Knowledge is Healing

RF Ablation a Safe Alternative Option for Treating Lung Cancer

2007-03-29T04:52:00.000-07:00

Lung cancer patients unable to undergo surgery have another safe and effective treatment option: radiofrequency (RF) ablation, according to a new study.

The Brown Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital study showed that RF ablation used to treat early-stage, inoperable cancer resulted in outcomes that were equal to or better than those achieved through external beam radiation (EBT), a decades-old alternative to the surgical removal of cancerous tissue.

“In our study, RF ablation produced meaningful results in terms of both survival and tumor control,” said Damian E. Dupuy, M.D., director of tumor ablation at Rhode Island Hospital and professor of diagnostic imaging at Brown Medical School in Providence. “The best two-year survival rate for early-stage lung cancer using EBT is 51 percent, compared to 57 percent with ablation.”

Lung cancer is a leading cause of death in the United States. The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2007, more than 213,000 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer and more than 160,000 deaths will result from the disease. Patients with primary lung cancer, in which cancerous cells first develop in the lung, often are of advanced age and have highly diseased lungs and impaired heart function, making them poor candidates for invasive surgery. The same conditions can also make it difficult for patients to be treated with EBT, which directs focused beams of radiation at a tumor to destroy the abnormal cells.

“Conventional EBT therapy involves 33 treatments over a six-week period and can often lead to side effects including radiation pneumonia and the permanent loss of lung tissue,” said Dr. Dupuy. “RF ablation, which uses high-frequency electrical currents to heat and destroy abnormal cells, is performed in a single day as an outpatient procedure, is minimally invasive and has few side effects.”

In his study, Dr. Dupuy and a research team evaluated the outcomes of 153 patients who underwent computed tomography (CT)-guided RF ablation for 189 inoperable lung cancers, including 116 primary lung cancers and 73 metastases to the lung from other cancers. The majority of the patients, who ranged in age from 17 to 94, also suffered from severe cardiopulmonary disease.

The one, two, three, four and five-year survival rates for stage I, non-small cell lung cancer treated with RF ablation were 78 percent, 57 percent, 36 percent, 27 percent and 27 percent, respectively. A recent study reported that patients with similar cancers who underwent conventional EBT had a three-year survival rate of 34 percent.

Patients with colorectal pulmonary metastasis, in which cancer began in the colon and spread to the lung, had a 57 percent five-year survival rate following RF ablation, which is better than some surgical studies.

“It’s important for physicians to know that RF ablation is a treatment option for their sickest and elderly patients,” Dr. Dupuy said.

The study also showed that RF ablation helped control the progression of patients’ tumors. Tumors three centimeters or smaller took an average of 45 months to grow following treatment; tumors larger than three centimeters progressed in an average of 12 months.

“As the means of detecting early-stage lung cancer improves, we will see less invasive treatment options such as ablation replace surgery during our lifetime,” Dr. Dupuy said.

Indian Pharma Authorized to Market New Anti-TB Drugs

2007-03-29T04:48:00.000-07:00

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved four new drugs manufactured by the Macleods of India for treatment of tuberculosis, agency reports say. And one of the four would be used against some strains of TB resistant to standard treatment.

The addition of these four medicines will reinforce efforts to scale up access to anti-tuberculosis medicines in high-burden areas, the WHO said in a statement.

The medicines are the first TB products to be added to the list in two years.

One of the new products, Cycloserine, is particularly important because it is a second-line medicine, necessary for cases that are resistant to standard treatment, WHO said.

Macleods is a large generics manufacturer, with an annual turnover of over three billion US dollars. The new approval could mark a significant stage in the fight against TB.

The latest reports by the WHO itself have indicated that the drug-resistant strains are proving a great challenge to health administrators worldwide.

XDR-TB is a "super bug" which resists three or more classes of second-line tuberculosis drugs. It has been identified in 28 countries worldwide, with cases concentrated in the United States, Latvia and South Korea. In South Africa, the XDR strain has killed nearly 200 people since September.

Mario Raviglione, director of the United Nations agency's Stop TB Department, said recently the strain could cause more widespread deaths among those with HIV/AIDS in the coming years.

New antibiotics and drugs to fight XDR-TB could take more than five years to reach the market, Raviglione had also warned.

Hence the WHO has stressed that countries needed to boost their laboratory capacities and quickly identify which patients have drug-resistant TB strains, for necessary follow up treatmnet.

Any failure to effectively combat the drug-resistant strains could trigger off an epidemic of uncontrollable proportions, it has been noted.

MRI Screening of Other Breast Crucial for Patients Diagnosed With Cancer in One Breast

2007-03-29T04:43:00.000-07:00

A multi-center study concludes that women with a recent diagnosis of cancer in one breast should have MRI screening of the opposite breast.

This study was conducted by the Chapel Hill researchers at University of North Carolina.

The international research team found that MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, detected cancer in the opposite breast in 30 of 969 women (3.1 percent) who had recently been diagnosed with cancer in one breast only. The cancers in the opposite breast were missed by previous mammography and clinical exam.

The authors recommend MRI screening for women at high risk for breast cancer – those who already have the disease, have been recently diagnosed or have a family history of breast cancer. The results appear in the March 29, 2007, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

"This study is pretty definitive evidence that the opposite breast needs to be evaluated with MRI," said study co-author Dr. Etta Pisano, a principal investigator and Kenan professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at the UNC School of Medicine. "But no one is recommending that we give up mammography. MRI screening is a very expensive tool that should be used judiciously for high risk populations. The last thing we would want is for every woman to think she should get an MRI," Pisano said.

In addition, MRI does not detect calcifications, one of the earliest signs of breast cancer. Mammography is the only way to detect calcifications.

The study was conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) at 25 test sites in the U.S. and Canada. The National Cancer Institute funded the research.

Despite negative clinical breast exams and mammography of the opposite breast, up to ten percent of women are later diagnosed with cancer in the opposite breast after having begun treatment for breast cancer, the study said. This means patients must undergo two rounds of cancer therapy (surgery and possibly radiation and/or chemotherapy) rather than one, as would be the case if cancer in the other breast was found at the time of initial diagnosis.

Sixty percent of the cancers uncovered by MRI were invasive, with potential to spread beyond the breast. Such breast tumors "are the most important ones to find," Pisano said. The average tumor size was nearly 11 millimeters.

Pisano, director of the UNC Biomedical Research Imaging Center and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, said the percentage of cancers found in the opposite breast was huge. "If you were to screen the opposite breast with mammography in the general population, you would expect to find four to seven cancers per 1,000 patients. This study found three per 100, nearly ten times higher."

Smaller, less rigorous studies at a single center had suggested that MRI would detect otherwise hidden cancers in roughly 5 percent of women with a recent breast cancer diagnosis. But the percentages of additional cancers ranged widely, as did the ability of these studies to correctly identify the absence of cancer. Nor did these studies include a one-year follow-up to determine the breast cancer status of the women in whom MRI did not detect disease.

The ACRIN authors note that the additional cancers detected in their study was not influenced by the patient’s breast density, menopausal status or primary tumor history.

"The reason why dense breasts are a problem is that tissue lies between the tumor and the detector. The beam has to go though a lot of normal tissue, which can hide the tumor. But if you take slices, as MRI does, you get images in focus every few millimeters and the tumor can’t hide," Pisano said.

Special Exams to Help Failing Medical Students

2007-03-19T02:01:00.000-07:00

Those failing in their MBBS examinations in Rajasthan need not despair about becoming doctors. Rajasthan Medical University is conducting MBBS examinations once again for these students, a move that is being questioned by many.

These examinations are being considered in view of the increasing number of failures in MBBS and to help those students who are finding it hard to clear the examination.

As many as 25 students from Jaipur's SMS Medical College and 10 to 15 students from other medical college are appearing in these special examinations.

Theory examinations are already over while practical examinations will be conducted shortly.

However, final year MBBS students believe that these examinations hold no significance as the main and the supplementary examinations were conducted respectively in April and October last year.

"Students have already been given two chances and there is no use of conducting the examination over and over again," says a final year medical student of the college on condition of anonymity.

The university administration says that everything is being done under the university rules.

"Discussions have taken place at different levels regarding conducting these special examinations. There is nothing illegal in it and everything is being done within the rules," said P.P.S. Mathur, vice-chancellor of Rajasthan Medical University.

Those appearing in the special examination have alleged that they were victims of bias of the teachers.

Students said that they had earlier lodged their protest with Governor Pratibha Patil and had demanded a special examination so that they can appear in the pre-PG examination scheduled this year.

TB Vaccines: Ring Out the New, Bring in the Old

2007-03-19T01:59:00.000-07:00

Old may be gold, according to the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The report states that the present TB vaccines are losing their efficiency in preventing tuberculosis, and scientists may do well to resurrect older versions of the vaccine.

The scientists led by Dr. Roland Brosch of the Institut Pasteur opine that modern BCG or bacillus Calmette Guerin vaccines used in immunization of 2 million children around the world weekly, are losing their power, probably due to changes in the genetic strains used.

The evolution of these strains and the subsequent loss of certain genes, are creating weaker immune reactions, note the scientists.

French scientists originally developed the BCG vaccine, which has been running for the last 90 years, in 1908. They managed to make a strain of tuberculosis (TB) less potent by growing it in a glycerin-potato mixture.

This meant when used in a vaccine it would produce an immune response without causing the actual disease. Once they found it was safe, they began to distribute the vaccine around the world.

Since the 1960s, there have been reports of the declining efficacy of the BCG vaccine.

A study in babies published in 2006 found that the early Japan strain prompted a stronger immune reaction than three newer strains that are used in 66% of modern immunizations.

Study leader, Dr Roland Brosch, senior researcher at the Institut says: "The earlier strains have undergone fewer genetic changes.

"The later strains were selected because they had the least side effects but maybe the efficiency has become less and less."

Brosch advises more research into the matter coupled with methods of making the present vaccines more effective.

The Health Protection Agency of U.K welcomed the research and added that EU sponsored clinical trials were in the process of re-evaluating older strains.

The agency was quoted: "A number of other approaches are being actively investigated to improve the protection provided by the current BCG vaccine strains.

"Clinical trials over the next five to seven years will provide evidence as to which approach will be most successful."

TB rates have skyrocketed since the 1980s in places such as the former Soviet Union and sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Marcel Behr of Montreal's McGill University says the new study is "a clarion call to create a better vaccine." He said one option is to recreate the original BCG genome and "reconstruct something more closely resembling the original bacterium."

The World Health Organization estimates 1.7 million people died from TB in 2004.

Making Sense of the World Through a Cochlear Implant

2007-03-19T01:55:00.000-07:00

Scientists at University College London and Imperial College London have shown how the brain makes sense of speech in a noisy environment, such as a pub or in a crowd. The research suggests that various regions of the brain work together to make sense of what it hears, but that when the speech is completely incomprehensible, the brain appears to give up trying.

The study was intended to simulate the everyday experience of people who rely on cochlear implants, a surgically-implanted electronic device that can help provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or who has severe hearing problems.

Using MRI scans of the brain, the researchers, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council, identified the importance of one particular region, the angular gyrus, in decoding distorted sentences. The findings are published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

In an ordinary setting, where background noise is minimal and a person's speech is clear, it is mainly the left and right temporal lobes that are involved in interpreting speech. However, the researchers have found that when hearing is impaired by background noise, other regions of the brain are engaged, such as the angular gyrus, the area of the brain also responsible for verbal working memory – but only when the sentence is predictable.

'In a noisy environment, when we hear speech that appears to be predictable, it seems that more regions of the brain are engaged,' explains Dr Jonas Obleser, who did the research whilst based at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (ICN), UCL. 'We believe this is because the brain stores the sentence in short-term memory. Here it juggles the different interpretations of what it has heard until the result fits in with the context of the conversation.'

The researchers hope that by understanding how the brain interprets distorted speech, they will be able to improve the experience of people with cochlear implants, which can distort speech and have a high level of background noise.

'The idea behind the study was to simulate the experience of having a cochlear implant, where speech can sound like a very distorted, harsh whisper,' says Professor Sophie Scott, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at the ICN. 'Further down the line, we hope to study variation in the hearing of people with implants – why is it that some people do better at understanding speech than others. We hope that this will help inform speech and hearing therapy in the future.'

Surgeon Develops Procedure to Prevent Arm Swelling in Breast Cancer Patients

2007-03-19T01:54:00.000-07:00

A surgeon has developed a new procedure to prevent one of the most common side effects associated with breast cancer treatment – lymphedema or swelling of the arms due to faulty drainage of the lymph nodes.

V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., director of the UAMS breast cancer program, led a study of breast cancer patients at risk for developing lymphedema.

'The removal and analysis of the lymph nodes under the arm remains the most important factor in determining the severity of disease in breast cancer patients,' Klimberg said. 'In the past, surgery to remove the lymph nodes and most of the fat and tissue in the armpit often resulted in complications, including lymphedema.' Five percent to 50 percent of women undergoing surgical treatment for breast cancer have developed lymphedema, mainly dependent upon the extent of surgery.

At the ACRC, surgeons determined that the draining of the first lymph node, known as the sentinel lymph node, is capable of predicting if the cancer has spread to the remaining armpit lymph nodes, known as axillary lymph nodes. This is a less invasive surgery and reduces the likelihood of complications.

However, the lymph node system is at risk of disruption during either a sentinel lymph node biopsy or an axillary lymph node dissection, which often leads to swelling in the arm.

To prevent the arm swelling, Klimberg has developed the Axillary Reverse Mapping (ARM) procedure. The new technique evaluates the ways in which fluid drains through the lymph node system in the arm through the injection of blue dye. The dye is used to map the drainage of the arm.

Gene Therapy To The Aid Of Cystic Fibrosis

2007-03-19T01:51:00.000-07:00

Cystic fibrosis is an incapacitating condition which chokes the lungs with mucus. This is one of the common life threatening diseases which affect more than 7500 people in the United Kingdom.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) are trying to find a cure for this condition by using a modified version of HIV. If this procedure is successful, it might help the babies get rid of this ailment while developing in the womb itself.

Scientists are currently attempting to replace the faulty gene which is responsible for this condition. Their line of work is engaged in developing vector-viruses which can incorporate the right gene into the abnormal and diseased body cells.

Suzie Buckley, the geneticist from UCL will be presenting her work at the British Society for Gene Therapy conference at Warwick. Her current technique of using vector in the disabled version of HIV to avert it from expressing as any disease has shown positive results. This has helped in the effective delivery of genetic material to the lungs of adult mice.

Gene therapy techniques are also reported to have benefits in treating severe immunodeficiency diseases. This condition is characterized by a lack of immune system in new born babies. Dr. Bobby Gaspar who will also be presenting his paper at the conference said that he has used genetic approach to treat 13 children suffering from this ailment and has been successful.

Medical Personnel Can Save More Lives by Screening for Oral Signs of Disease

2007-03-19T01:49:00.000-07:00

Most of us may not view the dentists and dental hygienists as lifesavers, but Dr. Gwen Cohen-Brown differs in her view. She is an assistant professor of dental hygiene at New York City College of Technology.

Dr. Gwen is on a mission to routinely conduct periodontal evaluations and oral cancer and vital sign screenings as well as how to recognize the clinical signs of such systemic diseases as HIV/AIDS. She also persuades her students, hygienists, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and hospital HIV/AIDS counselors to follow the same.

"Dental health providers can be the first line of care when it comes to oral health," she says. “The mouth is the portal to the body and a reflection of general health. We as health providers need to be able to recognize things like a yeast infection that doesn’t go away or specific tumors and be able to bring up such subjects with our patients.”

Statistics bear out her concern. According to the American Dental Association, only about seven percent of dentists offer the mouth and neck exams they should.

Dr. Cohen-Brown, who became a dentist in the mid-1980s when the AIDS crisis reached epidemic proportions and saw many patients with HIV/AIDS, makes this point when she speaks at hospitals, prisons, clinics, health care conferences, training programs and rehab, medical and mental health centers in the tri-state area, which she does as often as time permits. She also offers in-person health care provider continuing education on HIV-related topics through Cicatelli Associates.

Cells in Good Cheer With Vitamin C

2007-03-19T01:46:00.000-07:00

Vitamin C has long been known to give a boost to the body’s immunity especially in fighting common cold, and in ensuring good health. Now, a Christchurch researcher has delved into the scientific reasons behind the blessing of Vitamin C, demonstrating that apart from maintaining the body’s cells, Vitamin C may also help fight cancer.

Margaret Vissers from the Free Radical Research Group, along with a team from the Angiogenesis Research Group at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, showed that Vitamin C has an important part to play in all healthy cells. Infact it impacts cell activity positively.

Dr Vissers' work, sponsored by the Health Research Council, has demonstrated that key enzymes in the cell require Vitamin C to kick start; low levels of the vitamin means that enzymes may not be able to do their work. The enzymes influence cell growth, death and the response to stress.

Dr Vissers said, "This also means that a lack of vitamin C increases tumor growth and prevents effective treatment. It follows that restoring vitamin C to normal levels means less tumor growth and more successful chemotherapy."

Gene Study Offers Hope of Potent Anti-cancer Drugs

2007-03-15T03:18:00.000-07:00

A study has opened the way for a new generation of drugs to combat the genes that give rise to the growth of cancer tumors.

Scientists have carried out the widest survey yet of the genetic errors that causes tumors to grow. The findings will be used to design anti-cancer drugs targeted at counteracting mutations in a patient's DNA.

All cancers are thought to result from an accumulation of mutations in one or another of the 30,000 genes in the human genome. These mutations cause a cell to multiply uncontrollably to form a tumor that can then spread to other parts of the body.

Scientists have identified about 350 genes that have been implicated in the development of different cancers but, until now, have not had a clear idea about how many mutations in these genes were directly involved in triggering cancer.

The latest study analyzed 200 samples of cancerous tissue, surveying 500 genes and sequencing more than 250 million letters of the DNA code. An international team of more than 60 scientists led by Michael Stratton of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge identified 158 mutations in 120 genes that they believe can be implicated in cancer development.

Professor Stratton said the number of mutations that appear to be involved in driving the growth of cancerous tumors was larger than expected, but ultimately the technique will allow scientists to acquire a complete catalogue of all the mutations involved in each class of cancer.

Green Tea may Help to Fight Lung Cancer

2007-03-15T03:15:00.000-07:00

Green tea may help fight lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in both women and men throughout the world, shows a recent study.

Qing-Yi Lu, PhD, of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and other researchers exposed a sample of human lung cancer cells to a decaffeinated green tea extract, reported the online edition of health magazine "WebMD".

The lung cancer cells marinated in the green tea extract for up to three days. The extract remodelled a certain protein in the cells. As a result, they became more likely to stick together and less likely to move, the study found.

Antioxidants in green tea may have tweaked the cancer cell protein, but it's not clear whether one antioxidant deserves all the credit or whether several antioxidants worked together, the researchers note in the study, which appeared online in the journal "Laboratory Investigation".

The study doesn't prove that drinking green tea curbs lung cancer in people. However, it may be possible to make new lung cancer drugs based on green tea extract, Lu's team suggests.

Such drugs would target the lung cancer protein remodelled by the green tea extract in the lab tests.

Those who consume green tea on an average of 1.2 litres a day get several health benefits, a previous study by the Yale School of Medicine had indicated. The study by Bauer Sumpio and other researchers had found that tea can also improve gastrointestinal functions, alcohol metabolism, kidney, liver and pancreatic functions, protect the skin and eyes and alleviate arthritis.

Soy Isoflavones Linked to Lower Prostate Cancer Risk

2007-03-15T03:14:00.001-07:00

Increased intake of soy isoflavones significantly reduced the risk of prostate cancer amongst Japanese men by as much as 50 per cent, says a new study.

"To our knowledge, this is the first prospective study to report an inverse association between isoflavone and localized prostate cancer in Japanese, whose intake of soy food is high," wrote lead author Norie Kurahashi from Japan's National Cancer Center.

Over half a million news cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed every year world wide, and the cancer is the direct cause of over 200,000 deaths. More worryingly, the incidence of the disease is increasing with a rise of 1.7 per cent over 15 years.

"The incidence of prostate cancer is much lower in Asian than Western populations… Although isoflavones have been suggested to show a preventive effect against prostate cancer in animal experiments, the results of epidemiologic studies are inconsistent," stated the researchers in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

The study recruited 43,509 Japanese men (average age 57) with a generally high soy isoflavone intake. Dietary assessment was performed using a validated 147-item food frequency questionnaire.

During the five years of follow-up, 307 men were newly diagnosed with prostate cancer (74 cases were advanced), and 220 cases were organ localized. While no relationship between total prostate cancer risk and dietary intakes of genistein, daidzein, miso soup, and soy food was observed, all four food items were associated with significant risk reduction for localised prostate cancer.

Shortage of Human Cadavers for Medical Training

2007-03-15T03:12:00.000-07:00

The Royal College of Surgeons have expressed concern about the paucity of donor bodies, which is a setback to medical teaching. Nearly 1000 bodies are required annually to teach anatomy to medical students.

In the present academic year, the college has already predicted a 30% shortage in the number of bodies.

The Chief Medical Officer has urged doctors to encourage their patients to donate their bodies for the cause of medical research. Anatomy classes are incomplete without practical lessons on the human body.

Donor consent cards are carried by many, yet few are aware of the procedures required to donate their bodies to medical schools. The crisis escalates when donated bodies are found unsuitable for study due to effects of surgeries or hospital infections that manifest when people live a ripe age.

Explaining the importance of human cadavers in medical teaching,Dick Rainsbury, the RCS director of education, said: "The college currently receives about 60 cadavers a year. They are hugely important to us in the teaching of anatomy. Visual demonstration is not enough. If the UK is to produce high-quality surgeons, the teaching of anatomy has to be of the highest standard."

Artificial Vein to Boost Surgery and Ease Patient Trauma

2007-03-15T03:09:00.000-07:00

Doctors have for long relied on veins taken out of a person’s body to replace narrowed, blocked or damaged blood vessels. Not anymore if a doctor’s invention; a plastic vein, makes its way, to store shelves.

Dr. Peter Stonebridge from Ninewells hospital in Dundee has developed an artificial vein, which he claims could boost surgery, and avoid patient trauma. This is by eliminating the need to extract veins needed for an operation from the patient himself.

According to Stonebridge and colleagues who created this artificial vein, blood will flow in exactly the way it does through the human body- in a twisting or spiraling action.

The artificial vein has been created from a polymer called ePTFE. It is grooved on the inside akin to a gun barrel, which Stonebridge says encourages the spiraling flow of blood.

He lists other advantages as reduced wear and tear of the device, lesser chances of clogging and aid in the removal of blockages.

According to Stonebridge, the device is ideal as an alternative in bypass operations and very helpful for patients suffering from peripheral arterial disease. The latter develops when fatty material builds up, and begins to narrow the blood vessels. It can lead to serious mobility problems and, in very severe cases, the need for limb amputation. It can also cause heart attacks and strokes.

Though synthetic grafts have been developed for use in operations to bypass clogged blood vessels many get clogged up with fatty deposits themselves, and often fail within two years, causing surgeons to rely on taking blood vessels from the patient's body.

Chinese Health Ministry Okays KFC

2007-03-14T04:07:00.000-07:00

After a food scare that swept the nation off KFC last week, the Chinese Ministry of Health has come out with a clarification expected to be met with sighs of relief, from the fast food chain.

There was public furor over reports of a chemical used in the filters to purify cooking oil. The chemical in question, magnesium silicate or talc, was reported as highly unhealthy by the Chinese media and this sparked off nation-wide wrath.

Responding to the protests, the Ministry of Health, conducted tests at six outlets of KFC.

The ministry has now, come out with the verdict that the chemical is of no danger to human health when consumed.

The present food scare follows one in 2005, where it was found that the company was using a possibly carcinogenic food dye, in some of its chicken products. Media and public wrath forced KFC to withdraw the food additive and Yum Brands- the parent fast food group, had to tender a public apology.

KFC has more than 1,700 restaurants in China and claims it is the largest and fastest-growing fast food chain in the country.

Manufacturers of Infant Formula Milk Asked to Do Away With Exaggerated Nutritional Claims

2007-03-14T03:57:00.000-07:00

If you look at the promotional literature of most popular brands of infant formula milk, claims of it being an alternative to breast milk is a definite read. These claims have been questioned by the Governments food standards agency, and have been termed ‘most misleading’ to new mothers.

To enable the correct information to new mothers and mothers-to-be, many breast milk activist groups have begun championing the cause of breast milk over formula milk. As per the recent enforcement from the Government's Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the national lead body for trading standards officers, LACORS, manufacturers of infant formula milk have been asked to do away with nutritional claims that seek to glorify formula milk; this would mean making changes in their marketing campaigns and in the packaging of formula milk.

The claims which read thus ‘closer than ever to breast milk’ and 'helps growth and the immune system' are to be done away with. This will mean that the packaging and marketing literature of popular brands like SMA, Farleys, APtamil, Cow and Gate etc will need to be altered, failing which the companies are liable to face prosecution.

Policy expert at LACORS, Les Bailey, said: 'The Department of Health has a policy to encourage breastfeeding because of its proven health benefits. It contains beneficial antibodies that are not found in infant formula. Various compositional claims, like closer to breast milk, found on packs of infant formula will no longer be allowed. They will have to go from packs and advertising. The aim is to ensure that new mothers are not unduly influenced when deciding their feeding practices. The legislation is framed in a way that it doesn't matter whether they are correct or not. It is designed to promote breastfeeding.'

Afghanistan Reports Fresh Bird Flu Cases

2007-03-14T03:53:00.000-07:00

Afghanistan has reported thirteen fresh cases of bird flu, taking the total toll to 17, health officials confirmed.

According to Assadullah Azhari, a spokesman for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Kabul, nearly nine birds were found to suffer the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu.

To contain the disease, the Afghan government has forbidden the import of poultry products from Pakistan and other countries which have reported the presence of avian influenza. Additionally, an extensive poultry immunization programme has been launched in Kabul and in the two provinces which reported bird flu.

"We have completed vaccination and culling in many poultry farms and have now started a similar process in households [backyard poultry]," Dr Azizullah Usmani, director of Afghanistan's Department of Animal Health and Production, said.

Afghanistan is also facing a cash crunch which has affected the nation’s efforts to curb the deadly virus. The government has sought the assistance of the World Bank to tide over the crisis.

Health Articles on AvonArticles.com

2006-12-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

We have launched AvonArticles.com few months back for publishing informative articles to our visitors. You can browse subcategories of the following links:

http://www.avonarticles.com/category/cancer-39-1.html
(Articles Related to Cancer, please browse subcategories)

http://www.avonarticles.com/category/health-and-fitness-2-1.html
(Articles Related to Health, please browse subcategories)

We hope you will appreciate it.

With Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Chemotherapy's Effects on the Brain

2006-10-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

Cancer survivors now have an explanation for their mental fog and forgetfulness and can no longer explain it away as a figment of their imagination.

A new UCLA study shows that chemotherapy causes changes to the brain's metabolism and blood flow that can linger at least 10 years after treatment. Reported Oct. 5 in the online edition of the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, the findings may help to explain the disrupted thought processes and confusion that plague many chemotherapy patients.

"People with 'chemo brain' often can't focus, remember things or multitask the way they did before chemotherapy," explained Dr. Daniel Silverman, head of neuronuclear imaging and associate professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "Our study demonstrates for the first time that patients suffering from these cognitive symptoms have specific alterations in brain metabolism."

Silverman and his colleagues used positron emission tomography (PET) to scan the brains of 21 women who had undergone surgery to remove breast tumors five to 10 years earlier. Sixteen of them had been treated with chemotherapy regimens near the time of their surgeries to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.

The team compared PET images evaluating the chemotherapy patients' brain function to PET scans from five breast-cancer patients who underwent surgery only, and 13 control subjects who did not have breast cancer or chemotherapy.

As the women performed a series of short-term memory exercises, the UCLA team measured blood flow to their brains. The researchers also ran a scan of the patients' resting brain metabolism after the women finished the exercises.

"The PET scans show a link between chemo-brain symptoms and lower metabolism in a key region of the frontal cortex," explained Silverman, a member of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "We found that the lower the patient's resting brain metabolism rate was, the more difficulty she had performing the memory test."

The scans revealed that blood flow to the frontal cortex and cerebellum spiked as the chemotherapy patients performed the memory tests, indicating a rapid jump in these brain regions' activity level.

"The same area of the frontal lobe that showed lower resting metabolism displayed a substantial leap in activity when the patients were performing the memory exercise," said Silverman. "In effect, these women's brains were working harder than the control subjects' to recall the same information."

Finally, the researchers discovered that women who underwent hormonal therapy in addition to chemotherapy displayed changes to their basal ganglia, a part of the brain that works to bridge thought and action. On average, these women showed an 8 percent drop in resting metabolism in this brain region.

"Chemotherapy used to be prescribed primarily to treat metastatic disease," observed Silverman. "Now it's common for doctors to administer chemotherapy to patients near the time of surgery to prevent metastasis. As many of these patients become long-term survivors, doctors are recognizing lasting side-effects of chemotherapy, and, in particular, the kind of chemo-brain symptoms we are studying."

"Our findings suggest that PET scans could be used to monitor the effects of chemotherapy on brain metabolism," he added. "The approach could be easily added to current whole-body PET or PET/CT scans already being used to monitor patients for tumor response to therapy."

Although chemo brain is an acknowledged phenomenon, doctors don't know what mechanisms cause it. More studies are needed to uncover how the damage occurs and whether modification of chemotherapy drugs could prevent it.

The National Cancer Institute recently awarded a five-year grant to oncologist Dr. Patricia Ganz, who is organizing a long-term study on chemo brain of a larger group of breast-cancer survivors with Silverman and their colleagues at UCLA.

More than 211,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed a year, making it the most common cancer in women. Experts estimate that at least 25 percent of chemotherapy patients are affected by chemo brain, and a recent study by the University of Minnesota reported an 82 percent rate.

REG1A and its receptor EXTL3 signal the recurrence of colorectal cancer

2006-09-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

CHICAGO – The over expression of two genes, REG1A and EXTL3 in the patients with colorectal tumors enhance the risk of recurrence, according to a new study from the Max Delbrueck Center in Berlin, Germany.

In this study, REG1A expression was also significantly higher in surgical biopsies taken from pre-cancerous colon polyps, or adenomas.

"The findings suggest that the two genes are significant prognostic markers and may eventually help in making decisions about management of colorectal adenomas and tumors," said principal investigator Wolfgang Kemmner, Ph.D., who is Surgical Oncology Research Group Leader at the Max Delbrueck Center.

Results were presented at the first meeting on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development, organized by the American Association for Cancer Research.

The researchers analyzed tumor and normal tissue from 75 colorectal cancer patients who had undergone surgery but not yet received any other treatment. They discovered that REG1A (Regenerating Islet-Derived 1 Alpha) was overexpressed in tumor specimens compared to normal tissue. In general, its level of expression correlated with the length of time before the disease recurred--as REG1A expression levels increased, disease-free survival decreased.

Patients with higher expression levels also tended to have lower disease-specific survival, meaning less time before they died from their disease. In addition, REG1A expression was significantly higher in tumors with peritoneal carcinomatosis, a type of advanced cancer in which many small tumors develop on the abdominal cavity and linings. The other gene, EXTL3 (Exostoses (Multiple)-Like 3), which was examined in samples of 56 patients, also tended to be upregulated in peritoneal carcinomatosis and was a significant predictor of patient outcome. EXTL3 encodes the receptor to which the REG1A protein binds.

Turning to precancerous adenomas, the researchers compared adenoma tissue from 22 patients to colorectal mucosal tissue from 31 healthy individuals. REG1A expression was significantly higher in the adenomas. Taken together, the findings raise the possibility that the genes could help guide decisions regarding both treatment and prevention of the disease.

"On the one hand, determining REG1A and EXTL3 expression levels could eventually help show which surgical patients are at high risk for recurrence and thus need more aggressive treatment," Kemmner said. "In addition, REG1A expression may serve in molecular diagnosis of very early tumors not yet apparent from conventional histopathology."

Slow brain waves integral in coordination of complex activity

2006-09-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

Berkeley – It is well known that the output of nerve cells is the messenger of information between regions of the brain, yet it is still unclear about how widely separated regions of the cortex involving billions of cells come together to assist a complex activity. A new study by neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and neurosurgeons and neurologists at UC San Francisco (UCSF) is getting to resolve this mystery.

UCSF neurosurgeons place 64-electrode grids on the surface of the brain's temporal and frontal lobes to locate regions where epileptic seizures originate. These grids allowed UC Berkeley neuroscientists to study the interaction of brain waves during simple tasks, such as word recognition or hand movements. (Images courtesy the Knight Lab)

"One of the most important questions in neuroscience is: How do areas of the brain communicate?" said Dr. Robert Knight, professor of psychology, Evan Rauch Professor of Neuroscience and director of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at UC Berkeley. "A simple activity like responding to a question involves areas all over the brain that hear the sound, analyze it, extract the relevant information, formulate a response, and then coordinate your lips and mouth to speak. We have no idea how information moves between these areas."

By measuring electrical activity in the brains of pre-surgical epilepsy patients, the researchers have found the first evidence that slow brain oscillations, or theta waves, "tune in" the fast brain oscillations called high-gamma waves that signal the transmission of information between different areas of the brain. In this way, the researchers argue, areas like the auditory cortex and frontal cortex, separated by several inches in the cerebral cortex, can coordinate activity.

"If you are reading something, language areas oscillate in theta frequency allowing high-gamma-related neural activity in individual neurons to transmit information," said Knight. "When you stop reading and begin to type, theta rhythms oscillate in motor structures, allowing you to plan and execute your motor response by way of high gamma. Simple, but effective."

The findings are reported in the Sept. 15 issue of Science.

Albumin Linked to Reduced Mortality Rates In Malaria

2006-09-17T03:34:00.000-07:00

Scientists said that severely ill malaria patients would benefit a lot if they were given albumin in their resuscitation fluids. Researchers from the Imperial College in London and experts in Kenya have developed this new technique in to replace fluids for children ill with malaria.

In initial studies less than 5 percent of the children who received the new treatment died, researchers said. "The observation is that treating very sick children with severe malaria with albumin infusion can reduce the mortality rate by over 80 percent," said one of the researchers, Kathryn Maitland. "It is absolutely essential that the results are reproduced in larger studies before we advise on any change in practice.”

Currently administration of fluids is not standard practice and albumin is not available in Africa, where at least a million people succumb to malaria annually.

Diabetes Drug, Exenatide, Good For Blood Sugar Levels and Weight Loss

2006-09-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

Eli Lilly and and Amylin Pharmaceuticals has announced that exenatide is very effective in controlling blood sugar levels, at par with iphasic insulin aspart 30/70 (NovoMix by NovoNordisk). This finding was revealed after a threadbare study conducted by the company. This is indeed a boon to people suffering type 2 diabetes and unable to control the blood sugar with the oral diabetes drugs.

The study, which spanned a year, revealed that thirty-two percent of study participants using exenatide were able to effectively attain the target HbA1C of 7 percent or less. HbA1C is a measure of individuals average glucose level, a gauge commonly used by the specialists. The study also revealed that many patients using exenatide also experienced weight loss, an average of 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds), while the patients receiving biphasic insulin aspart had actually gained an average of 2.9 kilograms (6.4 pounds).

"This comparator study demonstrates that exenatide has similar blood glucose control to the conventional treatment with insulin," said Professor Dr. Michael Nauck, Director of the Diabetes Centre in Bad Lauterberg, Germany, and a lead author of the study.

Exenatide happens to be the first among a relatively new class of medicines known as incretin mimetics, which is approved, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Scientists discover anti-cancer compound

2006-09-15T02:47:00.000-07:00

Scientists in New Zealand said Friday that they have discovered compounds in certain vegetables that could kill cancer cells that are resistant to other treatments.

According to a study by researchers at Christchurch School of Medicine, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage, watercress, bok choy, radishes, turnips, and kale contain certain anti-cancer compounds.

Team leader Mark Hampton said a protein called Bcl-2 makes human cells resistant to the normal cell-suicide process, which removes damaged cells from the body.

He said cancer cells with a lot of Bcl-2 also have increased resistance to chemotherapy drugs, but added that compounds called isothiocyanates found in the cruciferous family make the cells more susceptible to treatment.

The research team said the next step is to find out how the compounds work inside the cell to negate the power of the protein.

Hampton said they could use that information to design new drugs against cancer.

Freelancing by writing Medical Articles

2006-09-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

GAF is A wonderful place for earning more by freelancing in various areas. Even medical professionals are also earning by writing medical articles in GAF. You can also get benefit by joining it and starting your freelance career. Even there are many other fields for freelancing in this website.

Cheers!
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Great News for our Visitors

2006-09-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Here is a great news for our visitors. We are going to launch a Medical portal and many medical specialists/students will publish health articles on it. Medical Events, jobs, forums will be there. So, just keep waiting for our next message within 10 days.

Cheers!
Team - Knowledgeishealing

Free link directory for Health-and-Fitness

2006-08-07T02:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Please submit your website links free in http://www.delightsquare.com and you can submit health and fitness related websites in http://www.delightsquare.com/Health-and-Fitness/

Hope that you will get benefited from it.

Thanks,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

We are back!

2006-07-14T04:39:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

We are back now and we will start posting from Monday onwards.

Regards,
Team - Knowledgeishealing

Health News on eNewsBulletin.com

2006-06-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

We are very busy these days and we apologize for the inconvinience that you are suffering. We will bring good contents and health articles within few days. We found a good website for Health News. Please Click Here to visit it.

Best Regards,
Team - KnowledgeisHealing

Regarding more posts

2006-05-07T02:21:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

We are sorry that we couldnt post more posts in past few days. We are preparing for more articles for you and we will post them shortly.

We appreciate your patience.

Best Regards,
Team - KnowledgeisHealing

Method to extract juice

2006-04-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

We should take care while purchasing fruits and vegetables. They should be of good quality. It must be remembered that preserved or stocked fruits and vegetables have already lost several of their essential vitamins. Fruits should always be ripe but not overripe. Fruits ripened artificially with the help of chemicals should never be selected. Fruits and vegetables grown with the help of natural compst manure are superior in quality to those grown with the help of chemical fertilizers. Normally, it is better to have vegetables grown in one's own farm or close to one's own house.

Electric juicer is the best instrument for extracting juice from fresh fruits and vegetables, because it also crushes the fibres and rinds of vegetables and fruits and pour out their rich elements into the juice. From this point of view there is no alternative to electric juicer. A good quality juicer costs about a thousand rupees. In its absense, one can manually extract juice from fruits and vegetables by crushing and mashing them.

Before extracting juice from fruits or vegetables, they should be washed out and cut into small pieces. If their rind is not very hard and is edible, it should not be peeled off because some of the rich elements are contained in it. Immediately pt the shredded pieces into juicer and extract juice. If necessary, pour some water. Filter the juice to avoid fibres. Juices of fruits and vegetables should be used immediately after they have been extracted. Preserved or stocked juices come into contact with oxygen in the air. This oxidation of juices destroys most of their precious vitamins. According to expert dieticians, one should 'eat' juice instead of drinking it. Juice should not be swallowed hastily but taken slowly draught by draught.

After extracting juice, the juicer should be thoroghly washed and cleaned with warm water otherwise bacteria are produced in the juicer and they mix with juice when extracted next time.

We hope that you gained some knowledge from this post regarding method of extracting the juice.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Obtaining all the nutrients from Juices II

2006-04-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

Let us go ahead and discuss about the nutrients from juices.

There is a special method for drinking juice. It should not be gulped. It should be drunk slowly with a spoon or with small draughts. This process helps to mix juice with the saliva. The digestive juices which the saliva contains help to digest sugar contained in juice. Thus, the juice which goes into stomach is then digested within 20 to 25 minutes. When juices are consumed for the purpose of health or cure of disease, do not add sugar, pepper or salt for taste or liking. The addition of condiments to juice is injurious to health. Furthermore, these conditions adversely affect the precious nutrients of juices. If you dislike the taste of the juice of one of the vegetables, you can add some lemon juice or any fruit juice to it.

Canned or bottled juices are useless for those who desire to get the maximum benefits from the juice diet because the process made on such juices and their preservation destroy almost their live nutrients. Furthermore, certain harmful preservations and chemicals are added to them. Canned or bottled juices are referred to as 'fresh'. But it signifies that the juices have been extracted from fresh fruits. Thus, juices, even if extracted from fresh fruits, lose their live nutrients when they are preserved. Hence we should not mistake such juices for fresh.

Most of the canned or bottled juices are mixed with chemicals such as sugar, salt and others. Consequently, their original color, taste, flavour etc. are retained and spoilage is prevented. The most commonly used preservatives for canned or bottled juices are benzoic acid, sulphuric acid or sorbic acid. All these chemicals are injurious to health. Heating is one of the principal processes made on fruit-juices for the purposes of preservation. Heating destroys most of the nutrients contained in fruit juices.

From the point of view of Vitamin content fresh and tinned juices are miles apart. That can be seen from two examples. The vitamin 'C' content in fresh carrot juice is 8 mg while that in canned juice is only 2 mg. Similarly, the vitamin 'C' content in fresh spinach juice is 51 mg, while that in canned juice is only 14 mg. By consuming canned or bottled juices, chemicals contained in them would perhaps cause ulcer, kidney diseases, dental carries, cancer etc. So, if freshly extracted juices of seasonal fruits and vegetables are consume, they will be beneficial to health and cure of disease.

We hope you have enjoyed this topic.

In our next post, we will discuss about method for extracting the juice.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Obtaining all the nutrients from Juices - I

2006-04-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

As we know we all want to live a long and healthy life. Our efforts are always directed towards that goal. In case we fall ill, we endeavour to get a speedy recovery from our illness. This expectation of us can be realized and our efforts can meet with success through vegetable and fruit juices. But the important question is how to get all the nutrients that are contained in fruit and vegetable juices, for the recovery from disease depends on the availability of all the nutrients contained in fruit and vegetable juices.

Juices must always be fresh. Only fresh, live juices are effective for the cure of disease. Carotene (which is converted into Vitamin 'A') found in vegetables is very sensitive to oxygen in the air, e.g., if carrots are shredded and kept unused for 20 to 25 minutes, most of their vitamin 'A' is oxidised. Similarly, if lemons, oranges, mozambizues and other citrus fruits which contain vitamin 'C' are preserved for a month, about 40% of their vitamin 'C' is lost. Even a refrigerator cannot prevent this loss.

These facts emphasize that fruits and vegetables should be fresh so that all their elements can be obtained. Another matter of importance is how to extract juice from fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables should be washed, shredded or cut before extracting their juice . Then immediately they should be put into juicer for extracting juice. In case one wants to extract juice without help of a juicer, juice extracting should be quick. This will save juices from being oxidised and all their nutritional elements contained in them are preserved.

Rinds and fibres of fruits and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins. So while extracting juice they should be properly crushed. However, care should be taken that juice ready for drinking does not contain fibre of rind. Juice diet aims at getting the maximum live elements with the minimum labour by the digestive system. To get the maximum benefits from the juices of fruits and vegetables, they must be taken fresh. Preserved juices lose their precious nutrients. It is not advisable to extract at a time the juice required for the whole day. Extract juice when required to drink.

We will discuss more about this topic in our next post.

We hope you gained knowledge.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Juice-diet and sexual ability

2006-04-11T03:33:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

Let us continue to gain knowledge.

A number of persons occasionally inquire whether vegetables, fruits or their juices have beneficial effects on sexual life. This topic needs a detailed discussion. Since ancient times people have been making the use of various fruit-juices for the purpose of increasing their ability for sexual pleasure. There are references in which it is stated that the ancient Greeks used to consume cabbage juice to increase their sexual ability. The Balkan peasants of Russia regularly drink pumpkin juice to maintain their sexual ability till their old age. It is a common belief that there are juices of many fruits and vegetables like onion juice, carrot juice, etc. which contain the substances that increase sexual ability.

First of all, it is necessary to understand the scientific facts regarding sexual life.

Sexual excitement depends upon two forces:
1. The mind
2. The secretion of some glands.

The prime need is the desire for sexual pleasure. When this desire arises, the brain sends a message to some endocrine glands which secrete some live chemicals (hormons) and there is sexual excitement. Thus, if there is an intense desire for sexual pleasure and, if there are a proper balance and regulation of the secretion of endocrine glands, sexual life becomes contented.

Science now supports the belief that fruits and vegetables increase sexual ability. The bureau of Britain once published a report giving information about fresh fruit and vegetables. The report supports the theory that fruit and vegetable juices contain the elements that stimulate the desire for sensual pleasure. The report adds that in the human brain there is a part called 'limbic system' which is the source of the instincts of hunger, thirst, sex, etc. Fruit and vegetable-juices properly stimulate this 'limbic system'.

Vitamin 'A', richly contained in spinach, carrot, watermelon, mango and plums helps to transform cholesterol into active sexual hormones.

Similarly, vitamin 'B' richly contained in potatoes, banana and pumpkin plays a major role in the production of sexual hormones.

Bananas can reduce mental stress. If one is under mental stress, one's sex-hormones are adversely affected causing undesirable restriction. Bananas are rich in potassium which relieves mental stress. Consequently, there is a proper secretion of hormones.

Vitamin 'E' is very valuable for sexual life. Vitamin 'E' in English is called 'anti sterility' vitamin. Its deficiency causes impotence. Wheat husk, raw vegetables, fruits, millet, sesame etc. contain plenty of Vitamin 'E'. It is a proven fact that the intake of these substances in sufficient quantities imporves sexual life.

The health of the prostate gland is important for the regulation and prolongation of sexual life. Zinc mineral is useful to keep the prostate gland active. This mineral is easily available from French beans, cucumber, onion, spinach, carrot and cabbage juice.

The addiction to tobacco, cigarettes, marijuana, liquor, etc. destroys valuable vitamins contained in the body. Fruit and vegetable juices control this damage and help to eliminate its effects. Thus, vitamins are necessary for healthy sex life and their best sources ar fruits and vegetables.

We can say that the regular consumption of fruits, vegetables and their juices produces sexual ability, improves it and also maintains it for a very long time. Moreover, these juices are free from side effects and improve general health too.

We hope that you will gain knowledge from our post.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

A comparison between fruit-juices and vegetable- juices

2006-04-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

Let us compare fruit-juices and vegetable-juices.

All of us would ask a question- which juices are more important in juice-diet-fruit-juices or vegetable-juices? Its answer is somewhat argumentative, because eminent dieticians have not yet come to one conclusion. The advocates of fruit juices (Fruitarians) believe that only fruit-juices constitute and essential diet for mankind. Almost all the substances necessary for the human body can be obtained from them.

Yet, the experiments and analysis conducted so far have proved that vegetables are richer then fruits nutritious and full of all nutrients. In view of nutrients, vegetables are preferable to fruits. Considering this, a dispute over the qualities of fruits and vegetables is meaningless. We should make the balanced use of both the fruit and vegetables for health and cure of disease. Both fruits and vegetables should be considered equally beneficial to mankind. Yet it may be added that a physically fit and healthy person may rely solely on fruits but the sick, the old and children should invariably take vegetable-juices with fruit-juices.

Fruit juices do the work of purifying blood. They cast out the toxic elements accumulated in the cells of the body. Fruits or fruit juices increase the quantity of urine through which all toxic elements of the body are thrown out. On the other hand, raw vegetables and their juices do the work of reconstruction in the body. Vegetable juices produce new cells in place of those that have been destroyed owing to a disease.

Those who adopt juice diet should select varieties of fruits and vegetables. Some varieties are richer in some substances than the others. A person can get almost all the nutritious substances in proper proportion required by his body by making frequent changes in the selection of fruits and vegetables.

Fuits juices and vegetables juices are supplementary to each other. So those who adopt naturopathy and juice therapy should, without any discrimination, consume juices of varied fruits and vegetables regularly.

As most of dieticians are opposed to mixing fruit juices with vegetable juices, it is desirable to take them separately at different times of the day. As fruit juices are diuretic, they should not be taken in the evening or at night. The best time for taking fruit juices is the first half of the day, but vegetable juices can be taken at any time of the day. They can be taken in the latter half of the day also.

We hope that you have liked our post and gained some knowledge.

Best Regards,
Team-KnowledgeisHealing

Live Juices- useful to all

2006-04-03T04:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Let us gain knowledge about Live juices.

Vitamins, minerals and enzymes are essential for the restoration of the blood corpuscles and teh cells. They are obtained from raw vegetables, fruits and their juices. The body itself can produce certain substances, but after youth this capacity of the body wears out. So in an advanced age such food is necessary as would be digested and absorbed easily and quickly so that the process of reconstruction of the blood corpuscles and the cells might be maintained. Fruit and vegetable juices do this important function.

These live juices are equally necessary for children and adults. Children pay attention mostly to their games and are careless about their food habits. Consequently, they dont get sufficient and proper nourishment. In these circumstances, they require nourishing food. You will hardly find a child or a youth having patience and understanding the importance of chewing food slowly while eating it. Unless fruits and vegetables are chewed profusively, the most essential elements contained in their rinds and fibres cannot be separated. This is the reason why children and adults are not benefited trough they eat them in large quantities. One to one and half kg. of vegetables and fruits might have to be taken daily in order to get the required nutrients. Who can find leisure to chew and eat such a large quantity of food? This problem has only one solution. Children and young persons should be provided with juice-diet. Juice diet supplies all the necessary substances such as Vitamins, minerals and enzymes required by the body without labour and loss of time. Thus old, adults, young and children alike require juice-diet.

Prevention of a disease is better than its cure. Children and young persons cant get nutritious substances necessary for their body because of their improper diet and bad food habits. Owing to their undesirable habits and likings for food, the blood corpuscles and the tissue cells are destroyed instead of being reconstructed. Several vices and present unhealthy environment have worn out and weakend our children and young generation. If we want to save them from further deterioration, they should be persuaded to form the habit of taking juice-diet.

We hope that you have enjoyed our articles.

We will post more interesting articles in future.

Best Regards,
Team-Knowledgeishealing

Raw Juice Therapy for good Health-II

2006-04-02T00:32:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Let us discuss more about raw juice therapy for good health.

A diet consisting of fruits and vegetables (excluding juices) has its shortcomings. Roughages, residues and other wooden elements are a burden to the digestive system has the capability of disintegrating only 35% of the ingredients from the vegetables and assimilate them. In illness, this capability wears out. So it is possible that the body may not acquire essential substances from vegetables in sufficient quantities. That is why the use of their juices is recommended. The body is able to absorb 95% of substances contained in juices. Moreover, the healthy body and the strong teeth require a lot of time for chewing and eating fruits and vegetables which have to be consumed in large quantities to get sufficient quantity of necessary substances out of them. The result is that the body fails to acquire a necessary quantum of essential substances. To avoid all this, the use of live juices of vegetables and fruits is recommended by the experts.

Some persons complain that taking vegetable and fruit juices do not satisfy the palate and appetite. A proper combination of juices will redress this kind of complaint. Generally if carrot-juice, apple-juice and lemon-juice each is mixed with any other juice, the result is a tasty juice. This method can be adopted when several unpalatable vegetable juices have to be consumed.

It is not advisable to take fruit and vegetable-juices together at the same time. It is advisable to keep a gap of 3 to 4 hours between the two types of juices. Fruit juices should be taken in first half of the day and vegetable juices should be taken in the afternoon or in the evening.

We hope that you have enjoyed this post and gained knowledge.

We will appreciate if you will put comments on our blog so that we can improve our blog work.

Best Regards,
Team-KnowledgeisHealing

Raw Juice Therapy for good Health

2006-03-30T19:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

As we know very well from our practical experiences in our lives, where medicines and injections fail to cure a disease, a proper diet, vegetables and fruit juices show miraculous results. Raw food, vegetable and fruit juices should be consumed for general health and well being. But to get relief from a particular disease specific juice therapy should be resorted to under the guidance of an expert. Some famous doctors has treated cancer patients with fruit and vegetable juices and saved them from the jaws of death.

Fruit juices are more effective than medicines on the kidney. Juice therapy is an efficious cure for the ailments of the liver and the kidney. Cherry-juice bestows marvellous benefits in the cases of gout and arthritis.

A diet containing vegetable and fruit juices and raw food has been proved a successful experiment for preventing aging and for the rejuvenation of the body. There is no alternative to juice therapy for the rapid replacement of red corpuscles and cells in the human body.

The treatment give through vegetable and fruit juices is harmless, reliable and without any side effects. Even if sometimes fruit juices are taken in abundance, no hyper vitaminosis can occur. Therefore, it is logical to prefer juice therapy to any other risk involving remedy in illness. Innumerable cells inhabited in the body and billions of blood corpuscles perish everyday. Food is necessary for their replenishment. If the food is natural and combined with vegetable and fruit juices, this replacement takes place very rapidally. This is most essential in the case of those who are unhealthy and of and advanced age. Elements obtained from raw food and the juices of vegetables and fruits are most essential for maintaining the proper balance of the construction and destruction of the blood corpuscles and cells. Sugar and other substances contained in them are easily digestible and after their quick absorption in the blood, begin the work of the reconstruction.

Synthetic vitamins and enymes given to a patient as medicines are not as effective as they are supposed to be, while natural vitamins and enzymes obtained from live juices give wonderful results.

We will discuss more about raw juice therapy in our next posts.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Essential elements for health - VIII

2006-03-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

Let us go ahead regarding enzymes.

An enzyme called insulin has become well known. It is essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates. Its deficiency causes diabetes. Sugar in the body of a diabetic does not get oxidised properly. Hence sugar is found in blood and the urine of a diabetic. The latest researchers have pointed out a possibility that the total quantity of insulin in pancreases is limited. If this quantity is exhausted or made exhausted by improper food habits, diabeties is caused.

The following points are worth remembering as the summary of this chapter:

1. Enzymes are very vital for the body and health.

2. Heat destroys enzymes.

3. The body's own accumulated stock of enzymes is like a bank balance. If you spend it more than necessary it will sooner be exhausted. A great difficulty arises when enzymes are exhausted. Therefore to avoid depletion of the limited accumulated stock of enzymes in the body, it is advisable to take natural food and live juices in abudance.

We hope that you have gained knowledge from our this post. We will discuss about Raw Juice Therapy in our next post.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Delay in more posts

2006-03-29T07:59:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

We are busy in preparing more health posts. Most probably you will get them upto end of this week.

With Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Regarding more health Posts

2006-03-24T02:39:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

We are little bit busy in preparing more health articles and we will be again back on Monday.

Wishing you all a healthy weekend.

Best Regards,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Essential elements for health - VII

2006-03-20T08:24:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

We hope you liked our previous posts. Let us continue to gain our knowledge. Let us discuss about enzymes.

The necessity of Enzymes:

An enzyme is a catalyst. It is produced in the live cells. It works as a catalyst even in a very small amount. It means that it aids chemical changes in the body. Every process in the body depends on enzymes. One or more enzymes are necessary for each separate process occuring in the body. Each enzyme has a fixed field of action. Digestion and assimilation- the two important processes of the body- cant satisfactorily go through without enzymes.

Our body is unable to produce vitamins and minerals, but can produce enzymes. Every animal or vegetable cell can produce enzymes. Enzymes have not seen yet but their existence can be realized. It is believed that enzymes are one kind of proteins.

There are many kinds of enzymes. Life without enzymes is not possible. Enzymes help in digestion of food. They decompose food into its different constituents so that they can be assimilated into the body through the intestinal membranes. It is believed that enzymes reconstruct the cells, the glands and the muscles of the body through the digested food. They play a major role in the accumulation of glycogen in the liver and muscles. They help in discharging carbon dioxide from the lungs.

Some particular enzymes help to collect phosphorus in the bones. Certain enzymes produce iron compound in the red corpuscles, others help in the process of blood-coagulation when bleeding takes place. There are certain such enzymes which would attack on the toxins and other unwanted substances in the body. They convert them into urea or uric acid and finally remove them from the body.

Some enzymes can convert proteins into sugar or fats and others can convert fats into carbohydrates. In fact, all the functions of enzymes are not yet fully known. All natural edible substances posses enzymes. Heat destroys enzymes. Despite this we eat only cooked food and because of this we are deprived of enzymes. This is one of the reasons why we do not enjoy a long life.

Our body can produce enzymes to its requirement but for that its productive organs have to work hard. In youth this work is accomplished without much difficulty but as we advance in age, the capacity of the organs for doing work is diminished, the production of enzymes cannot copeup with the demand and consequently we become the victims of diseases.

Where is the necessity to tax different organs when sufficient enzymes for the metabolism in the body are easily available from raw food? Why should we not leave the work of reconstruction of the body to the enzymes contained in raw food? This is very purpose of nature. Scientific experiments have proved that the body cannot function properly without enzymes. When the body is not supplied with required quantity of enzymes, it begins to degenerate. Most of the dieticians are of the opinion that without enzymes man becomes prematurely old.

In old age the body cannot produce the required enzymes in sufficient quantities. Hence there is no other alternative except to replenish them from raw live food. It does not mean that children and young persons do not need raw food. The intake of raw food saves the enzyme producing organs from unnecessary burden and they (organs) remain active throughout the life.

In the digestive system of the human body, enzymes begin to function right from the mouth. The saliva secreted with the process of chewing food contains some enzymes. These enzymes begin thew work of digestion. If saliva and digestive juices of the stomach do not contain sufficient enzymes, food causes heaviness in the stomach. The fermentation of food causes gas and uneasiness.

We hope that you have gained knowledge about enzymes.

We will discuss more about enzymes in our next posts.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Essential elements for health - VI

2006-03-18T03:16:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

We hope you liked our previous posts. Let us continue to gain our knowledge.

Potassium:

Potassium is necessary for the constitution of the cells and the muscles. It maintains the elasticity of the muscles. The daily potassium requirement of the body is about 4 grams.

Potassium is found in garlic, radish, pumpkin, tomatoes, spinach, guava, apple, milk and potatoes.

Sodium:

Sodium helps to produce hydrochloric acid in the stomach. It prevents the accumulation of calcium in the muscles. The daily sodium requirement of the body is approximately 2 grams. Its deficiency can lead to formation of stone in kidney.

Sodium is found in sufficient quantity in beet, carrot and French beans.

Iodine:

Iodine is a part of the secretion of the thyroid gland. Through this secretion, iodine helps in the process of metabolism. The deficiency of Iodine causes menstrual troubles. The thyroid gland does not function properly if the body lacks sufficient iodine. Iodine deficiency causes a disease called myxoedema. It causes obesity and the body becomes the victim of other disorders such as constipation, drowsiness and cardiac trouble. Scrofula is a main symptom of the deficiency of iodine.

Iodine is found in sufficient amount in leafy vegetables.

Magnesium:

Magnesium is essential for the health of the bones and the teeth. It maintains functioning capacity of the muscular system. The minimum quantity of magnesium required daily by the body is 0.6 grams.

Magnesium is available from guava, radish, spinach, potatoes, etc.

Chlorine:

Chlorine is essential for the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. It purifies blood and prevents the joints from being stiff. The body needs 15.0 to 20.0 grams of chlorine daily.

Carrot, apricot, beet, French beans, cabbage, tomatoes, banana, dates, legume, etc., contain Chlorine.

Sulpher:

Sulpher is a blood purifying mineral. It activates the liver and brightens the skin. 0.3 grams of sulpher is the daily requirement of the body.

Sulpher is available from garlic, beet, radish, onion etc.

Manganese:

Manganese subsists particularly in the pancreases, the liver and the hair. It strengthens the muscles and increases the resistance power of the body against disease.

Manganese can be procured from garlic, beet, cabbage and guava.

Fluorine:

Fluorine is essential for the constitution of the bones and the teeth.

Copper:

Copper is necessary for the absorption of iron in the body.

Zinc:

Zinc is essential for the health of the prostate gland.

Cobalt:

Cobalt helps the production of heamoglobin.

Spinach, fenugreek and other leafy vegetables, guava, carrot beat, potatoes etc., contain Fluorine, Copper, Zinc and Cobalt.

We hope that you gain knowledge about the minerals. We will discuss about enzymes in our next post.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Essential elements for health - V

2006-03-16T01:43:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Let us gain more knowledge regarding essential elements for health. In our last post, we were discussing about Minerals. Let us continue.

Calcium:

In our body, the bones and the teeth have approximately 99% of the total calcium of the body. Vitamin 'D' is essential for the metabolism and absorption of calcium in the body. Calcium is necessary for the working of enzymes. It supplies energy for the contraction of the muscles. Calcium prevents swelling and bleeding. Due to deficiency of calcium, the bones become brittle, the blood circulation slows down and the blood loses its capacity for coagulation. Mental strain and stress interrupt the capacity of the body for absorbing calcium.

Fenugreek, drumstick and other leafy vegetables, beet, fig, grapes, water-melon, milk, dried fruits, millet, sesame seeds, black beans, etc. have abundant amount of calcium.

Phosphorus:

Phosphorus is considered to be most important mineral for human beings, next to Calcium. The bones and teeth contain 75% of the total phosphorus of the body. The remaining 25% phosphorus lies in the various parts of the body and does the following important functions:

1. Phosphorus is essential for the growth and nourishment of the body.

2. It activates the digestive juices.

3. It helps the process of metabolism of sygar and fats.

4. It is also essential for the functioning of the brain and the nerves.

The deficiency of phosphorus weakens the teeth and the bones and causes a loss in weight. The body requires a minimum of 1.0 gram of phosphorus daily.

Phosphorus is available from milk, yeast, dried fruits, soyabean, carrot, guava, dates etc.

Iron:

Approximately 70% of the total iron of the body forms a part of haemoglobin in the red corpuscles of the body. The oxidation going in the body depends on these red corpuscles. 20% iron is preserved in the liver. Besides, the muscles have iron in the form of myoglobine. Iron is found in 'serum transferrin' and some enzymes. Iron is necessary for supplying oxygen, through lungs to each cell of the body. It is also necessary for the respiration of the cells. The deficiency of iron causes anemia. Many a time, due to lack of Vitamin 'C' and 'E', the red corpuscles are destroyed. In such cases the body require more iron. The minimum requirement of iron in the body per day is 12.0 mg but increases many times in case of pregnancy.

Iron is found in plenty in green leafy vegetables (particularly fenugreek and mint), mango, dates, sesame, millet, grams, soyabeans, mung, black beans, pistachio, nuts etc.

Besides Calcium, phosphorus and iron, there are other minerals useful to the body.

We will discuss them in our next post.

Best Regards,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Essential elements for health - IV

2006-03-14T23:16:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Let us go ahead in gaining knowledge.

Vitamin 'P' (Bioflavonoids):

This vitamin is necessary for maintaining health of the blood vessels and for normalising blood pressure.

It is found in citrus fruits and vegetables.

Individual characteristics of various vitamins have been described above but experiments have confirmed of better reusults when vitamins are used in combination. The presense of one vitamin increases the efficacy of another vitamin.

Our body itself also is capable of producing some vitamins. These are several benevolent symbiotic bacteria in the intestines, which produce vitamins for the body. These bacteria particularly produce vitamins 'B', 'E' and 'K'. Antibiotic drugs destroy these bacteria and so we should use these drugs cautiously.

The body can store or accumulate vitamins 'A', 'D', 'E' and 'K'. These vitamins are available from the body storage when need arises. However, vitamins 'B' and 'C' cannot be stored in the body. So we should be careful to see that we obtain these vitamins from our daily diet.

Of all vitamins, Vitamin 'C' is destroyed most rapidly and easily. All the vitamins are destroyed to a greater or lesser degree when exposed to heat or air (oxygen) or if food is stored for a long time. If a banana is cut into pieces or is grated and kept for sometime, it loses about 50% of its vitamin 'C'.

Vitamin 'A' is stable to moderate heat but if the food is cooked open, it is destroyed immediately. As said earlier, some vitamins (B, C) are are water soluble and some are fat soluble. The body can obtain vitamins 'B' and 'C' easily but if the diet is short of fats, the body finds it difficult to get vitamin 'A', 'D' and 'E'. If oil is used as purgative, vitamins 'A' and 'D' are discharged, with stools. So it is not advisable to use oil for purgative purposes. Many experiments shows that vitamins are most effective when taken in their natural forms. Thats is why natural vitamins contained in fruit and vegetable juices assume great importance.

The importance of minerals:

Minerals are essential for maintaining optimal health. As regards the functions of minerals, the following formation has been compiled through various experiments:

1. Minerals are essential constituents of all cells.
2. They form the greater portion of bones, teeth and nails.
3. They are essential components of respiratory pigments, enzymes and enzyme systems.
4. They regulate the permeability of cell membranes and capilaries.
5. They regulate the excitability of muscular and nervous tissues.
6. They are essential for regulation of osmotic pressure equilibria
7. They are necessary for maintenance of proper acid-base balance.
8. They are essential constituents of secretions of glands.
9. They play an important role in water metabolis and regulation of blood volume.

Out of the various minerals, calcium, phosphorus and iron are most important.

We will discuss more about minerals in our next posts.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Essential elements for health - III

2006-03-11T01:54:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Let us discuss further about Vitamins.

Vitamin 'B1' (Thiamine):

This vitamin stimulates appetite. It activates the muscles and is antineurotic vitamin. It is essential for the metabolism and digestion of food. Experiments show that the deficiency of thiamine increases piruvic acid in the blood which reduces the working capacity and efficiency of the heart. The deficiency of this vitamin causes a disease called beri-beri.

Vitamin 'B1' is found in pulses (cereals), yeast, sprouted wheat, unpolished rice, soyabeans, milk, green leafy vegetables and fruits. This vitamin is destroyed when food articles are cooked in open air.

Vitamin 'B2' (Riboflavin):

This vitamin too is necessary for intracellular metabolism. It is necessary for growth, health, development of resistance-power and longvity. It preserves youthfulness and keeps old age away. It strenthens the muscles, increases the eye-sight and contributes to proper digestion. Its water solubility is moderate. It is destroyed when exposed to light.

Its deficiency deranges the working of the salivary and pituitary glands, and decreases metabolism. The prolonged deficiency of this vitamin causes diseases of the digestive system, weakness of the muscles and skin diseases.

This vitamin can be obtained from milk, yeast, soyabeans, sprouted wheat, papaya, banana, etc.

Niacin (Nicotinic acid and Nicotinamide):

This vitamin is necessary for appetite and mental health. It is found in foodgrains, milk, yeast, potatoes, etc. If bran is removed from the flour of food-grains most of niacin is lost. The body also produces this vitamin in very little quantity. Its deficiency causes a disease called pallagra. Besides, insomnia, headache and skin diseases also result from its deficiency.

Vitamin 'B6' (Pyridoxine):

It is a combination of three constituents and is believed to be necessary for the metabolism of proteins. It is found in sufficient quantities in milk, vegetables and husk of food grains. Its deficiency causes ailments of the skin, the liver, the blood vessels and the nervous system.

Vitamin 'B12':

The deficiency of tis vitamin adversely affects the production of DNA, a very valuable element of the cells of the body. Its deficiency causes one type of anemia and degenerative changes of the spinal column.

Folate:

This vitamin is found in green leafy vegetables. Its deficiency causes anemia and malfunctioning of the digestive system.

The above mentioned constituent vitamins of vitamin 'B' complex are more effective collectively. They can tolerate moderate heat but are destroyed if exposed to heat for a prolonged time. Soda used in cooking also leads to their desctrution.

Vitamin 'E':

This is an antisterility vitamin. It is claimed that conception cannot occur without an adequate quantity of vitamin 'E'. Its deficiency causes repeated abortions. This vitamin is useful for the metabolism of fats. It is believed that this vitamin controls catabolism. It prevents heart disease, diabetes, asthma, thrombosis, diseases of the blood-vessels and degenerative changes of the spine.

It will be procured from sprouted wheat, vegetables, dried fruits etc.

We will continue learning about the essential elements for health in our next posts.

Best Regards,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Essential elements for health -II

2006-03-10T01:20:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

We are again back. Let us discuss more about Vitamins. A brief description of Vitamins is as follows:

Vitamin 'A'- Retinol (Antixerophthalmia Vitamin; growth Vitamin):

Vitamin 'A' in its complete and pure form can be obtained only from animals. However its pro Vitamin known as carotene, is available in large quantity from vegetables. Vitamin 'A' is useful to the body in various ways:

1. It is necessary for the process of metabolism occuring in every cell of the body.

2. It is necessary for the growth of the body.

3. It is essential for eye-sight. Deficiency of Vitamin 'A' causes night-blindness.

4. The most serious symptoms due to its lack are drying up of the skin, teeth troubles, the burning of mucous membrane, the loss of weight and kidney stones appearing in the urinary tract.

5. The vitamin 'A' deficiency causes diseases like swelling of the body, excessive increase of uric acid in blood, anemia, development of respiratory infections and infections of the ears and nose.

Green leafy vegetables, cabbage, red and yellow fruits and vegetables contain Vitamin 'A' in sufficient quantity. This vitamin is fat-soluble. So it cannot be assimilated completely if the food lacks in fat. The body has a reserved quantity of fat which assists the assimilation of vitamin 'A'. Vitamin 'A' is stable to heat but if exposed to continuous high temperatures over 100 degrees centigrade, it is destroyed.

Vitamin 'D' :

Some substances have a quality to prevent rickets, a disease of children. These substances which resemble the secretions of adrenal cortex are called sterols. Some of these substances when come into contact with ultra violet rays, turn into Vitamin 'D'

7- dehydro cholestrol lying in the human skin is converted into vitamin 'D' when come into contact with sun-rays. Thus the human body itself is able to produce vitamin 'D'. It is found in milk. It is fat soluble. It is not affected by moderate heat or oxygen in the atmosphere.

Vitamin 'D' is essential for the health of bones and the teeth. It is needed for the proper utilization of calcium and phosphorus. The deficiency of vitamin 'D' causes rickets in children. In this disease, the bones become soft, the spinal column and the bones of the arms and legs bend and the teeth suffer from caries. This ailment in persons of advanced age is called 'osteomalasia'

Vitamin 'K' :

By conversion to prothrombin in the liver this vitamin maintains the normal rate of blood coagulation by regulating the prothrombin level. Vitamin 'K' is also fat-soluble. It is sparingly soluble in water.

Vitamin 'K' is found in green and fresh leafy vegetables. Moreover, it is manufactured in the intestines by the bacterial flora that inhabits this organ. The deficiency of vitamin 'K'' causes poor clotting of blood and hemorrhagic tendencies.

Vitamin 'C' (Absorbic acid):

Absorbic acid is one kind of sugar which is very much useful for the body. It bestows youthfulness and efficiency in work. It is essential for the health of the teeth, the bones and the gums. It strengthens the arteries, prevents hemorrhage and promotes healing of wounds. It is necessary for blood metabolism and thus useful in anemia. This vitamin is considerably destroyed by heat. It is water soluble, hence the water used for cooking vegetables should not be discarded. The human body itself cant produce this vitamin.

The deficiency of vitamin 'C' in the body causes a disease called scurvy. Moreover, this deficiency also causes tooth-decay, gum troubles, rarifaction of bones, loss of weight and infertility.

This vitamin is found in citrus and sweet fruits and green leafy vegetables. Though potatoes contain a small amount of vitamin 'C', their large consumption supplies sufficient vitamin 'C'.

Vitamin 'B':

The vitamin 'B' complex is composed of many constituents. They include thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, pyrtidoxin, folate and B12. There is another complex containing constituents such as choline, pantothenic acid, biotine, inositol, p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), panguamic acid and amygdalin (laetrile). The function of these latter constituents remains still unknown.

Vitamin 'B' complex is water soluble and very useful to the body.

We will discuss more about essential elements for health in our next posts.

Best Regards,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Regarding more posts

2006-03-09T08:52:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

We are sorry for the dealy in sending more posts. We are preparing for it and post them soon.

Thanks for keeping patience.

Best Regards,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Essential elements for health - I

2006-03-02T02:47:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

We must be aware of certain essential ingrediant of our diet. Food must be consumed for keeping the body active and healthy. We can select proper diet only when we know what constituents of food are necessary for the body. One should eat only that food, the constituents of which are congential to one. These constituents should rejuvenate the body besides maintaning health. Diseases are caused because of deficiencies of certain essential constituents. If this is known to us, we shall never eat dispensable food. This kind of understanding of and view point on the system and substance of diet should be cultivated. With a view to make our life happy with healthy and active body, our daily diet should normally consist of the following constituents:

1. Carbohydrates:

The most important function of the carbohydrates is to provide fuel and energy to the body. The carbohydrates include sugar and starch. This constituent of food is available from all kinds of food grains (cereals). Flour devoid of husk, polished rice, white sugar, etc., retain their carbohydrates but lose most of the vitamins and minerals. They also do not contain roughage. Processed carbohydrates and teh carbohydrates taken in excess reduce the power of digestion and place unnecessary pressure on other organs of the body. Hence we should try to reduce from our diet the quantum of processed food except few substances containing natural carbohydrates.

2. Fats:

Fat provides heat to the body. Compared with animal fats (milk, ghee, meat) vegetable fats (oil seeds, edible oils) are better digested and are comparatively harmless. Animal fats have saturated fatty acids and lead to accumulation of cholestrol in the arteries with the result that the latter become hard and narrow. This invites diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. It is, therefore, advisable to take food with less fats and that, also prepared in vegetable oils containing unsaturated fats.

3. Proteins:

Proteins should be given an important place in our diet as they are necessary for the growth, development and reconstruction of the body. Twenty two types of amino acids constitute proteins. Some of amino acids are produced in the body. The rest should be obtained from food. A proper combination of various pulses gives us excellent proteins required for the body.

4. The importance of Vitamins:

The word vitamin is derived from 'vital' which means indispensable for life. This fact throws light on the value of vitamins. Untill the beginning of this century nobody knew anything about vitamins. Physiologists, that time thought that humans could live on a diet consisting of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals in required quantities and that the body required no other nutrients. Then experiements were performed. The experiments established that in addition to the constituents mentioned above, some other elements were required for life. Afterwards, when these elements were required for life. Afterwards when these elements were discovered they were called vitamins. Vitamins 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E', 'K' and 'P' have been discovered so far.

Vitamins are organic chemical substances required in minute quantity for the process of metabolism in the body. The body itself cannot produce these substances.

We will discuss more about Vitamins in our next posts.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Food- Cooked and Uncooked

2006-02-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

Eating cooked food is a very old tradition. This tradition of cooking food formed by our ancestors thousands of years ago is being continued bu us today too. No creature on the earth except man cooks its food. This may be the reason why creatures other than man dont become the victims of illness.

Food when cooked loses its life-giving nutrients and becomes lifeless. There is no possibility of getting energy, health or nourishment from this lifeless food. Life begets life. Food without life cannot bestow life. On the contrary, it makes the existing living lifeless.

The popular belief that food is required only for providing calories and energy to the body and keeping it active is firmly and deeply rooted. But those who believe in this are unaware of the fact that body continuously suffer wear and tear. Old tissue cells are being destroyed and to replace them new tissue cells are being generated. This process of reconstruction is necessary for life and it depends upon the nutrious quality of food which we consume. Our food must contain vitamins, minerals and enzymes to keep the reconstruction work going on. Moreover, protein, carbohydrates and fats contained in food require vitamins and enzymes for their assimilation. In the process of heating food, vitamins and enzymes contained in food are lost to a great extent.

If we take food solely on the basis of taste then it cant fulfil the requirements of the body. It is true that cooked food becomes soft and also delicious because of condiments, sweetening, etc. We are prone to eat such food more than required. This overeating causes indigestion followed by other diseases.

Cooked food not only loses its Vitamins and enzymes but also it undergoes may untoward changes. The protein and the carbohydrates in cooked food are not easily digestable. They are not easily absorbed in the intestines. Thus, cooked food becomes deficient in nutrients. It may perhaps give some nourishment to healthy persons, but for old and the sick it is useless.

Can we not minimize our love for cooked food and select raw or natural food in its place? Many persons fear that raw food causes heaviness, pain and gas in the abdomen, but thier fear is baseless. It has been proved through experiments that raw food is digested within three or four hours, whereas vegetable juices are digested within 25 to 30 minutes and are quickly assimilated into blood.

The above facts prove that raw food and live juices are most suited to the body and they stimulate the process of reconstrution. Precious nutrients are destroyed when food is cooked. But if grains are sprouted, there is considerable increase in their nutrients. In sprouted cereals there is a 600% increase in Vitamins 'A' and 'C' fro sprouted cereals. Sprouted grains and pulses are very useful for the speedy growth of a child and for increasing a nursing mother's milk.

It is indisputable fact that if we do away with traditional culture of cooked food and accept raw food as even half the quantity of our diet, our health with go on improving day by day.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Salt- a redundant constituent of food

2006-02-25T00:10:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Let us discuss about Salt which is a redundant constituent of our food.

If we consider sugar as a sweet poison then salt is also considered as a mineral poison. The intake of salt with food causes untoward effects in the body and to eliminate it the kidneys have to labour. If the excessive intake of salt continues, the kidneys become weak and damaged and sometimes they fail in their work.

We know that salt is essential constituent for taste and thats true but excessive consumption of salt proves to be detrimental to health. Because of the popular belief that food cannot be cooked without salt, there is hardly an item in our diet which is saltless. In fact, according to one expert physician, salt is not at all necessary for either life or health. In other words of him, there is no physiological need for salt. More and more dieticians and physicians have now begun to concede that salt is one of the causes of diseases which man suffers from. Excess salt, it is claimed causes improper Calcium absorption. Here is a list of various conditions or illnesses said to be caused by salt:

headache, insomia, migraine, heart disease, hives, kidney ailments, dropsy, cirrhosis of the liver, cold, sinus conditions, hearing problems, epilepsy, rheumatism and obesity. Many medical experts and other authorities have pointed to salt as a factor in the causation of cancer.

The human body requires two grains of salt per day and that can be obtained from only 50 grams of vegetables. A diet containing vegetables and fruits supplies sufficient natural salt to the body and no additional salt is required.

Salt has more disadvantages than advantages. A labourer, however, might need additional salt to replace the salts lost in perspiration. If he takes no additional salt, he may suffer from bodyache, muscular cramps and exhaustion.

With Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Sugar- a sweet poison to health

2006-02-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

Modern therapeutics/ doctors recommend restriction on the consumption of sugar for the purpose of maintaining health. The ayurveda and the naturopathy recommend avoidance of sugar from diet. Harmless substances like honey and fruits should be substituted for sugar. Jaggery is produced from sugarcan juice. White sugar is also produced from sugarcane juice through modern process. Considering their nutritious elements, sugarcane juice is more beneficial to health than jaggery, but white sugar has no role as a nutrient.

If we think about past, then one of the causes of good health of our ancestors was the absense of white sugar in their diet. They maintained the health and energy because they obtained as much fructose as they wanted from raw food, vegetables and fruits. Some researchers says that there is no physiological requirement for sugar. The calories and energy required for the body are easily available from fruits, vegetables and grains.

The constitution of our blood is alkaline so dieticians advice us to eat edibles containing minerals. Sugar and sweets, after digestion leave acidic residue in the body which is harmful and injurious to health. The chemical process made upone sugar for whitening and purifying it destroys its nutritious properties. There is little or no amount of vitamins and minerals in sugar.

The consumption of huge amount of white sugar has led to diseases like dental decay and caries, diabetes, cardiac trouble and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). The reckless use of sugar leads to migraine, dermatitis and renal disorders. Moreover, sugar increases the amount of cholestrol in the blood. Cholesterol accumulates in the inner surface of the arteries which consequently become narrow and hard. The heart has to work vigorously to push blood into such narrow arteries. Consequently the heart becomes exhausted and week. Sometimes it fails.

Thus we can analyse that the excessive use of sugar has adverse effects on health. Not only that, it also interrupts the smooth functioning of the body and the mind and leads to various diseases. That is why sugar is considered a sweet poison by dieticians.

Few links for reference:

We hope that you have gained some knowledge regarding sugar and its effects and implementing knowledge in our life will help us to improve our lives.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Improper food and Bad Habits - Fatal to health

2006-02-23T07:07:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

All of us desire happiness, peace and prosperity but the basic condition of achieving them is good health. How many of us observe the basic rules of physical and mental health and take proper food and follow good habits to gain good health? We dont think of the right food and eat. Consequently, when we fall ill, we are used to finding fault with fate. We rarely observe the basic principles of sound health. A negligible illness, and we rush to a doctor and administer poisnous drugs into our body. May be, these poisnous drugs give immediate relief, but this relief is short-lived. When the same ailment recurs, we are compelled to take stronger drugs in large doses with the results that several new diseases spring up out of one and we are entrapped in such a vicious circle that it is hard to get out of it.

But dont despair; there is one simple but effective way to get rid of the vicious circle of medicines. At the outset, we must clearly understand the fact that the origin of man's major or minor illnesses is improper dietic habits. We maintain physical and mental fitness through the consumption of proper and wholesome food. Raw food is the main force of preserving our health. Basically a proper diet is the best of all the medicines produced in the world. In the same way we can say that an improper diet is the cause of a disease. If we accept the two facts that our health is in our hands and our present diet is based on taste. If we change it, we can save thousands of rupees which are otherwise spent on medicines. The best diet is that which maintains our health in a natural way, nourishes the limbs and the organs of the body, makes them active and supplies whatever is deficient in the body.

Wheather a particular diet is proper or improper should be considered carefully. It is advisable to go for raw food in comparison to cooked food for the betterment of health. Compared to fried and boiled vegetables, unprocessed vegetables and their juices give much more nutrition and vitality. Sunripened fruits and raw food are considered more beneficial to health than canned fruits and juices, biscuits, bread, pickles, sweets, etc. because minerals and enzymes can be obtained only from fresh vegetables, fruits and natural food and they are essential for nourishment and health. Cooking destroys vitamins, enzymes and minerals contained in food-grains, vegetables and fruits. Sugar, salt and other delicious condiments, when added, make the food indigestible and without nutrients. Besides, diets with improper combinations such as fruit salad, rice pudding with pulses, milk with onions and garlic impair our health.

The number and varieties of items of eatables and drinks are multiplying day by day. Moreover, we become gluttonsous at late night parties. Today's life is a life of haste, hurry, bustle and mental tension. Under this stress we are now used to take refreshments every now and then throughout the day. Consequently, the mode of man's life has become irregular and discordant. Biological rhythm of body is endangered by irregular timings of eating, drinking, sleeping and walking. These irregularities disarrange the excretory functioning of the body. This is the reason why constipation, insomnia, bodyache and headache are the common complaints of today. The use of intoxicating substances like tobacco, ganja (hemp), etc. is also the cause of the accumulation of toxins and other harmful elements in the body. The system of adding colour, taste and flavour to food and the various processes through which it passes destroy its life giving nutrients. And look at the manufacturers; after food is processed, synthetic vitamins are added to make it nutritious. But all these additives and processed foods are injurious to health.

The diet consisting of raw or boiled food, raw vegetables, fruits and fresh fruit juices is proper and desirable for health. Among all diets juice diet is considered best for health and vitality.

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Introduction to Nature Cure

2006-02-21T04:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Every therapy of healing talks about importance of food for a healthy life. Now, some of the eminent experts of modern medicine ly empasis on food therapy. It is the true fact that improper food is perhaps the root cause of every disease. Raw food, vegetables and fruits are better for health than cooked or fried food or food prepared in any other way. Compared to milk, juices of grapes, carrots, strawberries and raspberries are more effective for health and nourishment. Vegetable and fruit juices help to cure such diseases as cannot be cured by modern medicine and various other therapies.

Nevertheless, it cannot denied that there are yet many doctors and patients show show their reluctance to the above facts.

Naturopathy or Nature cure has been gaining increasing popularity during last few years, and particularly, juice-therapy has established its exclusive importance in Nature cure. Juice therapy has no alternative for alleviating comon illness as well as chronic or hard to cure diseases. Not only does it enable you to enjoy a healthy life but also it helps you to rejuvenate yourself. Juice-diet and raw food have proved considerably effective to the cases where other modern therapies have failed. Posionous drugs like thalidomide, after ther prolonged use for many years have now been discarded. These harmful drugs are now being replaced by non-medicinal treatment like Nature cure and more and more doctors and patients are inclined towards the acceptance of the use of nourishing food, vegetables and fruit juices for the maintenance of health and cure of diseases.

Man born in lap of nature has now recognised the right direction of cultivating the delight of the body and the mind and of maintaining health by using natural food and juices. Mankind will find the source of real hope and joy in this new trend.

It is now imperative for all to choose juice diet or juice therapy in place of modern medicines because toxic elements contained in these medicines are harmful to the diseased and very often prolong illness instead or curing it.

We will discuss more about nature cure in our next posts.

We found some related links that are also beneficial:
1. The power of Positive Habbits

2. A Gluten free life

3. 500 Years of Natural Health Secrets

4. How to Safeguard Your Loved Ones From Bird Flu Now

5. The ultimate Organic Lifestyle

6. The Grape Cure

Best Regards,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Regarding more posts for health topics

2006-02-16T02:04:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

Sorry for the delay in posts. We will now starting the posts on Natural diets i.e., vegetables and fruits so that we can come to know their benefits. We hope you will like our efforts to give you good information on these posts.

We will be starting posts on natural diets soon.

Any suggestions or feedback will be appreciated.

Best Regards,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Ginger and its Medicinal Uses

2006-02-10T03:31:00.000-08:00

Hi,

Let us share some knowledge about Ginger.

What is Ginger?

Ginger is a strengthening food that has long been used to maintain health. Ginger has a long history of both culinary and medicinal use in Chinese, Japanese and Indian medicines. In ancient China, ginger was regarded as a healing gift from God and was commonly used to cleanse and warm the body.

Qualities of Ginger

The major active ingredients in ginger are terpenes and oleoresin called ginger oil. These two, and other active ingredients in ginger, provide antiseptic, lymph-cleansing, circulation, and constipation relief qualities.

Ginger is good for the respiratory system

It is good to fight against colds and flu

Ginger offers substantial protection from stroke and heart attack because of its ability to prevent blood clotting

Ginger, a multifaceted herb, is crucial in the battle against cardiovascular disease

Relieves headaches and pains

Helps to clear sore throats

Good for upset stomach and indigestion.

It is very effective as a cleansing agent through the bowels and kidneys and also through the skin.

Some of the problems cured by Ginger

Colds/Flu

Kills influenza virus by improving immune system's ability to fight infections. Ginger also relieves headaches.

Increases Circulation

Increases the muscular contractions of the heart atria, there by increase in overall circulation. Ginger has been proven to prevent internal blood clots and lowers blood pressure. Ginger Root stimulates the central nervous system controlling the heart and respiratory centers. Ginger helps reduce serum cholesterol, which can slow down circulation.

Ginger Relieves Motion/Morning Sickness

Ginger is one of the most effective herbal remedies to get rid of Motion/ Morning Sickness.

Digestive Aid - Indigestion, Stomach Ache

Ginger Root increases production of saliva in the mouth and dramatically increases digestive enzyme amylase in the saliva to additionally aid digestion. Ginger Root also contains a very effective digestive enzyme zingibain.

Women's Health

Ginger Root is good for the uterus as well as the intestinal tract and may ease menstrual cramps

Skin

Very cleansing - reduces pus in infected wounds as well as boils. Clears spots caused by chicken pox and shingles. Useful for burns, sores, sunburn, ringworm, warts, herpes, athletes foot and even for dandruff.

Stress Protection

Ginger Root appears to limit the effects of adrenergic stimulation and there by relieves the stress

Arthritis

As Ginger root is a proven anti-inflammatory agent, some arthritic victims may find it helpful.

Ginger is sometimes recommended as an alternative to aspirin for people who can not take aspirin because of its irritating effect on the gastrointestinal tract.

Ginger cures following ailments

Asthma - Adults
Athlete's Foot
Acne
Boils/ Blisters
Cold Sores
Cuts
Cold
Flu
Gingivitis
Glandular Fever
Gum Infections
Head Lice
Infections
Insect Bites / Stings
Mosquito Bites
Mouth Ulcers
Mumps
Ringworm (tinea)
Skin Conditions - Antiseptic
Sore Throat
Warts

With all the benefits to the average person, ginger should be included in the diet every day. Especially for a person who are suffering from heart problems, cold/flu, stress problem, motion sickness a daily dose of ginger combined with other herbs to enhance their effectiveness is part of a sensible, healthy diet.

We hope you enjoyed this post.

Regards,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Regarding More Posts

2006-02-06T07:56:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

We need suggestions from you for our blog so that we can provide you more better posts to gain knowledge.

We will try our best to give the best articles so that you can be aware to avoid disease (dont forget to consult your doctor for getting advice).

Waiting for your comments.

Regards,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Life with diabetes III

2006-01-31T00:48:00.000-08:00

Hi again,

Let us discuss more about life with diabetes.

Pregnancy:

A great care has to be given to a diabetic pregnant woman. She must get advice of a doctor. At one time, diabetes was a grave risk factor for diabetic women. The incidence of abortion or death of either the child or themother was very high. The discovery of insulin has considerably trasformed the situation. Even then, it is not easy for a diabetic women to first conceive and then give birth to a healthy baby at the right time. Difficulties can however be kept to minimize with an expert gynaecologist's care.

Surgery:

Many people harbour a false notion that diabetics cannot undergo a surgery without risks to their lives. In fact, any operation can be safely and successfully carried out if the diabetes is well controlled.

In conclusion it can be said that a clear understanding of the disease and effective medicines available today enable the diabetic to lead an almost normal life. He/she can under certain limits, play all sports, perform all activites and enjoy life. In many countries, there are special associations of diabetics, which arrange entertainment programmes and get-togethers for diabetics, hold sports competitions and keep the members appraised of new developments in the understanding and the treatment of the disease.

Come and let us accept the challenge posed by diabetes. If we obtain a correct understanding of the disease, we need not fear it, nor need we allow it to interfere with our normal life.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Life with diabetes II

2006-01-27T04:32:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Let us further continue to our previous post.

Education:

Child or young diabetics find no difficulty at all in pursuing education. Their intelligence and memory are no way inferior to those of other healthy students.

It is desirable that the class teacher and a few close friends of the diabetic student know that he/she has the disease and also know about the symptoms of hypoglycemia.

Household chores:

A diabetic women can easily do all the household work herself. She should refrain from visiting relatives too frequently, where she may have to give into her host's insistence to eat or drink prohibited preparations.

Job/Business:

A diabetic can usually follow any kind of job or business to earn his living. It would be desirable that a few of his colleagues know about his disease and the steps to be taken in an emergency.

Marriages, parties, restaurants etc.:

A diabetic can take part in any function of his choice. Infact, he/she must remain careful about his diet. It is natural that the host may, cout of courtesy, insist on his having certain dishes or foods. But the diabetic should politely refuse without making too much fuss (he/she must remember what his/her doctor has adviced for curing diabetes)

Sports:

Juvenile as well as adult diabetics can participate in sports regularly or occassionally. However care should be taken to prevent blood sugar level from dropping too low. An untoward incident can be prevented by having immediately before the start of the sport, a snack which would provide easily and rapidaly digestible carbohydrates.

Other illness:

Like other people, diabetics too may suffer from other routine illnesses. Medicines taken for those illnesses may affect the blood sugar level or may interfere with anti diabetic drugs. A diabetic patient must consult his/her doctor for taking other medicines.

Driving a Vehicle:

Driving and Maintaining a vehicle is one of the important part of life. A diabetic should remain careful while driving. It is desirable that patients whose blood sugar level fluctuates wildly (unstable or brittle diabetes) refrain from driving. This would prevent a diabetic from an accident on the road.

We hope you gain some knowledge.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Life with diabetes I

2006-01-23T00:07:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

If we diagnose diabetes then there will be different responses in different persons. A child diabetic cannot understand the gravity of the diagnosis can readily be understood. Many a time even adults react childishly. Many patients just refuse to accept the situation. This refusal is expressed in different forms. Some patients (according to survey in India) bluntly state that they cant have diabetes. Some patients just refuse to accept the situation. This refusal is expressed in different forms. Some patients bluntly state that they cant have diabetes. Even after being presented with irrefutable proofs and made to accept the bitter truth, such patients take medicines irregularly or in lesser doses. To some patients, the diagnosis diabetes gives a great jolt or shock. Unending worry then overpowers them. Some patients do accept the diagnosis, but they hide it from their near and dear ones. However as the time passes, most of the diabetics come out of the shock, assume a more mature behaviour and sincerely start following their physician's advice.

In fact, there is no need at all for a diabetic to be unduly upset or feel ashamed (the medical experts say). Millions of people in this world have diabetes. A patient who has reshaped his mind and is determined can launch an assault against the disease. Today diabetes can boast of an almost normal and creative long life. Diabetics no longer die of acute complications like diabetic coma or gangrene. Diabetic pregnant women give birth to healthy babies at the right time. These facts are indications of the progress made in the understanding and the treatment of the disease.

Aftre the diagnosis of the disease, the diabetic (and his family members too) should strive to gather information regarding each and every aspect of this disease.

A diabetic can lead happy, fruitful and long life if he/she has knowledge about:
1. Principles of dieting and exercise
2. The dosage of insulin and the method of injecting it.
3. Symptoms and treatment of low blood-sugar.
4. Causes, symptoms and treatment of diabetic coma and
5. Skin and foot care is acquired.

A diabetic patient has to be equipped with complete knowledge about the disease and with the support of the physician, the diabetic should launch and assault against the disease with non-medicinal weapons like diet, exercise, acupressure and magnet therapy. After commencing the treatment, he should get his urine and blood examined to access the degree of control achieved. It should be clearly understood that mere amelioration of symptoms is not a proof of the control of diabetes. For that, a periodic analysis of urine and blood is inevitable.

Diabetes can be said to be under control only when:
1. Symptoms of diabetes are absent
2. Patient's ideal body weight is maintained
3. Blood sugar levels are within the normal range.
4. Sugar does not escape in the urine.
5. Blood does not show signs of ketosis.
6. The blood- cholestrol and blood - tryglyceride levels are normal.
7. The amount of glycosyslated haemoglobin is less than 8.5 percent.

The diabetic patient should go ahead with the advice of doctor so that diabetic can be controlled properly. Till the diabetes comes under total control and till the physical condition has stabilised, the patient has to visit his doctor frequently. Once the correct amont of diet, exercise and medicines have been arrived at, the patient should faithfully cling to the treatment programme. A person who has learnt to administer an insulin injection himself and can analyse his own urine and blood need not usually visit his doctor before three monthly intervals. Thus the expenditure for treatment is considerably reduced.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Skin and Foot Care in Diabetes

2006-01-20T02:43:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

We are again back. Let us discuss about the skin and foot care.

Skin and Foot Care:

It is very important in diabetes to take care of skin and the feet in diabetes. There are three factors which endanger a diabetic's skin and feet viz, increased chances of contracting an infection, inadequate blood supply and impaired sensations.

Skin Care:

A diabetic must always remain alert to prevent an injury to skin. He must take extra care while shaving. He should see that his skin is not abrased against the wall or a rough surface. If in any case the skin is injured, the wound should not be allowed to get infected. It should be washed with clean water, disinfected with cotton-swab soaked in alcohol (as prescribed by the doctor; consult doctor for it) and lightly bandaged with a cotton cloth. Adhesive tapes should never be used to cover a wound. if a need is felt, mild antiseptics but strong medicines like tincture of iodine, carbolic acid, salicylic acid or phenol should be avoided.

Foot Care:

The feet must be cared more than the face, this is the advise by the doctors to their diabetic patients. A diabetic should constantly be on an alert to prevent a foot injury. The feet should be washed twice a day with soap and warm water. While washing the feet, the nails, the toes and the skin between the toes should be minutesly observed. The feet should then be wiped dry with a soft cloth. In diabetics, the skin between the toes easily gets injured or infected with fungus. So a diabetic, after washing his feet should apply a cream (as prescribed by his/her doctor) between his/her toes. A diabetic should never move bare footed. In home, he/she should wear soft shoes. Tight or pointed shoes are not desirable for a diabetic because they obstruct blood circulation. A diabetic woman should not wear pencil heal or high heal shoes or sandals. New shoes should initially be worn only for short periods so that a bite does not develop.

A diabetic should cut his/her nails with great care. He/she should not cut corns on his soles himself/ herself. Such tasks should be left to the physician.

A diabetic should immediately consult his doctor, if:
1. There is a pain, itching, swelling or numbness of the legs.
2. The skin of the leg suddenly changes color.
3. A leg wound gets infected and an ulcer is formed.
4. A foot disorder doesnt improve with the remedies within a short time.

We hope you are gaining some knowledge to make preventions. Please consult your physician so that he/she can guide you much better to cure the diabetes.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing.

Regarding more posts

2006-01-15T04:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

We will post more articles soon. We are going busy these days.

Hope that you will keep patience and we will be back for more information on health and fitness so that we can gain knowledge to prevent from diseases and make this world healthier.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Prevention of Diabetes

2006-01-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

As we know 'Prevention is better than Cure' thats why we have named our blog as 'Knowledge is Healing'.

:: The incorrect dietary habits play a big role in the development of diabetes. Parents must take care to form correct dietary habits in their children. Children should not make addicted to icecream, cakes, jam, jelly, peppermint, chocolates and other sweets. The diet of childrent must be balanced one and that would produce their growth but not obesity. Ideal weight (or less than ideal weight) and a proportionate (or slim) body is an almost certain gurantee against diabetes. If some has family history of diabetes then he should accept voluntary diet control after the age of 30 years, since physical development has been completed. This is inevitable for sedentary and obese persons.

:: Regual physical exercise and yoga is must for everyone in his/her daily shedule. Parents should convince their children about the paramount importance of exercise and should encourage them for outdoor sports.

:: All those persons in whom a prediabetic state has been detected through 'stress glucose tolerance test', should take all necessary precautions to prevent actual disease.

:: The incident of diabetes is much higher in obese persons as compared to others. Therefore, every fat person should immediatelyh take steps to lose weight and achieve ideal weight.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Magnet Therapy in treatment of diabetes

2006-01-10T22:52:00.000-08:00

Hi again,

Magnet therapy is one of the new mode of treatment that occupies very important place in the treatment of diabetes. Varoious evidences from several research centres shows that Magnet therapy is highly effective in the treatment of many diseases. Diabetes can be controlled and its complications (for example: atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease) can be effectively prevented by Magnet therapy. There are many proofs that proves the effectiveness of magnet therapy. The science of Magnet therapy is still growing and proofs about its effectiveness are pouring in. Various laboratories around the world are working to determine the efficacy of Magnet therapy. It will be fine if Magnet therapy is to be employed along with other measures to prevent or to control diabetes.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Acupuncture or Acupressure in treatment of diabetes

2006-01-10T22:46:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Certain points on the surface of the body influence internal organs. Acupuncture and Acupressure are oriental therapies that utilise certain points on the surface of the body to influence internal organs. The World health organisation (WHO) has also given due recognition to these therapies. In Acupuncture, specific points are pierced with needles whereas in acupressure, the same points are stimulated by deep pressure with finger-tip or a blunt object.

Experiences has shown that when acupuncture or acupressure treatment is added to diet and exercise, the need of medicines diminishes considerably. In some cases, even medicines can be discarded altogether.

Since, diabetes is a long term disease and its control is a long term responsiblity. In diabetes, acupressure is preferable to acupuncture because former can be performed by the patient himself. Acupressure treatment is absolutely safe and devoid of side effects and it is considerably effective as it can be seen from successful clinical trials and statistical data available.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Role of Exercise and Yoga in Diabetics

2006-01-10T04:18:00.000-08:00

Hi again,

Let us discuss more.

Physical exercises are one of the important mode of treatment in diabetes.

Excercises give following benefits:

1. Contracting of muscles use up a lot of sugar. This relieves much of pancreas burden.

2. Accumulated fat is used up. As a result, weight decreases, which on itself may ameliorate most symptoms of diabetes.

3. A psychological boost is experienced.

4. Heart becomes more efficient.

By consulting his/her doctor, a diabetic can opt for any light exercise like walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, gardening, etc. A middle aged diabetic should desist from doing any kind of heavy or tiring exercises.

Before opting for a suitable exercise programme, the diabetic should go for a complete medical check up to ensure that no untoward incident occurs later on. If while doing any exercise or after the exercise, excessive fatigue, breathlessness, weakness or chest pain occurs, it is an indication that exercises have been overdone or that the amount or pace of the exercise is presently beyond the reach of the person. He/she must take care to prevent any kind of injury during exercise. Regarding food intake, the diabetic should not increase food intake after commencing exercises otherwise benefits of exercise will be neutralised. It may be noted that exercises reduce the amount of sugar in the blood.

The diabetic must be regular in exercises to get proper benefit because exercises done irregularly may do more harm than good.

Yogasans (yoga):

Yoga and Pranayama also have an important role in the treatment of diabetes. Many yoga experts and physicians have proved that yoga brings down the blood sugar level. Many diabetics who cant do various excercises like walking, jogging or swimming etc. can get the benefits of exercises through yogasans and pranayama. It may be noted that yoga and pranayama must be done by consulting your physician and yoga expert. We are just listing the names of yogasans that have been proved to beneficial to diabetics:

1. Uddiyanbandh
2. Yogamudra
3. Trikonasana
4. Dhanurasana
5. Pashchimottanasana
6. Konasana
7. Sarvangasana
8. Matyasana
9. Shavasana

other asans:

1. Tadasana
2. Triyaka Tadasana
3. Kati Chakrasana
4. Triyaka Bhujangasana
5. Udaraakarshanasana

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - VII

2006-01-05T22:53:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Let us discuss about some practical suggestions regarding diet:

1. Diet control is extremely important and indispensable for diabetics. No drug can compensate for or undo the harm caused by faulty and reckless diet. Diet should be planned intelligently and on the basis of scientific principles. If due to false beliefs or misleading advices from relatives and neighbours, you are observing fasts or eating monotonous diet day after day, stop such practice immediately. A diet without variety not only arouses a feeling of dislike in the mind but also causes harm to the body. Always keep in the mind that for a diabetic, diet control is not a temporary or pasing phase but a life long repsonsibility. Therefore give variety its due place in your diet. Use spices (in moderation though) because they possess no calorific value. Albeit, restric the use of salt.

2. Maintain the timings of your meals meticulously. If this is not done, it is well nigh impossible to maintain the blood sugar at normal levels all the time.

3. However busy or occupied you may be, never miss a meal. This is necessary to pervent low blood sugar.

4. Be on your alert about correct and incorrect foods even when you go to hotels, parties or visit your relatives. Always keep sachharine tablets with you.

5. While on a tour to some distant place, keep handy fruits like apple, orange or sweet lime. This will help in case symptoms of low blood sugar arise.

6. Even if you dont have an appetite, do not abstain from food during an illness. Have light food of your liking at fixed timings.

7. It is on the basis of the amount of your food intake that doctor has prescribed the dose of anti diabetic drugs. Therefore do not vary the total amount of food you take during the day.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - VI

2006-01-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

Let us discuss more about foods in diabetes.

Prohibited foods:Followings are the prohibited foods for a diabetic:

Sugar, glucose, honey, jam, chocolates, sweets, sweet drinks, sweetened milk, canned fruits, sweet biscuits, cakes, pie, pudding, peppermint and alcohol.

Foods to be taken in moderation:Following are the foods that are to be taken in moderation:

Cereals, pulses, potatoes, peas, dry fruits, cheese, milk, butter, ghee, oil, meat, eggs, fish.

Foods that can be taken as desired:Following foods are to be taken as desired:

Most fruits, vegetables, drinks (tea, coffee, etc. sweetened with sachharine).

Classification of foods:

Foods can be divided into eight categories:

1. Vegetables (Type A): e.g., cabbage, cauli flower, cucumber, brinjals, karelas, ladies finders, tomatoes, raddish, chillies, etc.

The carbohydrate-content of these vegetables is very low. Such vegetables can be taken as much as desired in the raw form; however they should not be consumed more than a cupful if cooked.

2. Vegetables (Type B): e.g., carrots, onion, green peas, beet, raw mangoes, etc.

Every 100 gms of these vegetables have 7 gms of carbohydrates and 2 gms of proteins (totally 36 calories)

3. Fruits: The fruits [ apple (80 gms), banana (50 gms), Watermelon (175 gms), Fresh figs (50 gms), Dried Figs (30 gms), Grapes (75 gms), Ripe Mango (70 gms), Orange (100 gms), Sweet lime (100 gms), Guava (100 gms), Papaya (80 gms) and Pinaple (80 gms)] when consumed in quantities mentioned alongside, supply 10 gms of carbohydrates (i.e. 40 calories)

4. Cereals: When consumed in the specified quantities, the following cereals supply 15 gms of carbohydrates and 2 gms proteins supply 15 gms of carbohydrates and 2 gms proteins (totally 68 calories): Jwar, bajra or wheat flour- 2-1/2 tablespoons (20 gms boiled rice 1/2 cup (100 gms); non sweet biscuits (20 gms); boiled potatoes- 2 (100 gms); sweet potatoes - 1/4 cup (50 gms).

5. Pulses: Generally, 1 small container (cup) of any cooked supplies 125 to 140 calories.

6. Fats: Approximately 45 calories are obtained from Butter, ghee or oil- 1 teaspoon (5 gms). Cashewnuts, almonds, groundnuts- 10 gms.

7. Milk: 1 cup of milk or curd supplies 12 gms of carbohydrates, 8 gms of proteins and 10 gms of fats (totally 170 calories). A reduction of 40 calories can be achieved by removing fat from the milk.

8. Non- vegetarian foods: 30 gms of meat or fish or 1 (50 gms) egg supply 7 gms protein and 5 gms fats (totally 80 calories).

Sweetening agents to be used instead of sugar:

Such sweetening agents include sachharine, fructose and sorbitol. Of these, sachharine is preferable since it has no nutritional value. It is about 350 times sweeter than sugar. It is available in the market in tablet or liquid forms. It should be noted that sachharine should not be added to food while cooking because extreme heat disintegrates it to create a very disagreeable and bitter taste. It should be added to foods after they have been cooked and while they are cooling.

Alcohol:Alcohol variously harms the diabetic:

1. It suddenly brings down the blood sugar level, more so in those diabetics who take oral hypoglycemic drugs. A very low blood sugar level may cause unconsciousness (hypoglycemic coma), a critical condition calling for urgent steps. Unfortunately, however such unconscious persons get no attention because people think that he/she has collasped due to excessive alcohol intake.

2. It harms the liver.

3. It stimulates the appetite and leads to obesity, whose connection with diabetics is well known.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - V

2006-01-05T03:40:00.001-08:00

Hi,

The major constituents of the food we eat are:

Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and fibres (roughage). To maintain health and to aid the various processes occuring in the body, it is essential that all these constituents are obtained in sufficient amount.

Carbohydrates includes sugar and starch. Cereals are their main reources. Refined sugar, jaggery, honey etc. are concentrated forms of carbohydrates. One gram of carbohydrates provides energy worth four calories to the body.

Proteins are essential for the growth of the body and regeneration of cells lost due to wear and tear. Milk, pulses, meat fish and eggs are their main sources. One gram of protein provides energy worth four calories to the body.

Fats are available from ghee and oils. There are two types of fat: saturated and unsaturated.
Saturated fats are believed to be the causes of narrowing and hardening of arteries (atherosclerosis). Atherosclerosis ultimately leads to a heart attack or cerebral haemorrhage. It is therefore desirable to drastically cut down the consumption of food articles containing saturated fats. Butter, ghee, vegetable ghee, coconut oil and palm oil have lots of saturated fats. On the other hand, groundnut oil, til oil, corn oil, soyabean oil, lineseed oil and cotton seed oil are sources of relatively harmless, unsaturated fats. Each gram of fat provides energy worth nine calories to the body.

Vitamins and Minerals are extremely important nutrients which server numerous functions inside the body. Raw vegetables, fruits, germinated pulses and germinated cereals are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals.

During the past sixty-sixty five years the notions about the proportions of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in a diabetic diet have undergone a radical change.

Uptill the second decade of this centuary, diabetics were advised to consume a very low carbohydrate and very high fat diet. But gradually it became known that a high fat diet ruins the blood vessels and harms the heart. Besides no logical reason could be put forward for carbohydrate restriction. Modern dietcians and physicians recommend for the diabetics, a diet fifty five to sixty percent of which is comprised of carbohydrates, twenty to twenty two percent of fats and eighteen to twenty percent of proteins.

It is now unanimously agreed that a diabetic should receive a larger than usual quota of Vitamins and minerals. As we know that some researchers have propounded the Vitamin B6 raises the xanthurenic acid content of the blood, which in turn damages the pancreas and leads to diabeties. A fact which supports this belief is that all diabetics excrete large amounts of xanthurenic acid in their urine. If diabetics are given 50 mg of vitamin B6 every day, urinary xanthurenic acid rapidly diminshes and symptoms of diabetes begin to disappear.

Magnesium has been found to bring down the requirements of vitamin B6 by decreasing the xanthurenic content fo the body. Dietcians suggest that every diabetic should recieve 500 mg of magnesium daily.

Some researchers claim that Vitamin C, Vitamin B1 and panthothenic acid and helpful to diabetics because like sulphonurea drugs, they stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin. Again, animals kept on a totally 'Vitamin C- free' diet manufacture less insulin in their bodies and develop symptoms similar to those of diabetes.

It has been seen that diabetics give 300 to 600 units of Vitamin E daily, many a time require much smaller doses of medicinal insulin.

Chemical analysis has also shown that diabetics suffer from a Vitamin A deficiency. Experiements have shown that when diabetics are daily given about 15000 to 16000 units of Vitamin A, their health improves and the concentration of cholesterol in their blood falls.

Chromium is also a very important mineral for diabetics. If there is chromium deficiency in the body, the effectivity of insulin decreases. If experimental animals are made chromium deficient, their blood glucose and blood cholestrol levels rise. Besieds, if a need arises, these vitamins and minerals can be obtained can be obtained through pills as well.

It is desirable that the fibre content of our diet is high. People or tribes who give fibre containing food articles a due place in their diet, almost always succeed in keeping diabetes and other diseases at bay.

If a diet is rich in fibres, the absorption of glucose through the intestines is slowed down. Consequently the bood sugar level rises gradually. The pancrease gland is able to cope with such a situation very easily. Some researchers has proved through experiments that when diabetics are given a high fibre diet, their medicinal insulin requirements are reduced by almost twenty five percent. Vegetable, fruits, whole cereals and whole pulses are excellent sources of fibres. By removing bran from the flour, by eating polished rice, by keeping away from fruits-vegetables and by consuming processed, refined and soft foods, we invite not only diabetes but also other diseases, right from constipation to cancer.

Thanks,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - IV

2006-01-05T03:37:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

Let us discuss about the Diet!

The Diet:

The important question is "What type of diet should a diabetic take"? which calls for a detailed answer.

It is very sad fact that a dieabetic does not get adequate guidance about food. Most advices about diet are limited to prohibiting or curtailing the use of refind sugar, rice, potatoes and fried eatables. Infact, besides the things to be avoided, a diabetic should also be supplied with a list of things to be eaten, the right amounts of those foods and the proper timings for taking those foods. Half knowledge does more harm than good to the diabetic because apart from the prohibited four or five items of food, he/she continues to eat everything else, thereby inviting a rise in blood-glucose level.

Some diabetics, heeding to the advice of their relatives or friends, observe fasts or opt for fad diets consisting of one or two food articles. This gradually leads to depletion of vitamins and minerals stored in the body and gives rise to symptoms of their deficiency. Besides, sooner or later, the tongue rebels against such monotonous diet. Ultimately the diabetic develops such avertion to dieting that he/she reverts to old faulty food habits with a vengeance. Infact a diabetic can choose his diet from a variety of food articles. He/she need to stay away from the taste he likes. Similarly he/she need not consume diet which is entirely different from that perpared for the rest of his/her family. Wheat, rice of bajri are similar in their nutrient contents. Likewise most vegetables have similar nutrients. Thus ther is no reason why a diabetic should eat the same cereal or the same vegetable day after day.

Thanks,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - III

2006-01-04T21:59:00.000-08:00

Hi again,

How the total calories should be obtained in parts has been suggested below:

About twenty percent of the total calories through the morning breakfast.
About forty percent of the total calories through the lunch.
About ten percent of the total calories through the afternoon tea-coffee and snacks.
About twenty percent of the total calories through the dinner,
The rest ten percent of the total calories through late evening milk and snacks/fruits.

Thanks,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - II

2006-01-04T21:56:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

We are discussing about role of diet in treatment of diabetes.

Diet:

In the treatment of diabetes, diet is of utmost importance. Diet is the single most important factor in the successful treatment of diabetes. Inspite of all the advances in the field of medical treatment, diet has maintained its supremacy. If faulty dietary habits are persisted with, drugs cannot help. Besides, for obese diabetics, a dietary change is the only treatment of choice.

Principles of diet-planning:

A diabetic's diet should be such as would:-

1. supply sufficient amounts of energy given nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
2. supply in sufficient amounts, vitamins and minerals which are necessary for the body and for the control of diabetes.
3. supply enough calories (nutrition) to the body to attain or maintain ideal body-weight.
4. help in avoiding or controlling complications of diabetes.

Total quantity of food: It is generally agreed that during the course of a day, a diabetic should be given food that would supply about 30 calories per ideal body weight. However, whether the diabetic has to do a manual or a sedentary job and whether he is overweight or underweight should be considered while deciding the whole day rationing of food.

A diet supplying 1500 to 1800 calories during the day would be sufficient for a middle aged and sedentary diabetic.

However, developing children, pregnant women, breast-feeding mothers and sportsmen would need more food.

The total food should be consumed in almost four or five equal parts during the day. Many diabetics commit the mistake of taking only two meals a day. Naturally, such meals are heavy. The insulin produced in the body (or that injected as a medicine) is insufficient to metabolise this excessive food. hence the blood sugar level rises. On the other hand, at a time midway between two meals, the glucose level drops down abnormally. Such wide fluctuations of blood glucose levels are undesirable. Besides, if the blood glucose concentration drops down too much, it may lead to a hypoglycemic coma, a critical condition. It is therefore advisable for the diabetic to have four to five small meals equally spaced out during the day.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - I

2006-01-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

Diabetes can be treated through:

1. Diet
2. Exercise
3. Medicinces
4. Accupuncture/ Accupressure Techniques
5. Magnet Therapy
etc. etc.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Treatment of diabetes

2006-01-03T23:50:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

If we consider the present medical knowledge then it can be said that diabetes is a lifetime disease. With proper guidance of a doctor, it can be kept under complete control and some of its complications prevented but a complete cure still remains elusive. Hence, we can say that the treatment of diabetes is a lifetime responsibility.

Some diabetics resign themselves to fate on knowledge of their disease. They throw all the health rules to the wind and indulge in excesses. But to man, death is not available for the asking. When dreadful complications of the disease overpower such careless or happy go lucky persons life becomes miserable and intolerable. If some one ignores the treatment of diabetes then we can say that he/she is axing own feet.

The treatment of diabetes does not rob a person of worldly pleasures or make his/her life dreary. Infact a person undergoing treatment can lead an almost normal life.

The main aims of diabetes treatment:

1. To ameliorate all the symptoms of the disease.

2. To control the concentration of blood glucose.

3. To prevent glucose from escaping in the urine.

4. To formulate a 'whole day diet plan' such that all the essential nutrients are available to the body.

In child diabeticcs, the diet should be enough to encourage physical development. Another thing to be kept in mind while planning the diet is that the body weight is to be brought to the ideal level.

5. To convince the person of the importance of regular physical exercise and to formulate an exercise programme as per the individual needs.

6. To educate the diabetic (and his/her near and dear ones) about different aspects of the disease and its treatment.

The last point needs further elucidation. In the treatment of diabetes, the patient has to bear an almost equal (perhaps greater) responsibility as compared to the attending physician. He can intelligently and successfully shoulder this responsibility only if he/she is aware of all the facts of the disease. However because of several limitations especially those of time, no doctor can educate his/her patient fully.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Diagnosis of Diabetes

2006-01-02T00:31:00.000-08:00

Diabetes can be detected under various circumstances. The symptoms of acute diabetes are so dramatic that it is almost impossible to miss the diagnosis. But in a number of patients, diabetes develops so gradually and silently that it is revealed only by the methodical examination of the urine and the blood. It is believed that undiagnosed diabetics probably outnumber known diabetics. It is prcisely for this reason that all persons above 35 years of age, especially if they are obese or have a family history of diabetes should get their urine and blood examined at regular intervals of time to ascertain the presence or absense of diabetes. Actually most of these tests are utterly simple and can be learnt or performed by every interested person.

Diagnostic investigations:

a.) Tests to detect the presence of sugar in the urine (glycosuria)
b.) Tests to detect the amount of sugar in the blood.

Other investigations which may help the diabetic:

Laboratory investigations are inevitable to assess the degree of control achieved while treating diabetes and of such investigations urine sugar estimation is the most common and important investigation.

Besides there are other investigations which help to detect complications of diabetes. These include the estimation of acetone, albumin and chlorides in urine.

The presense of acetone in the urine is an indication of ketosis. On detection of acetone, rapid steps should be taken to prevent diabetic coma.

The presense of albumin in the urine is an indication that something is wrong with either kidneys or the ureter.

The estimation of the amounts or chlorides in urine gives information about the state of electrolyte balance in the diabetic's body.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Symptoms of Diabetes- II

2006-01-02T00:18:00.000-08:00

7. Wound infection and delayed healing:

Glucose rich blood is a good breeding medium for pus forming micro organisms. Moreover diabetes also affects the small bloodvessels (micro angiopathy) and nerves (neuropathy) leading to a decrease in the blood supply of the skin and derrangement of skin sensations. That is the reason why even a small wound on a diabetic person's body easily gets infected and fails to heal in time.

8. Easy susceptibility to infections of the skins, gums and the respiratory system:

The glucose rich blood of a diabetic provides optimum conditions for a rapid growth and reproduction of disease causing micro organisms. Besides, the hormonal imbalance causes a decrease in the natural resistance power of the body against disease. Hence a diabetic easily contracts infections of the skins, gums and teh respiratory tract. He/she commonly suffers from boils, carbunles, pyrrhoea, cough and colds.

9. Intense itching all over the body, especially thatof the genital parts:

Many a time diabetes is suspected and later diagnosed in women complaining of intense itching of the genital parts. Irritation of the nerve endings on the skin and on the genital organs due to excessive glucose in the blood is the cause for this trouble.

10. Frequent changes in the sharpness of vision and the spectacle numbers:

Changes in the glucose concentration of the internal fluid (aqueous) of the eyes leads to variations in their focussing power. That is the reason why a diabetic has to often change his spectacle lenses. The crystalline lens of the eye depends, for its nourishment and transparency on the glucose dissolved in the aqueuos. In diabetes the nourishment of the crystalline lens is jeopardised, leading to an untimely cataract.

11. Aching or numbers of limbs and an abnormal increase or decrease in skin sensations:

Diabetes untowardly affects the whose nervous system to give reise to these symptoms.

12. Sexual debility or impotence:

General weakness, disintegration of muscles protein, mental depression and undesirable changes in the blood circulatory and nervous systems give rise to these symptoms.

13. Diabetic unconsciousness (hyperglycemic coma):

As we know, the body disintegrates stored fats to nourish starving cells. Fat disintegration leads to the production of ketone bodies in the blood. Excessive increase of ketone bodies makes the blood acidic and gradually leads to unconsciousness. Many a time the diabetes is suspected or diagnosed after the victim becomes unconscious.

Besides, the following circumstances should also arouse suspicion of diabetes:

a.) Sudden weight gain after the age of 45 years
b.) Coronary heart disease.
c.) Cerebral haemorrage

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Symptoms of Diabetes- I

2006-01-02T00:13:00.000-08:00

Diabetes affects various organs or systems of the body to give rise to such symptoms as would sometimes mislead even a physician. Maturity onset diabetes creeps into the body so silently that the victim usually remains unaware and symptomless. On the other hand, juvenile diabetes develops suddenly and gives rise to dramatic symptoms.

Symptoms: The following are the symptoms of diabetes:-

1. Polyurea (excessive and frequent urination):

The sugar escaping in the urine, drags along with itself, a large quantity of water, hence a diabetic frequently passes large amounts of urine.

2. Polydipsia (dryness of mouth and excessive thirst):

This particular symptom is the result of efforts by the body to compensate for the fluids lost through excessive urine.

3. Polyphagia (excessive hunger):

In diabetes, glucose cannot enter the various body cells. Thus the cells starve inspite of being bathed by the glucose rich serum. They suffer from poverty in the midst of plenty. To overcome this cellular starvation the body gives rise to abnormal and excessive hunger.

4. Loss of weight:

The body disintegrates stored fats to provide the cells with the necessary nourishment when the cells cannot utilise glucose. Therefore the person loses the weight.

5. Weakness, fatigue and body ache:

The body also disintegrates stored muscle protein to nourish the starving cells. This is the cause of undue weakness and fatigue.

6. Mental fatigue and lack of concentation:

The brain cells have to depend chiefly on glucose for their nourishment. However they cannot utilize the available glucose and due to that the person experiences undue mental fatigue and he/she cannot concentrate and becomes forgetful.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Causes of Diabetes- II

2006-01-02T00:09:00.000-08:00

Inadequate physical work:

Because of the industrialisation, man has drifted away from physical labour. Sedentary life too plays an important role in giving birth to diabetes. During physical work, muscles use up a lot of glucose present in the blood and as a result, the workload on the pancrease is reduced. Moreover, physical labour also prevents or reduces obesity which is intimately connected with diabetes.

Viral Infection:

A possible role of some viral infection as an aetiological factor for diabetes is also being considered by many scientists. Some children have also been seen to cortract diabetes after suffering from mumps, a viral infection. the viruses destroy the insulin producing beta cells of the pancreas. Besides, the antibodies produced by the body to fight the virus also attack the beta cells and aggravate the disease.

Effects of certain hormones:

Some hormones produced in the body have an action opposite to that of insulin i.e., they increase the amount of glucose in the blood. Such hormones include glucagon, cortisone, growth hormone, adrenaline and thyroxine. If the secretion of these hormones is excessive, the effectiveness of efficiency of insulin decreases and blood glucose level rises.

Side effects of some drugs:

The long term use of certain drugs like cortisone (used for asthma, repiratory diseases, arthritis and skin diseases), contraceptive pills and thyroid group of drugs can also produce diabetes by harming the pancreas.

Other diseases:

Acute pancreatitis, a heart attack or some other illnesses may precipitate diabetes. This fact is more applicable to persons who are carriers of diabetes or who have family history of diabetes. In such persons, an acute illness may unmask latent diabetes. Acute pancreatitis is an important cause of diabetes in some areas.

Psychological factors:

Acute emotional upset, shock or mental stress may unmask latent diabets. However, this factor plays a greater role in enhancing established diabetes than in actually causing this disease.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledgeishealing

Causes of Diabetes- I

2006-01-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

All the causative factors of diabetes have still not been discovered. But the known factors have been discussed below:

Heredity:

We can get reference of the familial nature of diabetes in ancient medical texts. More than forty six percent give a family history of the disease of the total diabetics. There are varied opinions about how parents pass on this disease to their children but non has been able to fully explain how heredity actually acts. Till recent past, It was believed that the hereditary character of diabetes follows the principles of the renowned geneticist Mendell, i.e.,

1. If both the parents are diabetics, all their children get the disease,
2. If one of the parents is diabetic and another is a diabetes career (one who does not have the disease but can transmit it), half the number of their children get the disease,
3. If both the parents are diabetes- careers, one fourth the number of their children get the disease and
4. If one of the parent is a diabetic and other is healthy, their children remain free from diabetes.

However, detailed studies and surveys have proved the fallacy of this belief. It is often seen that children of diabetic parents are healthy in every respect. In identical twins one child may have diabetes and the other may remain free from the disease. Such diabetics are also seen who hae no family history of the disease. Some researchers believe that diabetes develops not because the person has inherited defective chromosome from his parents but becuase he has not received that chromosome from his parents which imparts resistance to his disease. In short, it can be said that even though hereditary factors do play a role in the development of diabetes to what extent and in what way these factors act is still a mystery.

It can be said that hereditary factors can become effective only when certain other exciting environmental factors like obesity, faulty dietary habits and inadequate physical exertion are at work.

Obesity:

There is close connection between diabetes and obesity. Overweight persons become easy victims to diabetes. It is shown by studies that 60 to 80 percent of diabetes are due to overweight. The more the obesity, the greater is the mortality rate due to complications of diabetes. Body weight which is 30 percent below the ideal is an almost certain guarantee against diabetes.

Incorrect Dietary habits:

It may be noted that the food can maintain or save life but i can destroy life as well. Proper food serves the purpose of medicine while improper food works as poison and causes disease.

We may take pride in calling ourselves highly civilised but we have started to flout all the norms about the quality and quantity of food. Attracted to material pleasures, we have become slaves to our tongues. We have deleted bran from the flour, we mostly eat processed foods and refined sugar. In short, we can say that we hae drifted away from mother nature, thereby initiating a rise in the incidence of diabetes. According to a survey, diabetes was rare in the natives of Iceland and Canada, a few years ago. With the advent of processed and junk foods in these regions, the incidence of diabetes shot up within a very short time.

By offering chocolates, cakes and ice creams too often to our children, by giving the refrigerator a place in our homes and by attending parties every other day, we infact invite obesity and diabetes.

For the origin of diabetes, excessive food is as much to be blamed as improper (i.e., refined and processed) food. The body has to produce more digestive juices and insulinto digest excessive food. Under the pressure of such excessive work-load, the pancreas gland weakens and ultimately break down, leading to diabetes. Many a renowned researcher holds the belief that the deficiency of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) in our diet may also be a cause of diabetes. Lack of Vitamin B6 causes the transformation of tryptophane (an amino-acid present in our diet) into xanthurenic acid which harms the beta cells of teh pancreas to cause diabetes. If experimental animals are fed with a Vitamin b6 deficient diet, pancreatic destruction starts within 48 hours and symptoms of diabetes show up. A similar result can be obtained by injecting xanthurenic acid into the bodies of animals. If the pancreas is not completely damaged, large doses of Vitamin B6 can reverse the symptoms of diabetes. Experiments have also shown that treatment with the mineral magnesium to produces similarly celubrious effects on experimentally damaged pancreases.

Consumption of food containing excessive animal proteins, saturated fats and calories also stimulates the production of xanthurentic acid inside the body. A similar effect is produced by the penicillin group of drugs. Some researchers believe that diabetes arises not because of inheriting defective chromosome but because of genetically determined excessive requirement of vitamin B6 and of course, further research and investigations are called for to validate this belief.

Thanks,
Team- KnowledgeisHealing

Happy New Year

2006-01-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Wish you a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2006

Cheers!!!

Team- Knowledge is Healing

Diabetes Mellitus- Complications of Diabetes -III

2005-12-27T04:14:00.000-08:00

Chronic or late complications of diabetes:

1. Complications of the nervous system (diabetic neuropathy): Almost ninety percent of diabetics suffer from one or the other complication of the nervous system. However, only 25-50% of them have to face serious complications. The most common complications of the nervous system are derangements of the touch sensation. Somtimes touch sensation becomes abnormally acute (hyperesthesia). The patient experiences a burning sensation in his limbs. He is more troubled during the night when he cannnot even tolerate a light covering and remains awake. At other times the touch sensation is dulled so that the patient experiences numbness in his limbs.

The undesirable effects on the autonomous nervous system bring about a decrease in the efficiency of the urinary bladder. This either leads to incomplete emptying of the bladder or uncontrollable dribbling of the urine. When the bladder cant be emptied completely, the retained or residual urine harbours disease causing bacteria which leads to the inflammation of the theurinary bladder (cystitis).

2. Complications of the excretory system (diabetic nephropathy): Five or more years after the onset of diabetes, the kidneys start getting harmed. About fifteen percent of diabetics succumb to some renal complication or renal failure. Diabetes gives rise to hardening of the glomeruli, the filtering units of kidneys. This condition is known as 'glomerulosclerosis'. Besides, the blood vessels of kidneys also become hard and narrow. This leads initially to loss of proteins in the urine and then gradually to a rise in blood pressure, a swelling all over the body and kidney failure. When kidney failure ensues, serum urea and serum creatinine levels begin to rise, nausea and vomitting occurs and the patient gradually loses consciousness. The condition is usually climaxed by a total loss of consciousness (called uremic coma) which usually proves irreversible and fatal. Diabetics more commonly suffer from an inflammation of the kidneys called pyelonephritis.

3. Complications of the Cardiovascular System: Diabetes speeds up the process of atherosclerosis i.e., the degeneration of the blood vessels. In diabetics, the innner surface of blood vessels gets deposited not only with cholestrol but also with Calcium. Consequently flexible and elastic blood vessels are transformed into hard and narrow pipes. Due to narrowing of blood vessels various organs of the body and the limbs do not get adequate nourishment. That is the reason why even after a short walk a diabetic experiences pain in his calf muscles.

A disorder of the blood vessels of the limbs called peripheral arterial disease is more common in diabetics. If this disease advances too much then it may terminate in gangrene. Due to hardening of blood vessels (atherosclerosis) , the incidence of high blood pressure is very high in diabetics and high blood pressure may also be a result of some renal complication. Disorder of coronary arteries ar found to be more common and more severe in diabetics. Mortality rate due to coronary artery disease is two times higher in diabetics as compared to healthy persons.

When coronary arteries become narrow, the heart cannot obtain adequate nourishment. This leads to chest pain- angina pectoris. Complete obstrucion of coronary artery gives rise to a heart attack. The incident of heart attacks is three to six times higher in diabetics as compared to healthy persons. Helathy women are usually immune to coronary heart disease. But incidence of heart disease in diabetic women rises to a level equal to that in men. After a heart attack the chances for a diabetic to live for five more years are slim. Infact, many a diabetic succumb to the first heart attack. Degenerative changes in the arteries of a diabetic make him prone to cerebral haemorrhage. Cerebral haemorrhage may result into paralysis or even death.

4. Complications of the eye and the retina (diabetic retinopathy): Diabetic retinopathy is the third chief cause of blindness. Cataract and deficiency of Vitamin A are more important causes for blindness in develping countries. Diabetes chiefly affects the small blood vessels (capallaries) of the retina. Capalaries get abnormally dilated at some places and obstructed at other places. Degenerative changes occur in the cells of the retina. Besides, new defective capillaries rapidally grow into the retina. All these changes lead to a gradual diminution of vision. With the progress in degenerative changes, capallaries become thinner and thinner at the sites of dilatation and may rupture and thus leading to retinal or vitreous haemorrhage. Excessive bleeding into retina may lead to detachment of retina and cause sudden loss of vision.

The crystalline lens of the eye depends for the nourishment on the glucose dissolved in the aqueous humour (a dynamic fluid present inside the eye). Due to wide fluctuations in the amount of glucose in the blood and consequently that in the aqueous humour, the nutrition of the lens is thrown into disarray. This leads to a loss in transparency of the lens. This isnothing but Cataract. Diabetic cataract occurs very early in a patient's life and progresses rapidally.

Due to neo-vascularisation, the circulation of the fluid of the eye is jeopardised. This leads to an increase in the pressure inside the eyeball, a dreadful condition called glaucoma. Glaucoma, if not adequately controlled leads to gradual blindness.

5. Complication of the reproductive System: A diabetic woman has to face many problems during pregnancy. Diabetes creates risks to the life ofthe mother as well as the foetus. About twenty five percent of pregnant diabetic woman fall a victim to a dreadful condition called toxaemia of pregnancy. Toxaemia usually terminates into miscarriage. Diabetic women more often give birth to dead babies or babies with congenital defects.

Diabetic women develop very large babies in their wombs. This causes great difficulty during the delivery and both the mother as well as the baby have to face risks to an injury during delivery. Diabetes throws the marital life of its victim ito complete disarray. Diabetic women frequenty suffer from frigidity and diabetic men from sexual weakness or impotence. Disorders of autonomous nervous system too are partly responsible for this trouble.

6. Complications of the respiratry System: Diabetic persons easily contract infections of the respiratory tract. About fifteen percent of patients suffering from tuberculosis are found to have diabetes. Tuberculosis and diabetes undesirably affect each other to give rise to a vicious circle of complications. Many a time a diabetic person contracts tuberculosis after falling a prey to diabetic coma. Pus filled cavities (abscesses) are formed more often in the lungs of diabetics.

7. Complications of the digestive System: Diabetics have to face many disorders of the digestive system. Diabetics often suffer from nausea and vomitting. Nocturnal diarrhoea is also their common complaint. About twenty five percent of child diabetics suffer from enlargement of the liver. Gall stones are more common in diabetics. The mortality rate due to acute diseases of the gall bladder is five times higher in diabetics than in others. Diabetic coma arising due to defective metabolism of the dietary fats has been described earlier.

8. Complications of the feet: Corns, nail infections, athlete's foot (infection of the skin between the toes), etc., are much more common in diabetics. A high blood-glucose level, a diminution in the blood supply due to narrowing of blood vessels and disorders of the nervous system are the factors responsible for complications of the feet. In diabetes, even a trival foot injury may get transformed into dreadful gangrene which may necessitate amputation of the affected toe or the foot.

9. Other complications and infections: Diabetics easily contract skin diseases like erythrasma and moniliasis. Diabetes is sometimes suspected or detected after a person complains of infections of nails, corners of the mouth or the vagina. Xanthoma diabeticorum is another disorder commonly seen in diabetics. This disease is characterised by raised red-yellow spots of palms, soles, knees or buttocks. Prutitis valvae, a vaginal skin disease causing intense itching is commonly seen in diabetic women.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledge is Healing

Diabetes Mellitus- Complications of Diabetes -II

2005-12-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

2. Boils and Carbuncles:

Recurrent boils and carbuncles may be the first indication of diabetes. The factors responsible for this complicatino are :
a.) high glucose level in the blood vessels of the skin and
b.) poor resistance power against pus-forming micro organisms

3. Acute gangrene:

Gangrene is defined as the death of a mass of tissue or an organ. Gangrene of a toe or a foot is 50 to 60 times more common in diabetes than in healthy persons. Without proper care, even a trivial injury to a toe or foot may terminate into gangrene. Narrowing of the blood vessels, poor resistance power and untoward changes of the nervous system are said to be responsible for such proneness of diabetes to gangrene. Gangrene usually necessitates amputation of the affected part to keep the patient alive. Before the advent of insulin fifty percent of the diabetes would have died if gangrene supervened.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledge is Healing

Diabetes Mellitus- Complications of Diabetes -I

2005-12-13T05:19:00.000-08:00

Diabetes has been described as a diseas of complications. The complications of diabetes are more torturing than the disease itself. Acute complications can arise at any time during the course of the disease whereas more dreaded chronic complications slowly unfold themselves years after the onset of diabetes. Control of diabetes does help in warding off its acute complications but whether it delays or mitigates the chronic complications or not is a controversial issue. Hence prevention of diabetes requires special importance:

Acute Complications of Diabetes:

1. Diabetic Coma (Unconsciousness)

Diabetic comma is mostly seen in Juvenile (Child or Young diabetics) but is uncommon in persons suffering from maturity onmset diabetes. Before the discovery of insulin, more than half of Juvenile diabetics died of diabetic coma. We must say thanks to effective treatment with insulin because it has brought down mortality rate to 1-2% due to this complication. Such type of unconsciousness ensues when the concentration of glucose in the blood rises much above normal, a condition called Hyperglycemia. The disintegration of stored fat inside the body is commensurate with the amount of glucose in blood. The end-products of fat disintegration are ketone bodies which due to their acidic nature render the blood acidic. The body tries to get rid of these harmful ketone bodies by producing more and more urine. This results into a reduction in the fluid content of the blood, hence increasing the concentration of ketone bodies. This acidified blood untowardly affects the brain to give rise, first to drowsiness and lethargy and then gradually to diabetic coma.

The probable reasons for the rise of glucose in blood are:

1. Undetected or untreated diabetes
2. Consumption of carbohydrate containing refined foods, especially sugar
3. Inadequacy or total lack of external (medicinal) insulin.
4. Development of resistance inside the body to medicinal insulin.
5. A decrease in the effectiveness of medicinal insulin due to some other infection or disease.
6. A stressful physical condition like surgery or pregnancy.

A diabetic may become unconcious even when the concentration of glucose in the blood drops much below normal. However such unconciousness ensues rapidally. On the other hand unconciousness due to excessive glucose and ketosis is a slowly developing condition. Hours or days before its advent a patient experiences symptoms like dryness of mouth, acute thirst, profuse urination, headaches, nausea vomitting, abdominal pain, weakness, laboured breathing, irrevalent answers to questions and drowsiness. Of these symptoms nausea vomitting, drowsiness and irrevalent answers to asked questions are probably the most common. We have to realise the seriousness of the situation and if the patient is not treated promptly, he gradually becomes unconscious. In some child diabetics, hyperglycemic coma has been seen to set in very fast, i.e., 12 to 24 hours.

Diabetic coma is a medical emergency and calls for urgent expert treatment. The patient must be immediately hospitalised so that he can be given insulin, fluids and salts like potassium through a vein and be regularly monitored. Infact, hyperglycemic coma should not in the first place be allowed to occur. Its prevention is relatively easy provided-

1. The patient must have good knowledge of the disease and its treatment.
2. The concentration of glucose in blood is not allowed to rise by fastidiously adhering to correct, timely diet and medicines.
3. The dosage of insulin is maintained even if food is not taken in other illnesses.
4. Even the most initial warning signs and symptomsof hyperglycemica described above are immediately heeded to and necessary steps are taken.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledge is Healing

Diabetes Mellitus- The role of Insulin

2005-12-13T00:39:00.000-08:00

Our instentines digest the carbohydrate in our food. The end products of carbohydrate digestion are various sugars, chiefly glucose. The glucose is absorbed through the mucous membrane of intestines to enter the blood stream. Thus the concentration of glucose in teh blood rises. Insulin makes this glucose available to each and every cell of the body. Each cell in our body is a tiny engine that uses glucose as fuel to generate heat and energy. If glucose fuel is to gain entrance into the cellular engine, insulin. If the amount of glucose in the blood is greater than cellular requirements, insulin converts it into glycogen and fat which are stored in the liver or muscles and adipose tissue respectively. Insulin is also concerned with the metabolism of dietary fats and proteins. The end-products of fat digestion are fatty acids. Insulin converts these fatty acids back into fat and stores it in the adipose tissue. Again, insulin prevents the conversion of stored fat into fatty acids. Insulin is also essential for protein synthesis in the body. If there is a deficiency of insulin, protein lost due to wear and team cant be replaced. Insulin also serves certain other functions, the exact nature of which is not yet completely understood.

Basically the most important and obvious function of insulin is to control the concentration of glucose in the blood. After taking food, the concentration of glucose in blood rises. Insulin prevents the glucose concentration to rise above normal or physiological limits. If insulin is inadequate or absent, the glucose in blood cant enter various body cells or cannt be converted into glycogen. Consequently blood glucose levels rises. When the blood passes through the kidneys, the glucose is normally not allowed to escape in the urine. Now when due to lack of insulin the concentration of glucose increases beyond a particular level, it surpasses the efficiency level of kidneys and spills into the urine. That is the reason why the urine of diabetics is sweet. Normally the nutritional requirements of body cels are satisfied by glucose. When due to efficiency of insulin or due to resistance of cells to insulin, glucose cannot enter the cells, cellular starvation ensues. To supply nutrition to the starving cells, the body starts disintegrating stored fats and proteins. It is because of the destruction of muscle protein and fats that a diabetic experiences undue weakness or fatigue and weightloss respectively. While defining diabetes, it was said that it is a condition arising due to either to 1.) defiency of insulin 2.) inability of body cells to use available insulin. The first type of diabetes is called Juvenile or insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). It afflicts mostly chlidren or young adults and produces acute symptoms. The second type of diabetes is called non-insulin-dependant or maturity onset diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). It mostly afflicts middle aged persons and produces mild symptoms.

Regards,
Team- Knowledge is Healing

Introduction to Diabetes Mellitus

2005-12-12T00:50:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Diseases are of two types viz. Infectious and Constitutional.

Infectious diseases are caused by the bacteria while the constitutional diseases are caused by untoward changes occurring within the body.

Diabetes Mellitus is also such a constitutional disease. It is an outcome of a leading sedentary life and eating processed foods. The incidence of diabetes varies directly with the consumption of processed foods like biscuits, cakes, chocolates, biscuits, pudding, ice-cream etc.

We know that Diabetes Mellitus is extremely rampant today, but it is not a new disease. If we look upon the history of Ayurveda then well known Ayurvedic physicians Maharshi Charka (600 B.C.) and Sushruta (400 B.C.) correctly desribed about all the symptoms of Diabetes. They called it as disease Madhu-Meha (a shower of honey). Ancient Ayurvedic text ‘Sushruta-Samhita’ clearly states that diabetes is a familiar disease. Charaka and Sushruta have displayed a remarkable understanding of the disease in Ayurveda.

In 1869 A.D., Paul Langerhans discovered the islet cells responsible for the metabolism of sugar inside the body. That’s why these islets were later named after their discoverer, as islets of Langerhans.

In 1889 A.D., Won Mering and Oscar Minkowski succeeded in artificially producing diabetes in a dog by removing its pancreas gland and that experiment brought a great laurel to those two scientists sine they revealed the relation between diabetes and pancreas.

In 1909 A.D., D’ Mayer named the extract of pancreas as insulin. In 1920 A.D., Fredrick Banting and Charles Best managed to isolate pure insulin from the pancreatic extract. They also showed that when insulin is injected into the bodies of diabetic then the concentration of sugar in their blood rapidly falls. These important finding fetched the two scientists, the coveted Noble Prize.

After the discovery of insulin, people had started believing that diabetes will soon be banished from the earth but this belief proved to be fallacious. The various reasons were there for it.

We can say that insulin has robbed diabetes of its fatality. If we talk about few years back then the treatment of diabetes was totally satisfactory. More complications were raised due to Diabetes. The revolution in Medical sciences and invention of number of antidiabetic drugs, a diabetic patient can today look forward to leading an almost normal and creative life.

With proper knowledge and treatment, the concentration of glucose in the blood can be maintained within the normal range, or glucose can be prevented from escaping in the urine, the long-term complications of diabetes can’t be fully checked.

What is Diabetes Mellitus?

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder arising either due to

1.) relative or absolute deficiency of a digestive hormone call insulin of

2.) inability or resistance of body-cells to use the available insulin. The disorder completely throws the metabolism of dietary carbohydrates, fats and proteins into disarray.

It will be better to gain basic knowledge about the pancreas gland and the function of its secretion insulin in the body. Pancreas is a digestive gland which lies deep in the upper part of the abdomen between the lower border of stomach and the upper border of duodenum. On either side it is flanked by kidneys. The human pancres weighs about 100 gms and is made up of small units called lobules. Each lobule consists of two groups of cells viz exocrine and endocrine. Each endocrine group of cells is also called an islet of Langerhans. The beta cells of the islets produce insulin wheras the alpha cells of the islets produce a hormone glucogon whose action is opposite to that of insulin.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledge is Healing

Introduction to Mesothelioma

2005-12-07T05:25:00.000-08:00

Hi friends. Please read about it:

What is Mesothelioma?
Risk factors of Mesothelioma
Treatment of Mesothelioma
Treatment of Mesothelioma

We hope you will gain something.

Regards,

Team: Knowledge is Healing

Introduction to Yoga

2005-12-06T00:27:00.000-08:00

When we are discussing about health then we cant forget yoga.

The actual meaning of Yoga is to union with the divine. Yoga is a philosophy and discipline applied to the development of mind, body, and spirit. There are many disciplines of yoga emphasizing different aspects or combination of mind, body and spirit. Through practices of holding a variety of body positions or asanas, and the centering of the mind and breath in a meditative way, the practitioner increases body awareness, posture, flexibility of body and mind and calmness of spirit.

We will discuss it in a brief details in our future posts.

Regards,
Team- Knowledge is Healing

Banana fruit and its benefits

2005-12-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils mo! re alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work: Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food, like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high- pressure jobs. According to the report, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan, like in turkey.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes:According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Temperature control:Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills, and it tastes good too.

We hope that you liked this articles. Your comments/feedback and suggestions will boost our confidence and we will produce more interesting and beneficial articles.

Thanks and Regards,
Team- Knowledge is Healing

Various Therapies being used worldwide

2005-12-04T23:41:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Here is a list of some therapies (not a complete list) that are being used worldwide for healing:

Accupuncture- Accupuncture is a method of healing developed in China at least 2,000 years ago. Today, acupuncture describes a family of procedures involving stimulation of anatomical points on the body by a variety of techniques. American practices of acupuncture incorporate medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other countries. The acupuncture technique that has been most studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.

Aromatherapy- Atomatherapy involves the use of essential oils (extracts or essences) from flowers, herbs, and trees to promote health and well-being.
CAUTION: In their pure state, certain oils can cause irritation, toxic reaction, or skinburn. These oils call for careful and expert application.

Ayurveda- (Sanskrit: ayu—life; veda—knowledge of) or ayurvedic medicine is a comprehensive system of medicine, more than 5,000 years old and based on a holistic approach rooted in Vedic culture. Its conspicuous use of the word veda, or knowledge, reveals its role in early Hinduism and describes its hallowed place in India. Ayurveda includes diet and herbal remedies and emphasizes the use of body, mind, and spirit in disease prevention and treatment. Ayurveda also had a tradition of surgery. Two early texts of Ayurveda are the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita.

Bates Method- Bates methods are Relaxation exercises for eye disorders such as glaucoma, squint, and more. It was described in 1920 by William Horatio Bates in a book entitled Perfect Sight Without Glasses,.

Chiropractic- Focuses on the relationship between bodily structure (primarily that of the spine) and function, and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. Chiropractors use manipulative therapy as an integral treatment tool.

Colonic Hydrotherapy- Colonic hydrotherapy (water therapy) is the use of water to promote healing. Often used in the treatment of candida, and often as part of a detoxification program. Colon therapy promotes healthy colon function and can ease a range of problems.
Caution: There are certain contraindictions for colon therapy, including ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease (in the acute inflammatory state), hemorrhoids, and tumors of the large intestine or rectum. A safer and less expensive method is claimed to be colonic cleansing which uses supplements and special fibers taken by mouth to achieve the same result.

Cupping- Use of suction cups to remove impure energy from the body. It involves lighting a match in a small, rounded "cup" made of glass, bamboo or pottery, and then removing it quickly and applying the cup to the skin. The flame creates a vacuum and the cup sticks tightly to the skin.

Dietary supplements- Congress defined the term "dietary supplement" in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. A dietary supplement is a product (other than tobacco) taken by mouth that contains a "dietary ingredient" intended to supplement the diet. Dietary ingredients may include vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, and metabolites. Dietary supplements come in many forms, including extracts, concentrates, tablets, capsules, gel caps, liquids, and powders. They have special requirements for labeling. Under DSHEA, dietary supplements are considered foods, not drugs.

Environmental Therapies- Used in treating health conditions caused by environment such as allergies and eczema. Factors such as dust, molds, chemicals, and certain foods may cause allergic reactions that can dramatically influence your health ranging from asthma and hay fever to headaches and depression.

Gestalt Therapy- Developed by Fritz Perls, this humanistic approach to healing promotes personal growth through self-awareness. Well-known techniques include emphasizing the client's self-awareness by making him or her speak continually in the present tense and in the first person. Useful in treating anxiety, behavioral problems, hyperactivity, and insomnia.

Homeopathy- In homeopathic medicine, there is a belief that "like cures like," meaning that small, highly diluted quantities of medicinal substances are given to cure symptoms, when the same substances given at higher or more concentrated doses would actually cause those symptoms.

Hydrotherapy- The therapeutic use of water, ice, steam, and hot and cold temperatures to maintain and restore health. Good for labor pain and childbirth, muscle problems, rheumatism, stress and tension. Treatments include full body immersion, steam baths, saunas, sitz baths, and hot, and/or cold compresses. Hydortherapy has been used to treat disease and injury by many different cultures, including the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Hebrews, Hindus, Chinese, and Native Americans. Contrast therapies are those that alternative between hot and cold water in the same treatment.
Cautions:
Hyperthermia (a fever-induction therapy) can be hazardous for certain people and conditions, and should only be performed under the supervision of a qualified practitioner.
Those who suffer from eczema and other skin conditions, or acute heart disease, should avoid neutral bathing (full immersion therapy that submerges the body up to the neck in water from 92 to 98 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or longer).

Naturopathic- Naturopathic medicine proposes that there is a healing power in the body that establishes, maintains, and restores health. Practitioners work with the patient with a goal of supporting this power, through treatments such as nutrition and lifestyle counseling, dietary supplements, medicinal plants, exercise, homeopathy, and treatments from traditional Chinese medicine.

Osteopathic- is a form of conventional medicine that, in part, emphasizes diseases arising in the musculoskeletal system. There is an underlying belief that all of the body's systems work together, and disturbances in one system may affect function elsewhere in the body. Some osteopathic physicians practice osteopathic manipulation, a full-body system of hands-on techniques to alleviate pain, restore function, and promote health and well-being.

Cranial Osteopathy- Specialist technique in which the bones of the skull are manipulated. Useful for childbirth pains, ADD, ADHD, learning difficulties, sinus conditions, TMJ and tinnitus.

Cranioscral Therapy(CST)- Adapted form of cranial osteopathy.

Qi gong ("chee-GUNG")- a component of traditional Chinese medicine that combines movement, meditation, and regulation of breathing to enhance the flow of qi (an ancient term given to what is believed to be vital energy) in the body, improve blood circulation, and enhance immune function.

Rolfing- Treating the tissues to improve posture and health. Biochemist Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D., gained her first exposure to therapeutic manipulation when she was sucessfully treated byan osteopath for a respiratory condition. Her treatments became the cornerstone of her work; the body's structure profoundly affects all physiological and psychological processes. Her work was also influenced by her exposure to Hatha yoga.Ê She founded the Rolf Institute for Structural Integration in 1970, which has since trained over eight hundred people. "Rolfing" is the popular name for Structural Integration.

Shiatsu- Stimulating the vital points along the body's meridians in order to encourage healing and maintaining good health. It is a massage technique originating in Japan. Shiatsu follows similar principles to western massage using the principles of anatomy and physiology. The thumbs, palms, and fingers (no knees or elbows are used in the foundation form of shiatsu therapy) are used to apply pressure to designated areas of the body.

Therapeutic Touch- is derived from an ancient technique called laying-on of hands. It is based on the premise that it is the healing force of the therapist (unlike Reiki) that affects the patient's recovery; healing is promoted when the body's energies are in balance; and, by passing their hands over the patient, healers can identify energy imbalances.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)- is the current name for an ancient system of health care from China. TCM is based on a concept of balanced qi (pronounced "chee"), or vital energy, that is believed to flow throughout the body. Qi is proposed to regulate a person's spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy). Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced. Among the components of TCM are herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditation, acupuncture, and remedial massage.

Yoga- Spiritual and physical exercises to encourage health and well-being. Useful for conditions such as anxiety, arthritis, headache, migraine, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, pregnancy, rheumatoid arthritis, and more.

We hope that above descriptions will help you to gain knowledge.

Your comments/ feedback and suggestions are invited.

Thanks,
Team- Knowledge is Healing

Various health topics to be discussed!

2005-12-04T04:58:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

We will discuss various topics. The few of the examples of the topics are as follows:

Acidity
Acne
Alcoholism
Anaemia
Anthrax
Aortitis
Appendicitis
Arthritis
Asthma
Backache
Beri Beri
Blood Pressure
Boils
Bone Affections
Burns
Cancer
Cataract
Chicken pox
Chilblains
Chloasma
Chlorosis
Cholera
Cold Sores
Collapse
Color- blindness
Coma
Conjuctivitis
Constipation
Corns
Cough
Cracked lips
Cystitis
Dandruff
Day-blindness
Deafness
Debility
Delirium
Dentition
Diabetes
Diaphragmitis
Diarrhoea
Diphtheria
Dropsy
Dysentery
Dyspepsia
Dysuria
Ear ache
Eczema
Elephantiasis
Emphysema
Enteritis
Epithelioma
Erotomania
Fever
Fibroids
Fissures
Flatulence
Framboesia
Freckles
Gallactorrhoea
Gall- stones
Ganglion
gangrene
Gastralgia
Gastric ulcer
Gastritis
Gastro enteritis
Glanders
Glands
Gleet
Glossitis
Gonorrhoea
Gout
Gravel
Growing Pains
Gumboil
Haematemesis
Haematuria
Haemoglobinuria
haemophilia
Haemoptysis
haemorrhages
Hay fever
Headaches
Heart Affections
heartburn
Heart failure
Hectic fever
Hepatitis
hiccough
Hoarseness
Hodgkin's Disease
Homesickness
Hookworm
Hydrophobia
Hyperchlorhydria
Hysteria
Hysterical Joint
Impetigo
Impotence
Indurations
Inflammations
Influenza
Insomnia
Iritis
Jaundice
Keloid
Kidneys
Lagophthalmus
Laryngitis
Lectophobia
Leprosy
Leucocythaemia
Leucoderma
Leucorrhoea
Lithiasis
LIver Congestion
Liver Spots
Lumbago
Lungs Congestion
Lupus
Lypothemia
Malaria
malnutrition
Mania
Marasmus
mastitis
Mastoid
Measles
Megrim
Menier's Disease
Meningitis
Menorrhagia
Menstruation
Metritis, chronic
Morning Sickness
Morphine Habbit
Morvan's Disease
Mountain Sickness
Mumps
Mushroom Poisioning
Myalgia
Myelitis
Myositis
Naevus
nephritis
nephrolithiasis
Neuralgia
Neurasthenia
neuritis
Night Sweats
Nipples
Nymphomania
Obesity
Oedema
Onvchia
Orchitis
Osteitis
Osteomalacia
Otitis Medica
Otorrhoea
Ovaralgia
Ovarian Cyst
Ovaritis
Oxaluria
Ozaena
Panaritium
Pancreatic troubles
Paralysis Agitans
Paralysis
Paraplegia
Paresis
Pellagra
Pemphigus
Pericarditis
Periositis
Peritonitis
Phthisis
Plague
Pleurisy
Pleurodynia
Plica Polonica
Pneumonia
Poison Oak
Poliomyelitis
Polychrome Spectra
Polypi
Polyuria
Porrigo Capitis
Portal Congestion
Priapism
Proctitis
Prostatic Hypertrophy
Prostatitics
Psilosis
Psoriasis
Ptyalism
Pyelitis
Pyorrhoea
Pyrosis
Rachitis
Ranula
Rectal Pockets
Respiration
Rheumatism
Rhinitis
Ringworm
Scrlatina
Sciatica
Scurvy
Seasickness
Seborrhoea
Senile Decay
Sepsis
Sleeping Sickness
Sleeplessness
Sterility
Stomach Dilatation
Stomatitis
Subinvolution
Sycosis
Synovitis
Syphilides
Syphilis
Tachcardia
Tape worm
Tetanus
Thrombosis
tinitus
Tobacco craving
Tonsillitis
Toothache
Torticollis
traumatism
Trismus
tuberculosis
Tumors
Tympanitis
Typhoid
Ulcers
Uraemia
Urethral Caruncle
Urethritis
Uric Acid Diathesis
Urticaria
Uterine Displacement
Vaginismus
Varicose Veins
variola
Vascular Tension
Vertigo
Venons Stasis
Warts
Wens
Whooping Cough
Worms
Wrist Rheumatism
Writer's Cramp
Weil's Disease
Yellow Fever

The above is not a complete list, these are just examples that we will discuss in our blog. We will just use some precautions rest is the duty of doctors.

Thanks,

Team- Knowledge is Healing

Prevention is better than Cure

2005-12-04T01:04:00.000-08:00

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

To make healthier world, we must know why diseases catch us. The main thing is the knowledge and after getting knowledge we must implement it in proper manner and discipline. Our blog will discuss various topics for making this world healthier. Your comments are invited for each post so that it can boost our confidence to go ahead. Very soon, we are also going to launch our portal that will contain various articles related to health. The main aim is "knowledge is healing".

Thanks,

Team- Knowledge is Healing

Welcome to our blog

2005-12-03T05:08:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Let us create a healthy world!

Let us discuss various causes of diseases and try to avoid the reasons that cause diseases. We better know that prevention is better than cure. Thats why we have named our blog as "Knowledge is Healing"

Please share your knowledge and post your comments for our dedication and work.

Best Regards,

Team- Knowledge is Healing

Knowledge is Healing

RF Ablation a Safe Alternative Option for Treating Lung Cancer

Indian Pharma Authorized to Market New Anti-TB Drugs

MRI Screening of Other Breast Crucial for Patients Diagnosed With Cancer in One Breast

Special Exams to Help Failing Medical Students

TB Vaccines: Ring Out the New, Bring in the Old

Making Sense of the World Through a Cochlear Implant

Surgeon Develops Procedure to Prevent Arm Swelling in Breast Cancer Patients

Gene Therapy To The Aid Of Cystic Fibrosis

Medical Personnel Can Save More Lives by Screening for Oral Signs of Disease

Cells in Good Cheer With Vitamin C

Gene Study Offers Hope of Potent Anti-cancer Drugs

Green Tea may Help to Fight Lung Cancer

Soy Isoflavones Linked to Lower Prostate Cancer Risk

Shortage of Human Cadavers for Medical Training

Artificial Vein to Boost Surgery and Ease Patient Trauma

Chinese Health Ministry Okays KFC

Manufacturers of Infant Formula Milk Asked to Do Away With Exaggerated Nutritional Claims

Afghanistan Reports Fresh Bird Flu Cases

Health Articles on AvonArticles.com

Chemotherapy's Effects on the Brain

REG1A and its receptor EXTL3 signal the recurrence of colorectal cancer

Slow brain waves integral in coordination of complex activity

Albumin Linked to Reduced Mortality Rates In Malaria

Diabetes Drug, Exenatide, Good For Blood Sugar Levels and Weight Loss

Scientists discover anti-cancer compound

Freelancing by writing Medical Articles

Great News for our Visitors

Free link directory for Health-and-Fitness

We are back!

Health News on eNewsBulletin.com

Regarding more posts

Method to extract juice

Obtaining all the nutrients from Juices II

Obtaining all the nutrients from Juices - I

Juice-diet and sexual ability

A comparison between fruit-juices and vegetable- juices

Live Juices- useful to all

Raw Juice Therapy for good Health-II

Raw Juice Therapy for good Health

Essential elements for health - VIII

Delay in more posts

Regarding more health Posts

Essential elements for health - VII

Essential elements for health - VI

Essential elements for health - V

Essential elements for health - IV

Essential elements for health - III

Essential elements for health -II

Regarding more posts

Essential elements for health - I

Food- Cooked and Uncooked

Salt- a redundant constituent of food

Sugar- a sweet poison to health

Improper food and Bad Habits - Fatal to health

Introduction to Nature Cure

Regarding more posts for health topics

Ginger and its Medicinal Uses

Regarding More Posts

More posts on health articles from Tuesday

Life with diabetes III

Life with diabetes II

Life with diabetes I

Skin and Foot Care in Diabetes

Regarding more posts

Prevention of Diabetes

Magnet Therapy in treatment of diabetes

Acupuncture or Acupressure in treatment of diabetes

Role of Exercise and Yoga in Diabetics

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - VII

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - VI

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - V

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - IV

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - III

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - II

Modes of Treatment of diabetes - I

Treatment of diabetes

Diagnosis of Diabetes

Symptoms of Diabetes- II

Symptoms of Diabetes- I