Tag: diabetes

Arthritis Management Through Diet

Arthritis Management Through Diet
Kathryn Whittaker

The term arthritis refers to the chronic inflammation of joints throughout the body. Arthritis is one of the most rapidly growing chronic conditions in North America. Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is also known as wear and tear arthritis and degenerative joint disease. This form of arthritis classically affects the knee joint, the hips and other weight bearing joints. Other forms include rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis.

New treatments for arthritis are constantly researched. The most common arthritis medications are non-steroid or steroid anti-inflammatory drugs which, although effective, have serious side-effects. They can have unpleasant side effects: cause weight gain, acne, osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, cataracts and infections. The side effects of steroids impact on almost every system of the body, and the more steroids you take, the more side effects you are likely to experience.

The newest findings link arthritis not only to poor diet and obesity, but also to the overall state of the immune system. Quite recently, researchers have found a protein in the immune system that malfunctioned in patients who have arthritis or other inflammatory diseases. Doctors believe they can block this protein to reduce the need for steroids.

As the general population ages, the number of people with arthritis is growing. Today arthritis medications are aimed at baby-boomers who have spent more years living with obesity than the previous generation. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have found that there are more cases of obesity-related arthritis among baby boomers compared to the previous generation.

What we eat often plays a large role in setting the stage for the start of arthritis. There are a few changes anyone can make to their diet to successfully offset arthritis even without using arthritis medications.

The typical North American diet contains an overwhelming amount of cooked, processed and other acid forming foods. A healthy diet should be 70lkaline and 30cidic. Unfortunately, the average North American diet has reversed this ratio.

Instead of eating cooked foods that are acid forming, a diet of mostly raw, fresh vegetables, fruits and reducing the consumption of meats are an excellent way to help reduce inflammation throughout the body.

To ease your arthritis symptoms without succumbing to arthritis medications, avoid foods that form acid in your body. These foods include bread, coffee, corn, honey, oatmeal, peanuts, rice, soy, pasta and wheat. When treating arthritis, stay away from saturated fats, such as butter, cream, and margarine.

Antioxidants in brightly colored fruits and vegetables offer substantial protection against arthritis. By eating more yellow and orange fruits and vegetables you will consume antioxidants called carotenoids, which can lower your chances of developing inflammatory arthritis. Some dietitians suggest that night-shade vegetables are unsuitable for arthritis patients, which means you should think twice about eating peppers, (red, green and yellow), potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants.

Build your arthritis diet around such alkaline-forming products as most berries, bananas, dates, figs, prunes, raisins, almonds, asparagus, avocado, fresh beans, beets, carrots, grapes, plums, spinach, apricots, broccoli, all kind of cabbage, cantaloupe, celery, cherries, chestnuts, chicory, coconut milk, fresh sweet corn and cucumbers. Focusing on vegetables instead of proteins will ease many other symptoms and help you reduce weight too.

Proper hydration is a must. Drink half your weight in ounces that would be 75 oz of water for a person weighing 150 pounds. If you must drink alcohol, coffee or soda, drink an extra 16 oz of water for every alcoholic drink and cup of coffee or soda you consume in addition to the water you would normally drink.

Arthritis is a condition that takes years to develop. In many cases, arthritis can be avoided or effectively managed through the use of alternative methods that include proper nutrition, hydration and specific nutritional supplements that can reduce the damage done to aging joints.

About the author:

Kathryn writes articles on a number of different topics. For more information on Arthritis please visit http://www.arthritis-resource.comand for additional articles on Arthritis http://www.arthritis-resource.com/arthritis-articles/

Smoking Related Health Problems in Adolescents

Smoking is the cause of many diseases and kills about four hundred and forty two thousand people every year in the United States. In spite of anti smoking campaigns and billboard warnings, more and more people are joining the bandwagon of smokers every year. Out of the total number of new smokers, ninety percent are children and adolescents, replacing smokers who have quit or died early due to a disease caused by smoking. Smoking is the top cause of preventable and premature deaths, followed by obesity.

Smoking not only increases the risk of lung disease, but also increases the risk of contracting lung cancer, oral cancer, emphysema, stroke and heart disease. Certain statistics by the American Lung Associations show alarming results. Over five thousand adolescents smoke their very first cigarette every day, out of which over two thousand turn into regular smokers. Presently there are nearly five million adolescents smokers. Twenty percent of the twelfth graders smoke cigarettes regularly.

Smoking has many harmful affects on the health of a human being. It damages the cardiovascular system, causes high blood pressure, increases heart rate, increases the risk of ischemic stroke, increases the risk of formation of blood clot formation, and decreases the oxygen amount which reaches the tissues in the body, reduces coronary blood flow & cardiac output, and damages the blood vessels. Smoking not only affects physical health, but mental health too. It causes psychological distress and depression.

Smoking not only affects the person who smokes but also other people who surround him/her. According to the American Heart Association, nearly thirty five thousand passive smokers die of smoke inhaled from a lit pipe, cigar or cigarette. People who do not smoke directly and inhale smoke from a cigarette smoke by his/her neighbor is known as passive smoker, secondary smoker or indirect smoker. Among the passive smokers, women, children and infants are at a higher risk. Infants and children who are exposed to smoke develop asthma, frequent ear infections and may even experience infant death syndrome. The symptoms experienced by secondary smokers are coughing, excess mucus formation in the airways, chest discomfort, chest pain, and lung irritation. They even feel irritation of throat, nose and eyes. If the passive smokers experiences chest pain, it can be an indication of a heart disease. Sometimes the symptoms of secondary smoking can coincide with the symptoms of other medical conditions. Hence, it is recommended to contact the doctor immediately after the surfacing of the symptoms.

In active smokers, smoking, apart from building up high cholesterol in blood, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood pressure, physical inactivity and diabetes. So smoking cessation will not only reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, which is top of the list, but also decreases the risk by fifty percent of heart attacks and deaths caused by it. But quitting smoking undertakes lots of physical and mental efforts. The person should be made mentally relaxed and stress free. In case of adolescents, they can be asked to exercise regularly and sleep adequately. The American Lung Association and The American Academy of Otolaryngology have developed certain tips which can be of great help to the smokers who are thinking of quitting. The smokers must first be made to understand the reason for quitting. Stress only makes even more difficult to quit smoking, so a stress free period should be chosen to quit. Family and friends encouragement and support are extremely necessary to persuade the smoker to quit. If the support isnt sufficient, smokers can join a smoking cessation program or a support group to attain their goals. A balanced diet is a must, along with lots of rest.

Sometimes taking nicotine replacement products, such as nicotine chewing gum, nicotine inhalers, and nicotine patch, are a great help to smokers who want to quit. By using these products the smokers can satisfy their nicotine craving. The good thing is that these nicotine replacement products can deduct the poisonous gases and tars emitted by the cigarettes. But nursing and pregnant women should consult a doctor before trying nicotine replacement products. For such people non-nicotine alternative is available in the market.

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Arthritis and Chronic Joint Symptoms

Arthritis and Chronic Joint Symptoms
Margie Garrison – “The Arthritis Lady”

From the Centers for Disease Control

Are you female, Caucasian, have a lesser education, and
overweight? Then you run the greatest risk of either arthritis
or chronic joint symptoms. Check out the latest statistics from
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

These statistics left me stunned. Just for openers:

Arthritis and chronic joint symptoms affect nearly 70 million
Americans, or about one of every three adults, making it one of
the most prevalent diseases in the United States. As the
population ages, this number will increase dramatically.

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United
States. Double that of heart trouble. Triple that of respiratory
trouble. Five times that of diabetes. Over six times more than
that of stroke!

Nationally, medical care for arthritis cost nearly $22 billion
in 1995 (latest figures).

Total costs, including medical care and loss of productivity,
exceeded $82 billion in 1995.

Who has arthritis?

As the CDC reports: “The prevalence of arthritis is high for
all demographic groups, but especially higher among women, older
persons, and those with less education.”

What’s being done?

The CDC reports that in 1998, the “first ever” plan to address
arthritis using a public health approach was released. This plan
was developed by the CDC, the Arthritis Foundation, and the
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, with
input from over 90 organizations. The plan recommended actions
in “Three major areas for individuals and groups interested in
reducing the impact of arthritis.”

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Prevention Research

Communication and Education

Programs, Policies, and Systems

For some reason, this evokes a scene in my mind from the TV
show “Star Trek Voyager” where the holographic Doctor is helping
one of his patients recover from a leg joint injury. The crewman
is in great pain, while the Doctor dispassionately tells the
patient to “live with the pain and do the exercises”. The
crewman, exasperated at this attitude, complains to the Doctor
that he was programmed not to hurt his patients. The holographic
Doctor quickly replies “I was programmed to do no harm. However,
I can inflict as much pain as I wish.”

In the daily media, we are bombarded with stories about AIDS,
SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Heart Disease, and
even the latest outbreak of the West Nile Virus. Yet, you hardly
ever hear anything about the greatest threat to our quality of
life … Arthritis!

Let me repeat the findings of the CDC (Centers for Disease
Control).

“Arthritis and chronic joint symptoms affect nearly 70 million
Americans, or about one of every three adults, making it one of
the most prevalent diseases in the United States. As the
population ages, this number will increase dramatically.”

One in Three

God forbid you are a Caucasian woman, with little education,
and are 30 lbs or more overweight (obese).

What can be done?

The CDC recommends: “We can do the effective things that are
not being done enough. Research shows that physical activity
decreases pain, improves function and delays disability. In
addition, research studies suggest that maintaining an ideal
body weight and avoiding joint injuries reduces the risk of
developing arthritis and may decrease disease progression.
Obtaining an early diagnosis so that appropriate management,
including self-management, can be initiated may improve the
quality of life for persons with arthritis. Early diagnosis and
appropriate management of arthritis, including … self-help
courses, weight control, and physical activity can help people
with arthritis function better, stay productive, and lower
health care costs.”

Has your Doctor ever told you to just keep doing your
exercises, keep dieting and keep your weight down, and keep
taking your medications and just try to live with the pain?

What else is your Doctor going to say? Are we crazy? Could it
be that if your Doctor said anything else it would mean
committing financial suicide?

I know most doctors are hard-working and doing their best and
in many cases are achieving astonishing things.

However, the pressure to use drugs and more drugs is
overwhelming. It is not their fault! It is ours!! We go to them
for a magic bullet and expect them to heal us… and with not
having to make any lifestyle changes. Is this fair to the
doctors? Of course not!

”
I Cured My Arthritis You Can Too”

Best of Health,

Margie Garrison – The Arthritis Lady”

C
ureYourArthritis.com

About the author:
I am Margie – “The Arthritis Lady”, author of “I Cured My
Arthritis You Can Too”.

I also publish and distribute a free weekly health newsletter,
“Amazing Secrets To Fantastic Health””, that you can subscribe
to by sending an email to: [email protected]

I have dedicated my life to helping you, help yourself enjoy a
Healthier and Happier Lifestyle.

Best of Health, Margie – “The Arthritis Lady&#

When to Seek Professional Treatment for Warts

Research and clinical experience shows that most warts go away without any treatment at all. In some cases, you might decide to treat warts on your own, at home. There are times, though, when you will decide that it’s time to seek professional treatment for warts.

If you try to treat warts at home and they only get worse, you should see a doctor. Go in if you have used salicylic acid preparations for three months with little effect. You can see a health care expert about professional removal treatments at this time.

A wart might be located in a spot on your body that is easily irritated. If you have warts like these, you will probably want to seek help. If warts are unsightly, you will want to have someone help you remove the warts just to ease your embarrassment.

Plantar warts can be especially painful. Sometimes they can be so painful that people will go to the emergency room of a hospital to seek care. Whether you go to an urgent care clinic or just to your doctor’s office, you will want help with plantar warts that you can’t remove yourself.

Anyone with diabetes or peripheral artery disease should not try to treat plantar warts or any other warts on their lower extremities. It is always better to have a podiatrist deal with such situations.

There are times when you might mistakenly think something is a wart when it isn’t. If the warts change shape or color, your doctor will probably want to check it to determine what it is. If you’ve never had warts before and you’re past middle age, there’s reason for your doctor to make sure the lesions aren’t actually cancer.

Sometimes warts will grow very large. They can spread very rapidly to many parts of your body. If they become too large or too numerous to deal with by home treatment, see a doctor. There are many appropriate treatments for these more severe problems with warts.

It is possible to get a bacterial infection in a wart. If you have a bacterial infection, you might see red streaks coming from the wart. There might be pus or you might have a fever. The wart might be inflamed with excessive pain, redness, swelling and heat. If you have any of these symptoms, it’s time to check in with a physician.

Even if you only suspect genital warts, you should consider seeking a doctor’s help and advice. If you see any kind of sores, bumps, or warts in your genital area or around your anus, you might have this STD. You might also have burning or itching when you urinate. A discharge can come from the vagina of a woman or the penis of a man.

Abuse is a possible cause if children are found to have genital warts. This is one of the few ways children pick up this strain of the virus. Children should be referred to social services as well as a doctor. Anyone, child or adult, who has genital warts, should go to a doctor.

There are several different types of doctors who treat warts. Family medicine doctors, dermatologists, podiatrists, and pediatricians all do this work. If you have warts that need attention, don’t hesitate to call someone.