HealthDuties

In America, 50% of the population has high levels of cholesterol and are at a risk of cardiovascular disease or having a heart attack. Fortunately, with better eating and a sound diet these people can lower their cholesterol and, in turn, lower their risk for heart problems.

While most sufferers of high cholesterol are on pills to help fight the problem the easiest way is with diet. By reducing saturated fats in your daily caloric intake you can quickly lower your cholesterol levels. Another tip is to simply reduce the number of calories you consume in total each day. Eating more soluble fiber is another great way to trap cholesterol in your digestive tract and allow it to pass through your body.

High Blood Pressure (HBP) is a silent killer in which symptoms do not appear until the function of one or more organs is compromised. This usually appears in the form of headaches, blurred vision, nausea, fatigue or shortness of breath.

The general risk factors involved with high blood pressure are smoking, obesity, stress and family history. To diagnose HBP a patient usually undergoes an electrocardiogram, kidney function tests and blood tests to help look for damage to organs.

Once HBP has been diagnosed it is usually treated and managed with general measures and/or drugs. General measures include diet (decrease alcohol consumption, reduce weight, low sodium) and risk factor modification (stop smoking, cholesterol control, exercise). Some of the HBP drugs available include:

• Thiazide and other diuretics
• ACE-inhibitors e.g. Lisinopril
• Angiotensin II receptor antagonist e.g. Losartan
• Calcium antagonists e.g. Diltiazem etc

High blood pressure (HBP) or hypertension (HTN), also known as arterial hypertension, is an increase in the arterial blood pressure above the normal range expected for a particular age group.

Blood pressure readings (Systolic/Diastolic mmHg) have two numbers. Systolic pressure is the pressure while the heart contracts and Diastolic pressure is the pressure between two contractions of the heart. A normal blood pressure reading is 120/80 mmHg while a high blood pressure reading is something like 140/90 mmHg.

There are many factors affecting blood pressure such as: age, gender, diet, smoking, stress and physical activity. These factors can lead to two classifications of high blood pressure. Primary or essential Hypertension and Secondary hypertension.

The issue of cell phones causing cancer is once again in the news. According to researchers, long-term use of a cell phone may possibly be associated with brain cancer. This debate has been ongoing this week at Congressional hearings between scientists and government officials in America.

A study shows that people who use a cell phone (ie, nearly everyone) could have twice the chance of developing malignant brain tumors and tumors on the hearing nerve called acoustic neuromas.

Scientists who disagree with these findings argue that much larger and broader tests are required before anyone should begin to make any kind of conclusion between the relation of brain cancer with cell phone use. The debate will surely continue on for some time to come.

A woman weighing 300 pounds decided to try a raw vegan diet after reading a book praising its benefits to your health. In two years, she managed to lose 160 pounds, or almost half her body weight, on the diet.

Interestingly enough, the woman had never previously been involved in dieting:

Two summers after she reached her heaviest weight, Stokes was working at a greenhouse in Iceland, when a friend lent her a copy of a book about the health benefits of eating raw foods. Stokes, who had never been interested in diets, says she was completely “absorbed” by the approach.

She has kept the weight off for four years and has begun writing books about the raw food style of living. Her biggest advice to people interested in the raw vegan diet is to try and reach out to find similarly interested dieters like yourself to make the process easier from a social perspective.

The main test for the diagnosis of hypothyroidism is to check the level of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). TRH tests help in distinguishing whether the disease is due to pituitary dysfunction or the hypothalamus.

Usually hypothyroidism requires a lifetime of drug therapy like Leyothyroxine (T4). T3 (cytomel) is also used but T4 is found to be more successful then T3 as T4 is a more stable thyroid hormone than T3. T4 replacements are taken in the morning before having breakfast.

In the condition of hypothyroidism, there is a low level of thyroid hormone which is the opposite of what is seen in hyperthyroidism.

Since the thyroid hormone plays an important role in growth and development, hypothyroidism affects both of them. Hypothyroidism is not a uncommon disorder and is present in 3-5% of the total population. The causes of hypothyroidism are Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, thyroid destruction, pituitary disease and iodine deficiency.

The symptoms of hypothyroidism are often subtle and may include:

• Tiredness
• Wright gain
• Goiter
• Hoarseness
• Cold temperature intolerance
• Pains and aches
• Muscle stiffness
• Myotonia
• Anemia
• Dry, flaky skin
• Purple lips
• Vitiligo
• Infertility
• Menorrhagia
• Impotence
• Constipation
• Ascites

The Federal Trade Commission has recently charged five companies with making false and/or misleading claims about cancer cures. In addition to those five, six other companies reached settlements with the FTC over similar claims.

These companies are typically marketing products that claim to cure cancer using “natural” means such as teas and herbal mixtures. The FTC is working along with the Food and Drug Administration and authorities in Canada to help curb these companies from peddling bogus products. The obvious concern is that people will fall for these false cure claims and opt out of effective cancer treatments that actually have a chance of benefiting them.