregular periods could be deadly bomb for teenage girls

While irregular periods are common among teenage girls, researchers have warned that if erratic menstrual cycles persist later into the teen years, girls should see a specialist to determine if they are suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).

PCOS is an endocrine disorder that is characterized by an excess of androgens or male hormones in the body. The imbalance of hormones interferes with the growth and release of eggs from the ovaries, which can prevent ovulation and menstruation.

Apart from irregular periods, symptoms associated with PCOS can include weight gain, hair growth on the body and face, thinning of the hair on the head, acne and infertility.

Women with PCOS are at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and endometrial cancer. People with PCOS also tend to become resistant to insulin, which can lead to diabetes.

Suzanne Kavic, MD, division director, Reproductive Endocrinology, Loyola University Health System, said that symptoms associated with this syndrome can be concerning to young girls particularly during the teen years, which is already a stressful time.

However, Kavic said that PCOS can be identified at an early age and begin managing symptoms to alleviate some of the anxiety for these girls.

Treatments for PCOS can include a combination of exercise, diet modifications and medication. Weight loss helps to regulate male hormones and blood sugar levels, which can restore ovulation and menstruation. Birth control pills also may be prescribed to control the menstrual cycle while other hormone therapies can decrease androgen levels and curb symptoms.

The article originally appeared in Zee News

Say no to diets which promise speedy weight loss!

The best way to lose weight is to eat the right food, at the right time, in the right quantity, and exercise daily for 45 minutes

I have to lose weight in 10 days for a wedding’ or ‘I need to shape-up quickly to fit into my dresses – how often do we think about these things and look for quick solutions? In an attempt to lose weight quickly, many people knock the doors of fad diets. They may come to your rescue at times like these but beware – they do more harm than good to your health. Renowned nutritionist Neha Chandna explains why fad diets are bad for you including seven popular ones like cookie and liquid diet.

First and foremost, there are no shortcuts to weight loss. You haven’t put on all the weight overnight, so how can you expect to lose it at a lightning speed? These days, everyone wants to lose weight in the blink of an eye and to achieve their dream body, they resort to fad diets which definitely work but for a short period of time. They help you lose weight from your muscles and bones leaving you feeling weak and ill. And once you go back to your normal routine, you gain all the weight or even more in no time. You do the math and see the whole point of following some diet regime which is short-lived, deprives you of nutrients and has many hazardous effects on your body?

The best way to lose weight is to eat the right food, at the right time, in the right quantity, and exercise daily for 45 minutes to one hour. The point is to lose weight gradually rather than rapidly. A lifestyle change is the answer to losing weight than falling into the trap of fad diets. So how do you know if it is a fad diet? Here are some tips.

How to spot a fad diet

  • It promises exaggerated results in few days which is too good to be true
  • Will mostly have rigid eating rules
  • It restricts you from eating a lot of food groups like carbohydrates, fats, etc
  • It promotes ‘magic foods’
  • The diet is sold based on a few testimonials without any research or studies done on its effect
  • It doesn’t involve much exercise along with the meal plans

Ill-effects of fad diets on the body

  • Causes constipation
  • Leads to weakness
  • Loss of concentration
  • Nausea
  • Headache
  • Depression
  • Muscle loss
  • Health risks like osteoporosis and many more

While there are a number of fad diets that keep cropping up every now and then, especially when they are endorsed by celebrities, here a few popular ones to stay away from.

Cookie Diet: Invented by Dr Siegal, this a diet in which one has to eat nine cookies a day that makes up to 500 kcal and then have a 500 kcal dinner, totalling up to 1000 kcal every day.

Why is it bad: This diet gets monotonous and can cause nutrient deficiencies.

Baby Food Diet: This diet is about eating 14 jars of baby foods throughout the day and a sensible dinner. The baby foods include mashed fruits and veggies.

Why is it bad: It does not meet your nutrient needs and is low in protein. Eating like an adult is recommended.

Cabbage Soup Diet: This is 7-day diet which focuses on having as many bowls of cabbage soup every day with some fruits and vegetables.

Why is it bad: This diet is bland, boring and makes you feel weak and resulting in poor concentration. The biggest drawback is that it makes you gassy and bloated.

Liquid Diet: The idea is to cleanse the body and rejuvenate it with juices, water, clear soups.

Why is it bad: It is again very low on protein and can make you really weak. Not recommended to do it more than a day.

Atkins Diet: Written by Dr Robert Atkins, this is the most popular fad diet which aims at reducing the main source of energy – carbohydrates to up to 20g/day and focuses more on vegetables, fats and proteins.

Why is it bad: The side-effect of this diet is, it recommends more than 30% fat intake which is above the recommended allowance and can lead to extreme ketosis which can cause damage to the organs in the long run.

Blood Type Diet: Created by Dr Peter D’Adamo, it focuses on eating some and avoiding some foods as per your blood type. It follows a ‘one size fits all’ concept.

Why is it bad: It bans a lot of health promoting foods making eating out difficult and some people may be healthy despite eating foods forbidden for them.

General Motor’s Diet: This is a 7-day diet plan which is based on the intake of specified food items which include raw vegetables, fruits, juice, and lean meat. It restricts the intake of any dairy products and promises weight loss of 10 pounds in week. Each day is restricted to 1-2 raw foods in unlimited amounts.

Why is it bad: This diet can make you weak and hungry, leads to the inability to exercise, depression and body pain.

To avoid any damages to your body, do not opt for any fad diets. Just eat balanced meals and engage in physical activity to see the difference both physically and mentally. The process may be longer and less dramatic unlike fad diets, but the results will be long-term and benefit your body’s health than spoiling it with extreme restrictions. So, the next time you think about opting for any such diet, remember, it’s a fad… err bad idea!

 Source: Zee News

 

Gout sufferers: Advised to abate forgo sugary drinks

Gout sufferers: Advised to abate forgo sugary drinks

Sufferers of gout might soon be advised to forgo sugary drinks to avoid pain and flaring up of the crippling affliction, according to a New Zealand study released Thursday.

Scientists at the University of Otago and the University of Auckland have discovered a human gene variant that can “turn bad” when affected by sugary drinks, Xinhua reported citing the study.

It showed that when the variant of the gene SLC2A9 behaved correctly, it helped transport uric acid out of the bloodstream and facilitated its excretion through the kidney.

“But when people with this gene variant consume sugary drinks, the apparent function of the gene variant reverses, such that we think uric acid is instead transported back into the blood stream and the risk of gout is increased,” Tony Merriman, associate professor in University of Otago’s biochemistry department, said in a statement.

SLC2A9 is a newly identified urate transporter influencing serum urate concentration, urate excretion and gout.

“So not only does sugar raise uric acid in the blood due to processing in the liver, but it also appears to directly interfere with excretion of uric acid from the kidney. This was a quite unpredictable interaction,” he said.

“Daily 300-millilitre serving of sugar-sweetened drink increases the chance of gout by 13 percent,” said the professor.

He recommended people with gout to avoid sugary drinks.

Gout is caused when uric acid in the blood crystallises in the joints, causing them to become inflamed. It is the most common form of arthritis in New Zealand, particularly among men.

The disease has strong links with other metabolic diseases such as diabetes, heart and kidney disease.

 Source: Zee News

High-fat diets interrupt stomach’s signals to the brain

the nerves in the stomach which signal fullness to the brain appeared to be desensitised after long-term consumption of a high-fat diet.

Indulging in fatty foods could destroy stomach’s signals to the brain, according to a new study which gives insight why many dieters tend to regain the weight after losing it.

New University of Adelaide research has found the nerves in the stomach which signal fullness to the brain appeared to be desensitised after long-term consumption of a high-fat diet.

The findings could explain why many dieters tend to regain the weight they have lost.

PhD student Stephen Kentish investigated the impact of high-fat diets on the ability of the gut to signal its fullness, and whether those changes revert back to normal by losing weight.

Study leader Associate Professor Amanda Page said laboratory studies showed the stomach’s nerve response does not return to normal upon a return to a normal diet.

“This means you would need to eat more food before you felt the same degree of fullness as a healthy individual,” she said.

“A hormone in the body, leptin, known to regulate food intake, can also change the sensitivity of the nerves in the stomach that signal fullness.

“In normal conditions, leptin acts to stop food intake. However, in the stomach in high-fat diet induced obesity, leptin further desensitises the nerves that detect fullness.”

Associate Professor Page said the two mechanisms combined meant that obese people needed to eat more to feel full, which fuels their obesity cycle.

She said the results had “very strong implications for obese people, those trying to lose weight, and those who are trying to maintain their weight loss”.

“Unfortunately, our results show that the nerves in the stomach remain desensitised to fullness after weight loss has been achieved,” she said.

Associate Professor Page says the researchers were not yet sure whether the effect was permanent or just long-lasting.

Source: Zee News

A novel use for mosquito nets

A novel use for mosquito nets

We live in an age where the latest technology and gadgets are king, but sometimes the most low-tech methods can produce good medical results.

Mosquito nets, key in the fight against malaria, are now also being used to repair hernias – the most common operation in the world.

The hope is to save some of the estimated 50,000 lives lost in Africa each year to untreated hernias.

  • The two most common types of hernia are called ‘inguinal’ (75% of cases) and ‘umbilical’ (10-15%).
  • Inguinal hernias appear in the groin and mostly affect children under two and men over 55.
  • If left untreated, inguinal hernias can balloon to massive proportions – known as wheelbarrow hernias (see image).
  • Men are more susceptible than women due to a natural weakness in the abdominal wall caused by the spermatic cord exiting the body to connect with the testes.
  • Hernias can have a dramatic impact on people’s lives and ability to work. If the blood supply to the hernia is cut off when it becomes too large, the patient can die.

Globally, one in four men will be affected during their lifetime.

“In the UK and US, we usually mend hernias with surgical mesh, but these cost around US$30 each and are too expensive for hospitals in resource-poor countries,” says Prof Andrew Kingsnorth, a hernia specialist at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital.

“Then a doctor in India called Ravi Tongaonkar came up with the idea of using mosquito mesh as an alternative.”

Beating the bulge

Hernias occur when a part of the bowel gets pushed through a hole or tear in the muscle wall of the abdomen. This is usually caused by straining, heavy lifting, chronic constipation or even having a severe cough.

Due to a quirk of anatomy, men are nine times more susceptible than women.

In most people, a hernia first appears as a small lump in the groin, which pops out when a person coughs or strains. But if left untreated, more intestine can be pushed out – resulting in hernias the size of a football.

Even more serious is when the hole in the abdominal wall starts restricting the blood supply to the intestines on the outside, causing a painful and potentially life-threatening ‘strangulated hernia’.

The most effective way to treat hernias is to patch up the hole with a piece of mesh. It’s a simple procedure that completely cures the problem.

But in 1994, Indian surgeon Dr Ravi Tongaonkar investigated using sterilised mosquito mesh as a low-cost substitute for the expensive commercial meshes currently in use.

“Polypropylene mesh is the best material available, but it’s very costly,” says Dr Tongaonkar. “In a developing country like India, poor patients cannot afford this.”

His mosquito meshes work out around 4,000 times cheaper than imported mesh and he has used them to fix 591 hernias.

But using them doesn’t necessarily mean they’re as good as the real thing.

‘Makes no difference’

To investigate their effectiveness, specialist gastrointestinal surgeon David Sanders carried out a study which looked at the two meshes under powerful microscopes and performed stringent tests on their physical properties.

He found that it was pretty much impossible to tell them apart.

The only difference is the polymer used to make them,” says Dr Sanders, “but it makes no difference clinically.”

Sanders is also keen to point out that doctors should not go out and use any old mosquito mesh, as they are not all made in the same way and some are impregnated with chemicals such as DEET.

“It’s really important to standardise the type of mesh that’s used so we know it’s safe,” he told the BBC. “These experiments mean we now know what it should look like.”

Prof Kingsnorth, who leads the charitable organisation Operation Hernia, is now looking to introduce the mosquito mesh in places where hernia repair costs are currently prohibitive.

“We have trained surgeons in Ghana, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, India, Moldova, Ukraine and Cambodia,” he told the BBC.

“In mid-September we will also be travelling to a remote area of Mongolia.”

Not everyone is convinced by using mosquito mesh. In Rwanda for example, it’s been decided that hospital staff must stick to using conventional surgical brands.

But evidence is already building that could one day see mosquito mesh as an alternative in which people can feel confident.

And a long-term follow-up study of over 700 patients has shown that even 10 years later, mosquito mesh was still going strong.

Source: BBC News

Child cataract blood test developed

Child cataract blood test developed

A blood test that may improve treatment for children born with congenital cataracts has been developed by researchers in Manchester.

It analyses every known mutation in the DNA which can cause the condition.

The team, which is presenting the test at the British Society for Genetic Medicine, hope it will spread up diagnosis and help decide the best treatment.

The charity RNIB described the test as a “welcome step forward”.

About 200 children are born with cataracts in the UK each year.

“Diagnosing a congenital cataract is very easy at birth, but diagnosing the cause takes considerably longer,” Prof Graeme Black, from the University of Manchester, said.

The problem is there are more than 100 different mutations in a child’s DNA which have been linked to congenital cataracts.

“If you have a child with no family history then finding the cause can take months or years,” he told the BBC.

‘Faster treatment’

A complete diagnosis can help doctors work out the best course of treatment, inform families on the risks of cataracts if they have more children or diagnose severe diseases which have cataracts as an early symptom.

At the moment, each mutation has to be tested for individually.

A team of researchers, at Manchester University and the Central Manchester Health Care Trust, has used advances in genetics to look for all the errors in the genetic code in a single test.

Dr Rachel Gillespie said: “Our test looks at all of these genes in parallel, so patients can be diagnosed much faster and receive the treatment, clinical management and genetic counselling they need.”

Hospitals in Manchester will begin offering the test from December.

Steve Winyard, from the charity RNIB, said: “This is very interesting research as approximately 200 children in the UK are born with some form of congenital cataract every year.

“Any development which enables children to be diagnosed quicker and gain faster access to treatment is a welcome step forward.

“It will be exciting to watch how this research progresses and how the genetic information might be used to manage congenital cataracts in the future.”

Source: BBC News

Love hormone play role in social interaction

A special type of social behavior tied to the presence of oxytocin receptors in the nucleus accumbens

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that oxytocin – often referred to as “the love hormone” because of its importance in the formation and maintenance of strong mother-child and sexual attachments – is involved in a broader range of social interactions than previously understood.

The discovery may have implications for neurological disorders such as autism, as well as for scientific conceptions of our evolutionary heritage.

Scientists estimate that the advent of social living preceded the emergence of pair living by 35 million years. The new study suggests that oxytocin’s role in one-on-one bonding probably evolved from an existing, broader affinity for group living.

Oxytocin is the focus of intense scrutiny for its apparent roles in establishing trust between people, and has been administered to children with autism spectrum disorders in clinical trials. The new study, to be published Sept. 12 in Nature, pinpoints a unique way in which oxytocin alters activity in a part of the brain that is crucial to experiencing the pleasant sensation neuroscientists call “reward.” The findings not only provide validity for ongoing trials of oxytocin in autistic patients, but also suggest possible new treatments for neuropsychiatric conditions in which social activity is impaired.

“People with autism-spectrum disorders may not experience the normal reward the rest of us all get from being with our friends,” said Robert Malenka, MD, PhD, the study’s senior author. “For them, social interactions can be downright painful. So we asked, what in the brain makes you enjoy hanging out with your buddies?”

Some genetic evidence suggests the awkward social interaction that is a hallmark of autism-spectrum disorders may be at least in part oxytocin-related. Certain variations in the gene that encodes the oxytocin receptor – a cell-surface protein that senses the substance’s presence – are associated with increased autism risk.

Malenka, the Nancy Friend Pritzker Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has spent the better part of two decades studying the reward system – a network of interconnected brain regions responsible for our sensation of pleasure in response to a variety of activities such as finding or eating food when we’re hungry, sleeping when we’re tired, having sex or acquiring a mate, or, in a pathological twist, taking addictive drugs. The reward system has evolved to reinforce behaviors that promote our survival, he said.

For this study, Malenka and lead author Gül Dölen, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in his group with over 10 years of autism-research expertise, teamed up to untangle the complicated neurophysiological underpinnings of oxytocin’s role in social interactions. They focused on biochemical events taking place in a brain region called the nucleus accumbens, known for its centrality to the reward system.

In the 1970s, biologists learned that in prairie voles, which mate for life, the nucleus accumbens is replete with oxytocin receptors. Disrupting the binding of oxytocin to these receptors impaired prairie voles’ monogamous behavior. In many other species that are not monogamous by nature, such as mountain voles and common mice, the nucleus accumbens appeared to lack those receptors.

“From this observation sprang a dogma that pair bonding is a special type of social behavior tied to the presence of oxytocin receptors in the nucleus accumbens. But what’s driving the more common group behaviors that all mammals engage in – cooperation, altruism or just playing around – remained mysterious, since these oxytocin receptors were supposedly absent in the nucleus accumbens of most social animals,” said Dölen.

For more : medical news today

Holy water may harm health more than heal

 

Holy water, which is known for its purported cleansing properties, could actually be more harmful for your health than healing, a new study has revealed.

Researchers at the Institute of Hygiene and Applied Immunology at the Medical University of Vienna tested water from 21 springs in Austria and 18 fonts in Vienna and found samples contained up to 62 million bacteria per milliliter of water, which is not safe to drink, an English news website reported.

Researchers found that 86 percent of the holy water, commonly used in baptism ceremonies and to wet congregants’ lips, was infected with common bacteria found in fecal matter such as E. coli, enterococci and Campylobacter.

The water contaminated with these bacteria can lead to diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever.

It was found that the water also contained nitrates, commonly found in fertilizer from farms.

The research also suggested that while all church and hospital chapel fonts contained bacteria, the busier the church, the higher the bacterial count.

The study is published in the Journal of Water and Health.

 

Mom’s diet during pregnancy can affect kid’s behaviour

Researchers looked at the effect of, B-vitamins, folic acid, breast milk versus formula milk, iron, iodine and omega-3 fatty acids, on the cognitive, emotional and behavioral development of children from before birth to age nine.

Professor Cristina Campoy, who led the project, said that short term studies seem unable to detect the real influence of nutrition in early life, asserting that ‘NUTRIMENTHE was designed to be a long-term study, as the brain takes a long time to mature, and early deficiencies may have far-reaching effects. So, early nutrition is most important.

Many other factors can affect mental performance in children including; the parent’s educational level, socio-economic status of the parents, age of the parents and, as discovered by NUTRIMENTHE, the genetic background of the mother and child. This can influence how certain nutrients are processed and transferred during pregnancy and breastfeeding and in turn, affect mental performance.

Cristina Campoy said that it is important to try to have good nutrition during pregnancy and in the early life of the child and to include breastfeeding if possible, as such ‘good nutrition’ can have a positive effect on mental performance later in childhood.

 Source: Zee News