Ginger – The Amazing Healing Herb

September 8, 2014

Ginger is a very good antioxidant and has anti-bacterial, antiseptic, sedative and antipyretic effect. Fresh ginger submerged in warm water, deeply penetrates the tissue, brakes down and melts accumulated mucus, initiate circulation, relieves pain, inflammation and swellings, accelerates detoxification it is very useful in the case of muscle inflammation and chronic back pain.

Melts fatty deposits

This healing root speeds up the muscle metabolism, lowers cholesterol, helps in secretion of saliva and ingested food starch, reduces bloating and constipation, all of which contributes to weight loss.
If you want to loose weight fast, add to yo meals fresh or dried ginger or drink tea made from this beneficial root.

Improves mental capacities

Ginger relieves headaches and contribute to a better brain function. If it in any way we use it during the day, we will be fresher and will have more strength and energy, and if in the evening we eat hot vegetable soup with an addition of ginger, we will provide our self a good rest and sleep.

Lowers Stress

Ginger is rich in antioxidant, which helps in harmful chemicals removal, that our body produces when we are under worries, and thus affects the reduction of psychological stress. During this depression treatment it also impairs and the digestion process followed by occurrence of nausea, for which ginger is the ideal cure for these problems too.

Fights against colds and flu

If you regularly use ginger, you can easily prevent and fight the flu or colds, as well as the potential complications from these diseases. Ginger will strengthen our immune system, facilitate breathing and relieve headaches. It encourages sweating, so that`s why it`s excellent for lowering high body temperatures.

Cures Arthritis

Since ginger has anti-inflammatory properties, it is highly effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthiritis, osteoarthritis and other diseases of the musculoskeletal and connective tissue. Some studies show that in the case of arthritis, ginger is even more effective than other conventional drugs and medications.

Cure for cold hands and feet

Herb ginger is a powerful tool for engaging of the circulatory system.
If you suffer from cold hands and feet you should drink tea from this medicinal herb.

Source: only pure nature

Noroviruses leading cause of diarrhoea and vomiting: Lancet

June 27, 2014

New estimates have suggested that noroviruses cause around a fifth of all cases of acute gastroenteritis (diarrhoea and vomiting) across all age groups. Noroviruses are responsible for almost a fifth (18 per cent) of all cases worldwide.

According to the authors, new estimates highlight the importance of developing norovirus vaccines.

Lead author Dr Benjamin Lopman from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA, said including data from 48 countries and involving more than 187 000 gastroenteritis cases worldwide, these new estimates are the largest analysis of norovirus infection and disease to date. There has been a proliferation of research on norovirus globally in the last five years, and we harnessed that data for this study.

Lopman and colleagues analysed 175 published reports to compile data on the prevalence of norovirus in individuals with acute gastroenteritis between 1990 and 2014.

They found that norovirus tended to be more common in cases of acute gastroenteritis in the community (24 per cent) and outpatient (20 per cent) settings than in emergency department visits and hospitalisations (17 per cent), supporting the notion that norovirus is a more common cause of mild disease. However, because of its sheer frequency, norovirus causes a substantial amount of severe disease.

Norovirus was also found in a considerable proportion of cases of acute gastroenteritis cases in both developing countries (14-19 per cent) and developed countries (20 per cent). “This highlights that norovirus, unlike bacterial and parasitic pathogens, cannot be controlled just by improved water and sanitation”*, explains Lopman.

The new estimates have been published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Source: yahoo news

8 Best Natural Remedies to Treat Malaria

June 25, 2014

Malaria is extremely common and a serious disease that causes chills, shivering and high fever. You can get infected from a bite by a malaria parasite carrying mosquito. Malaria is most commonly found in Africa, Southern Asia, South America and Central America. The elderly, children and people with lower levels of immunity are a greater risk. Early diagnosis and anti-malarial medication will help in effective treatment of malaria. Usually the malaria is caused by a bite from a mosquito infected with parasites.

The Most Common Symptoms are:

Anemia, caused by destruction of red blood cells
Merozoites being released into the bloodstreamThe Most Common Symptoms
Chills in the body
High fever and headache
Blood in stools
Excessive sweating
Vomiting
Feeling of Nausea
Coma
Jaundice
Convulsion

The parasite for malaria seems to disappear over the winter. More than one million people die of malaria every year. It is a major hazard for travelers to warm climate. In some parts of the world the mosquitoes carrying malaria have become resistant to insecticides and the parasites have developed resistance to antibiotics. This has made it much more difficult to control the spread of diseases and rate of infection.

Possible Complications:

The parasites in the body can create different types of complications.

Cerebritis – brain infection
Hemolytic anemia – destruction of blood cells
Kidney failure
Meningitis
Liver failure
Pulmonary Edema – Fluid in lungs causes respiratory failure
Hemorrhage – Spleen rupture leading to heavy internal bleeding

Prevention

People living in areas where malaria is common found usually develop immunity to the disease. However, visitors will not have this immunity and need to take preventive medications.

Before traveling overseas or other areas of your country, you need to see your health care provider. The treatment may begin 2 weeks before your trip for the prevention of malaria. It may also continue for a month after you leave the area.

There are different types of anti-malarial medications prescribed for a different area of visit. Anti-malarial medications will not completely protect you from becoming infected. You need to avoid mosquito bites by using mosquito repellents, creams, wearing protective clothing that will cover your arms and legs and using screens on windows. Maintain clean surroundings by avoiding swamps and drainage flow beside your residence.

Treatment for Malaria

Medicines are the first option treat the illness. However, some malaria parasites can survive as they are in your liver or they are resistant to medicines. Inform your doctor in case you notice the symptoms of malaria.

The three main types of malaria, tertian fever, malignant tertian malaria and quartan fever, are caused depending upon the parasites which cause it. The most common symptom of all these types of malaria is high fever. The fever is accompanied by shivering, chills, headache and pain in the limbs. The temperature comes down after some time with excessive sweating. Avoiding stress is also essential to protect your body.

According to Naturopathy wrong feeding habits and unhealthy lifestyles are the real causes for accelerating malaria. The consumption of tinned, flesh foods, alcoholic beverages and de-natured foods causes the development of malaria.

Natural Remedies to treat Malaria

Grapefruit

Fruits and vegetables are always great when it comes to treating the body. One of the most effective home remedies for malaria is Grape fruit. It should be consumed daily. The natural quinine-like substance can be extracted from the Grape fruit by boiling a quarter of it and straining its pulp.

Fever Nut

Another effective natural remedy for malaria is using fever nut seeds. These seeds can be obtained from any herbal store and preserved for use as and when required. Two hours before the assumed time of attack take six grams of these seeds with a cup of water, and the same dosage should be taken one hour after the attack. Whether the attack takes place or not the same procedure should be resorted.

Artemisia Annua

Artemisia annua, also known as sweet wormwood is yet another effective natural agent that helps in fighting malaria. The herb has to be steeped in cold water and the water should be consumed directly in order to get optimum results.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a valuable remedy for treating malaria. One teaspoon of powdered cinnamon should be boiled in a glass of water with a pinch of pepper powder and a tea spoon of honey. This needs to be taken every day which is a beneficial medicine for malaria.

Chirayata

Chirayata is a herb which is botanically known as Swertia andrographis paniculata. It is beneficial for treating intermittent malarial fevers. It helps to lower the temperature. Take 250 ml of water, add 15 gm of chirayata, 2 cloves and a stick of cinnamon and boil them together. One to two tea spoons of this can be consumed twice a day.

Lime and Lemon

Lime and lemon play a vital role to reduce the quartan type of malarial fever. Take 4 to 5 drops of lime, add the juice of one lemon and dissolve it in one glass of water. This mixture needs to be consumed before the onset of fever.

Alum

Alum needs to be dry roasted and powdered. A teaspoon of this powder needs to be consumed four hours before the expected fever attack and half a teaspoon after two hours of the attack. It will give great relief from malaria.

Holy Basil

Holy basil leaves are a beneficial remedy in prevention of malaria. Make a paste using eleven grams of holy basil leaves with three grams of black pepper powder. This mixture can be consumed daily in the cold stages of malarial fever. This will check the severity of the disease.

Best Diet for Patients with Malaria

One can fast on orange juice and water for a few days. Depending on the severity of the fever, one must fast on orange juice. One can munch on fresh fruits for the first few days to repair the infected cells. Milk can also be added after a few days to the diet. Fresh fruits and raw vegetables can be consumed for better results. Prevent yourself from malaria by using the above home remedies. Keep yourself healthy by eating the right kind of food and by keeping away from mosquitoes.

Source: the fit indian

Smart phones to diagnose diseases

March 12, 2014March 12, 2014

Not just helping us with road directions, finding favorite food joint, photo sharing and chat sessions, smart phones would soon diagnose diseases for us in real time.

Researchers from University of Houston are developing a disease diagnostic system that offers results that could be read using only a smart phone and a Rs.1,200 lens attachment.

This new device relies on specific chemical interactions that form between something that causes a disease – a virus or bacteria, for example – and a molecule that bonds with that one thing only, like a disease-fighting antibody.

A bond that forms between a strep bacteria and an antibody that interacts only with strep, for instance, can support an iron-clad diagnosis.

“The trick is finding a way to detect these chemical interactions quickly, cheaply and easily. The device involves a simple glass slide and a thin film of gold with thousands of holes poked in it,” explained Jiming Bao, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at University of Houston.

The device starts with a standard slide covered in a light-sensitive material known as a photoresist. It uses a laser to create a series of interference fringes – basically lines – on the slide, and then rotates it 90 degrees and creates another series of interference fringes.

The intersections of these two sets of lines creates a fishnet pattern of UV exposure on the photo-resist. The photo-resist is then developed and washed away.

While most of the slide is then cleared, the spots surrounded by intersecting laser lines – the ‘holes’ in the fishnet – remain covered, basically forming pillars of photo-resist.

The end result is a glass slide covered by a film of gold with ordered rows and columns of transparent holes where light can pass through. These holes are key to the system. The device diagnoses an illness by blocking the light with a disease-antibody bond – plus a few additional ingredients.

Here is where the smart phone comes in. “One of the advantages of this system is that the results can be read with simple tools,” said Richard Willson, Huffington-Woestemeyer professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

A basic microscope used in elementary school classrooms provides enough light and magnification to show whether the holes are blocked.

With a few small tweaks, a similar reading could almost certainly be made with a phone’s camera, flash and an attachable lens.

This system, then, promises readouts that are affordable and easy to interpret. There are some technical hurdles to clear before the system can be rolled out, Willson noted. One of the biggest challenges is finding a way to drive the bacteria and viruses in the sample down to the surface of the slide to ensure the most accurate results.

But if those problems are overcome, the system would be an excellent tool for health care providers in the field, said the research published in the journal ACS Photonics.