Anemia

Anemia is the loss of the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood resulting from a deficiency in quantity or quality of red blood cells or the hemoglobin in the blood. Symptoms include pale skin, weakness, fatigue, and dizziness. Severe anemia may cause difficulty in breathing and heath abnormalities.

The most common type of anemia is iron deficiency anemia, which most often results from chronic blood loss and also from lack of iron in the diet, impaired absorption of iron from the intestine, or increased need for iron, as in pregnancy. Iron is an essential component of the hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the tissues in chemical combination with its iron atoms. Pernicious anemia is a chronic inherited disease of middle aged and older people in which stomach fails to produce a factor needed for the absorption of vitamin B12, which is essential for mature red blood cells. The diseases can be treated by lifelong injections of the vitamin. Aplastic anemia is the result of the failure of bone marrow cells to manufacture mature red cells. It is usually caused by toxic chemicals (for example, benzene) or radiation. Treatment includes preventing further exposure to the causative agent, eliminating any remaining toxic substance from the body, stimulating the proliferation of remaining bone marrow cells, and preventing infection, while keeping the patient alive with blood transfusions. Erythropoietin (EPO), a kidney hormone that promotes formation of red blood cells, is now being produced by biotechnology and is proving useful in the treatment of anemia induced by dialysis. It may eventually also be used for treating other anemia related ailments. Read the rest of this entry »

Mineral

Mineral are widely available from the natural foods we eat.

Minerals: What the mineral does & Significant food sources:

Sodium: Maintains fluid and electrolyte balance, supports muscle contraction and nerve impulse transmissions. Found in: salt, soy sauce, bread, milk, meats.

Chloride: Maintains fluid and electrolyte balance, aids in digestion. Found in: salt, soy sauce, milk, eggs, meats.

Potassium: Maintains fluid and electrolyte balance, cell integrity, muscle contractions and nerve impulse transmission. Found in: potatoes, acorn squash, artichoke, spinach, broccoli, carrots, green beans, tomato juice, avocado, grapefruit juice, watermelon, banana, strawberries, cod, milk.

Calcium: Formation of bones and teeth, supports blood clotting. Found in: milk, yogurt, cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, tofu, sardines, green beans, spinach, broccoli.

Phosphorus: Formation of cells, bones and teeth, maintains acid-base balance. Found in: all animal foods (meats, fish, poultry, eggs, milk).

Magnesium: Supports bone mineralization, protein building, muscular contraction, nerve impulse transmission, immunity. Found in: spinach, broccoli, artichokes, green beans, tomato juice, navy beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, sunflower seeds, tofu, cashews, halibut.

Iron: Part of the protein hemoglobin (carries oxygen throughout body's cells). Found in: artichoke, parsley, spinach, broccoli, green beans, tomato juice, tofu, clams, shrimp, beef liver.

Zinc: A part of many enzymes, involved in production of genetic material and proteins, transports vitamin A, taste perception, wound healing, sperm production and the normal development of the fetus. Found in: spinach, broccoli, green peas, green beans, tomato juice,lentils, oysters, shrimp, crab, turkey (dark meat), lean ham, lean ground beef, lean sirloin steak, plain yogurt, Swiss cheese, tofu, ricotta cheese.

Selenium: Antioxidant. Works with vitamin E to protect body from oxidation. Found in: seafood, meats and grains.

Iodine: Component of thyroid hormones that help regulate growth, development and metabolic rate. Found in: salt, seafood, bread, milk, cheese.

Copper: Necessary for the absorption and utilization of iron, supports formation of hemoglobin and several enzymes. Found in: meats, water.

Manganese: Facilitates many cell processes. Widespread in foods.

Fluoride: Involved in the formation of bones and teeth, helps to make teeth resistant to decay. Found in: fluoridated drinking water, tea, seafood.

Chromium: Associated with insulin and is required for the release of energy from glucose. Found in: vegetable oils, liver, brewer's yeast, whole grains, cheese, nuts.

Molybdenum: Facilitates many cell processes. Found in: legumes, organ meats. Read the rest of this entry »

Obesity and Breast Cancer

Obesity raises the risk of various types of cancer. And only 3% people know that obesity increases cancer risks. According to a recent research based on one million Americans conducted by the American cancer society, 14% of cancer deaths in men and 20% of cancer deaths in women occur due to Obesity. Scientists say that 90,000 deaths can be avoided in America if they take good care to maintain their body weight. Women are more likely to get cancer in their breasts, gallbladder, ovaries, colon and cervix while men get cancer in colon and rectum.

Breast cancer in women: There are more than 200 different types of cancer, but together breast, lung, bowel and prostate cancer cover half of the cancer cases. Breast cancer is the most common cancer found in females. Overweight and obesity are the major causes of breast cancer.

Obesity and Breast cancer risk in females: Obese women have higher amounts of estrogen in their body. Estrogen is mainly produced from the fatty tissues and more amount of fat in your body means you have higher chances of getting affected by breast cancer. Good nutrition, healthy living conditions and a fine environment may help girls to start puberty earlier in life and attain menopause later. Estrogen develops though out the fertility period. And better levels of estrogen in the body increases the risk of breast cancer in women.

Breast cancer in men: Breast cancer is generally found in females but it is also seen in males. Recent research shows that breast cancer among males is also on the increase. And obesity is one of its main causes. In males too estrogen is responsible for breast cancer.

Obesity and breast cancer :

* Obesity affects both the development and progression of breast cancer.
* Post menopausal cancer risk is higher among obese women.
* Breast cancer mortality is higher in obese women.
* Body weight measured at different times during life also causes breast cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

Sugar Bad For Healthy

Sugar has become a staple in our modern diet, but why is sugar bad for your health? Many foods we eat on a regular basis are loaded with sugar. Sometimes you can’t even taste the sugar but it’s still in there. As delicious as sugar-laden foods may taste, the truth is sugar is just bad for your health, especially when you start to overindulge in it.

Sugar is a sticky substance and if left in the bloodstream (instead of being burned as energy) the particles will start to stick to the cells. The result is that if you are consuming a lot of sugar each day, you will get more wrinkles, will experience a lack of mobility in the joints, dry brittle nails and hair and a range of other health problems.

Reduce the amount of sugar you eat and you will soon notice a positive change in the way your skin looks. The reason for this is that refined carbohydrates such as white bread and other white flour products, are high in sugar and will cause an inflammation of the skin. This in turn creates high levels of free radicals which attack the collagen that keeps the skin stay firm. Without enough of this collagen, you will start to notice wrinkles.

Not only are free radicals bad news for your skin they are also deadly for the body, which is another reason why sugar is bad for your health. Free radicals can cause a lot of damage in healthy cells and lead to many illnesses of the body.

Sugary foods can also compromise your immune system. Research has shown that white blood cells are less efficient at fighting illness when exposed to sugar. A diet high in sugar will also raise your insulin levels quickly which can lead to many other health problems. You’ll also lack energy as a result of these sugar spikes and the drop in blood sugar that follows.

It’s no secret that obesity and weight-related illnesses are on the rise in many countries and this is directly attributed to our diets and lifestyle. Our bodies simply aren’t able to cope with such high sugar levels and this is why illnesses like diabetes are at an all time high. Cutting the excess sugar out of your diet is one of the best things you can do for your body.

It’s not easy especially the first few weeks when you will still experience some sort of craving for sugar, but you can try to substitute with fresh fruit which has a natural form of sugar and eventually your cravings will pass and you’ll start to feel and look great. Read the rest of this entry »

Binge Eating and Obesity

Due to the rise of obesity in today’s society everyone is trying to achieve quick weight loss. This is dangerous, and can lead to developing binge eating disorder. Eating disorders are psychiatric issues in one’s eating habits. Tabloids display the secret eating disorders of celebrities and music artists. Yet the news never discuss how dangerous these eating disorders really are, and how common they are.

Most quick weigh loss techniques require extreme unrealistic diets. Obviously these diets never keep the weight off. Even if a diet works, often the pounds lost are gained back slowly simply because no one can stay on a diet forever. The problem with quick weight loss attempts is that they often require you to avoid junk foods and fast foods. This often leads to binge eating.

Binge eating is eating very large amounts of food in a small period of time. Binge eating isn’t related to hunger most of the time. Often it’s consuming food beyond the point of satisfying one’s physical hunger. Binge eaters often eat huge amounts of food even when they aren’t really hungry. Binge eating often leads to feelings of guilt or sadness because of the future weight gain it will lead to.

Following the popular advice of diets that recommend avoiding junk foods and fast foods is dangerous. When one avoids such foods, one starts craving them more and more. These carvings get out of control and often lead to binge eating. For example if someone has been avoiding pizza, and then decide to have a slice, they’ll often end up eating a few more slices and lose control.

It’s important to note that binge eating is different from bulimia. Bulimia often involves overeating which is followed by self-induced vomiting, or fasting. Binge eating is one of the leading causes of obesity today. Obesity is very dangerous for one’s health, yet often it’s very tough to treat.

Often obese individuals eat for comfort, and end up developing food addictions. These addictions can also be a form of emotional eating. Emotional eating is basically when one eats not to satisfy physical hunger but rather to deal with tough or negative emotions. Stress eating is a good example where one will consume larger quantities of food on a stressful day.

Binge eating is often kept a secret. A food addict will usually overeat in private to avoid others finding out about their disorderly eating habits. This is why binge eating is very challenging to treat because sufferers keep it a secret. Many will overeat until becoming obese and then will eventually become desperate and seek help.

Therapy is the most common treatment for binge eating. There are also recovery clinics that a binge eater can check into. Also there are many books on the topic where the authors share their own recovery efforts, what worked and what didn’t. There are also support groups such as overeaters anonymous and eating disorder support forums online.

Next time you are considering quick weight loss, think again. Trying to lose weight quickly is unnatural and dangerous. Also being obsessed with your body shape can lead to developing eating disorders. It’s best to lose weight naturally through exercise, and gradually implementing healthier eating habits.

This was a guest post by Andrew B is the author of a binge eating blog which contains tips to recovery from compulsive eating. Read the rest of this entry »

NUTRITIONAL THERAPY

What is Nutritional Therapy?

We all know that to be healthy we should eat a balanced diet, in modest quantities and at regular intervals and combine it with regular exercise. Unfortunately life does not, for most people, turn out to be as simple as that. We are all individuals with individual needs. The food that one person thrives on, may give someone else terrible indigestion. Equally the diet that cures one persons arthritis might have no effect on someone else with the same condition. There are always many factors which need to be taken into consideration.

Nutritional Therapy is always personal and closely centred around the lifestyle, environment, needs and habits of the client. Nutritional consultants are trained to examine their client's entire lifestyle and make-up, not just what, when and how they eat, but how they sleep, how they work, what exercise they take and how they feel. Consultants are also skilled in nutritional science, including allergy testing, and through a process of elimination and education, can find out if their client is nutritionally imbalanced and if so, how to redress the balance.

The aim is to build up a complete, individual profile and then find a dietary and lifestyle programme to lead the client towards optimum health. Nutritional Therapy is certainly not a quick fix and a certain amount of motivation will be required on the client's part. Sometimes certain foods have to be given up for a period of time, to detect intolerances/allergies.

Perseverance can however have enormous benefits. Many people find that ineffective nutrition is at the root of serious illness.

Almost all illnesses have been alleviated through Nutritional Therapy. Even emotional/psychological problems can be helped. Often Nutritional Therapy is combined with other therapies including: Counselling, Herbal Medicine, Massage and Kinesiology.

How many Nutritional Therapy sessions will be needed?

A number of sessions over a period of several months are required to reap the benefits of this treatment - probably around 6 sessions. The client will learn how to manage their own nutritional programme and the aim is self-sufficiency with possibly occasional maintenance sessions.

Read the rest of this entry »

TIPS DIET FOR DIABETIC

Diet is one of the most important treatments in managing diabetes and kidney disease. if you have been diagnosed with kidney disease as a result a diabetes , you'll need to work with a dietitian to create an eating plant that's right for you.
This plant will help you manage your blood glucose levels and reduce the amount of waste and fluid your kidney process . this will be further broken down into the right amount protein, fat and carbohydrates your body needs, at the same time lowering the amounts of sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and fluid you will eat . this may sound complicated but here are some tips to help you to get the most out of your eating plant.
Your dietitian knows the importance of variety and will give you options on the types of foods you can eat. your diet will include a list of foods from different food groups to help you plant meals.
Below is in example of food choices that are usually recommended on a typical renal diabetic diet
This list is an only example. it is based on sodium, potassium, phosphorus and high sugar content of foods included. your own individualized diet may include additional foods or limit some of these recommended foods. your blood test result, stage of kidney disease, size, nutrition status and dietary goals help determine your exact diet therapy. Remember to always ask your dietitian wheter or not you can have any of these listed foods and make sure you know what teh recommended serving size should be. don't make any changes to your diet without your dietitians approval.
1. Carbohydrate foods
- Milk and nondairy
* skim or fat-free milk, nondairy,plain yogurt, sugar free yogurt, sugar-free pudding, sugar
free ice cream.
- Breads and starches
* White bread, unsweetened, refined dry cereals,cream of wheat, grits, malt o meal, noodles,
pasta, rice, bagel(small), hamburger bun, unsalted crackers, cornbread .
- Fruits and juice
* apples, apple juice, applesauce,apricot halves,berries including : strawberries,raspberries,
cranberries,blackberries and blueberries,low sugar cranberry juice, cherries, fruit cocktail
grapefruit,grape juice, mandarin orange,pears,pineapple, watermelon
- Meats,cheeses, and egg
* eat cuts of meat,poultry,fish and seafood, eggs,low cholesterol egg substitute, cottage cheese Read the rest of this entry »