COUGH - BRONCHITIS

The cough reflex is a protective mechanism of the body to the airways of secretions and foreign bodies, such as Dust or mucus release. If the cough lasts for weeks, it is called chronic cough. There are basically two types of cough:

1. The mucilaginous cough

often occurs in acute bronchitis in a cold or flu, usually as a result of infection by viruses or bacteria. Added to often get complaints such as colds, fevers or sore throats. The disease usually begins with neck pain after a day of it will be a painful, dry cough. After 2-3 days, then comes to a strong mucus production. The increased mucus forced to cough and throat clearing, a natural reaction of the body, because the secretion is not to accumulate in the respiratory tract. If the disease is not cured properly, or there are continuous infections, the cough can become chronic (chronic bronchitis).

Common causes
Cold or flu with acute bronchitis.

2. The dry cough

is a very different response to noxious stimuli, such as Smoke, dust, gases or chemical vapors. A typical example is the smoker's cough. The cough is hard, painful and without expectoration. Cough can be very annoying, especially if it leads to regular coughing fits, make the person concerned to create the particular night. From a cough that lasts long, it can also create a chronic bronchitis.

Common causes
* Smoking!
* Working with dust (for example, flour).
* Allergic asthma (asthma, allergy).
* As a side effect of some drugs (e.g. ACE inhibitors).
* Severe respiratory diseases (e.g. tuberculosis, bronchial cancer).

What can you do.

1. In congested cough.

* Help secre-solving measures. The cough reflex should not be suppressed with medication, because the dissolved secretions must be coughed up, yes.
* Drink plenty, about 2-4 liters a day, preferably cough and Bronchialtees to promote mucus solution.
* Keep warm, but not sweat. Heat on the breast stimulates the circulation and thus the mucus solution.
* Cough syrups, drops or tablets, for example take with ambroxol or acetylcysteine or plant extracts such as plantain, coltsfoot and thyme acting expectorant.
* Chest and back rub with cold balm. It contains essential oils (eg eucalyptus, thyme) act expectorant, antibacterial and antispasmodic.
* To swallow capsules taken with essential oils (see action above).
* Steam baths or inhalations (e.g., chamomile and essential oils) to moisten the airways and to exploit the effect of the ingredients, for example, anti-inflammatory effects of chamomile.

2. In dry cough.

* Nagging cough may be attenuated with drugs, since no large amounts of secretions are produced.
* When coughing breastfeeding, especially during the night to help tablets, suppositories, drops or juices such as with dextromethorphan. The effect is inhibition of the cough reflex, so this is referred to as a cough preparations blockers.
* Even herbal substances have hustenblockierend, e.g. Juices or suppositories with ivy extract.
* Lozenges or candy with ingredients from mucus-rich plants such as okra or Iceland moss also dampen the urge to cough through the mucous membrane covering with a protective layer.
* Cough drops with essential oils, menthol, anise, eucalyptus, fennel, sage, etc. they also act as disinfectant and anti-spasmodic, the cough by moistening the throat relief.
* In general: combinations of mucolytic and antitussive nursing measures are more appropriate as it is not because of the dissolved mucus blocking the cough reflex can be coughed up.

When you need a doctor.

* If the symptoms get worse or do not improve (no later than 14 days).
* When added difficulty breathing and / or high fever, it is suspected pneumonia.
* If suspected whooping cough.
* In case of suspected chronic bronchitis or asthma.
* If the discharge is bloody.
* If pregnant women, infants, young children or elderly people are affected by a stronger cough.

What your doctor can do.

* Determine the cause of cough and prescribe the appropriate medication. Eventually antibiotics are necessary.
* For very distressing cough, the doctor may prescribe drugs with codeine.

Prevention.

* Keep yourself from ill persons.
* No smoking.
* Ensure adequate moisture.
* Other measures (see cold and flu).

Read More

CHOLERA

Causes / spread

Cholera is a bacterial (Vibrio cholerae) caused disease. The pathogens enter the human waste in the waste water and from there into the water and in certain foods (milk, shellfish). About one fifth infected diseased, malnourished people are particularly vulnerable. All those infected, including the non-diseased part, the cause of, however, and can thus promote the spread of the disease.

Cholera occurs where there is poor hygiene, poverty, famine or war. Their last cholera epidemic in Germany about 100 years ago in Hamburg and it could be contained only when it had provided clean drinking water and the rehabilitation of the poor hygienic conditions.

Symptoms:

A few days after infection there are massive watery diarrhea and severe vomiting. That last for almost a week. The patients can lose up to 10 liters of fluid a day. If the liquid, and the lost electrolytes (salts) are not replaced, there is dehydration phenomena. At lift off the skin wrinkles remain, there is a strong thirst, muscle cramps and it connect to it eventually can cause a life-threatening circulatory collapse. The disease leaves only a partial immunity. This means that you can once again become ill with cholera.

Therapy:

First and foremost, to replace the lost water and electrolytes by appropriate infusions. Antibiotics against the pathogens are shown.



Prophylaxis (prevention):

1. Good sanitation.
The best prevention is good sanitation, clean water and good nutrition. In countries with dubious hygiene should pay attention to proper water and avoid eating raw foods.

2. Vaccination.
Vaccination against cholera is possible, but does not provide complete protection. So you can fall ill, despite the vaccination, even if the disease is then attenuated. Even if you are not sick, the vaccine can not prevent that you are infected, eliminated the pathogen and thus contributes to the spread of cholera.

3. Isolation.
The separation of the cholera pathogen must be isolated until they are pathogen free.

Read More

Healing Cancer the natural way,

Lets look at ways of healing cancer with natural therapy.The Natural Healing of Cancer is possible when people start understanding what the symptom is, and how it will affect us. Posted and written are alternatives to the AMA [American Medical Association] ways, the wellness approach to health.

There are almost as many different types of cancer as there are people. No two are alike, so not one treatment is going to work for all cases. MD's are trained to treat symptom, yet most could not tell you specifically why you have the cancer.

From a holistic standpoint any Cancer is simply a body starting to degenerate from improper balance.

If you are diagnosed with cancer, most MD's will simply say "You need surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and/or prescription drugs to treat this". It is not in the University system of training that most AMA approved Doctors receive to approach this disease with natural remedies.

To really heal the body of cancer, we have to know what we are dealing with. #1: No one knows your body better than you do. When something is not right, your first question should be: "What did I do to make myself sick?" This can be easily answered if you are familiar with a major precept of natural healing: What you put into your system affects what you will get out of it.

The disease cancer has many causes, yet is many times reversible with the correct natural formulas. Practitioners in the Holistic fields need to approach this one with caution though, as "malpractice" is a serious crime if they are caught prescribing formulas that might lead to death.

We in the natural healing arts profession sometimes suggest how we would treat cancer, yet we are not legally allowed to prescribe. However, many intuitively know that holistic treatments can work better than the drugs, surgery and chemotherapy.

I feel we are born with cancer. It is as natural as being alive. We are not dealing with a "life force" here though, we are dealing with an entity originally without form, that can mutate when we are not taking care of ourselves.

Cancer is in us, yet will not abnormally grow unless we feed it with "junk". Here I would define "junk" as anything entering our body that will take away life force, and the list includes a vast majority of "junk foods" as well as unnatural chemicals, drugs, and foods our body is not designed to handle.

"Junk" can also be in the atmosphere, especially if we live near a major highway or in a highly polluted place. In work environment many are subjected to dangerous fumes and dust particles. This can also become a "slow death" if we do not take precautions, like wearing respirators, proper attire, or other means to keep toxin out of and away from our bodies.

One of the main reasons most Medical Doctors prescribe pharmaceutical drugs is simple: They are in the business of selling them. I once asked a retired Professor of Pharmacology why MD's almost always prescribe drugs, and drug stores mostly do not stock natural herbs? His answer was this simple: Drug companies cannot patent herbs, so there is no profit in it.

Almost all humans that go to MD's on a regular basis have been prescribed numerous drugs, and the older one gets the worse it gets, in most cases. There are drugs to treat one symptom, but its side effects mean another is essential to balance the adverse effects of the first one, and on it goes... until humans start spending more on the prescriptions than they do on good quality all natural food, that could work better for them.

It's no wonder that many get extremely ill on an "AMA approved" regimen, as the body's natural immune system is challenged to assimilate all these unnatural chemicals, as well as huge amounts of contaminated foods that line most grocery store shelves. The next thing is unnatural growths on or in the body, diagnosed by Doctors as - Cancer.

In many cases tumors or "benign cysts" are there to protect us against toxins within them that are encapsulated by the body for our protection. When our lungs are over taxed by smoke or pollution, it can limit the oxygen entering the system, and on it goes... When we eat greasy over-cooked foods, blood stream and liver sometimes cannot get it out of our systems. The next thing we notice - abnormal growths. I could go on here, but you should get the point by now.

Fibroids in or around Women's breasts is common. Lumps form for reasons explained in the previous paragraph. When treatment is avoided this condition can become acute. Fibroids or benign tumors can be reversed, but it takes avoiding the foods, smoke, chemicals, thoughts, etc. that have caused the condition.

Cancer is not just caused by improper diet or environmental effects. Thought can affect this condition. Good mental health is reassuring our body on a daily basis that we are healthy and getting healthier. When we know how to make our bodies healthier, we simply do not need to dwell on its negative aspects. Simple belief can work wonders, when applied in the right way.

Now for a testimonial: "Ron" was invited to meet me after he was diagnosed with one of the worst possible cancers known. He could not swallow whole foods, and had acute tongue cancer. He was starving to death, and became nauseous from green juices, too strong for him in that condition.

MD's had told Ron that he would die of cancer within 3 weeks if he did not have surgery, chemotherapy and prescription drugs immediately. The only other patient with that bad of cancer had died within 3 months of surgery / chemotherapy, and was never able to eat normal again - he was tube fed.

Ron pleaded with me to help him, and I told him I was not able to prescribe anything because MD's had already prescribed their treatment. He said, "I don't care - just help me".

So I replied, "If it were me, I would simply make a "full spectrum", nutritionally balanced vegan / raw soup, and that it would taste good.

Then he said "I'm starving - please just make me something I can hold down". I proceeded to make him a quart of this totally nourishing formula.

After 3 months of making at least 1/2 gallon of this vegan / raw soup per week, in addition to other things he could handle, Ron came back and said he was in remission, ready for a whole meal from me... and boy did he enjoy it!

Cancer can be a blessing in disguise when we start taking positive action to reverse this symptom. We can start by eating healthy foods and thinking healthy thoughts. Wonderful feelings of bliss along with the serenity of knowing we are getting well can literally make us look and feel younger. 

dreamhost review

Read More

Potatoes and Human Health, Part II

Glycoalkaloids in Commonly Eaten Potatoes

Like many edible plants, potatoes contain substances designed to protect them from marauding creatures. The main two substances we're concerned with are alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine, because they are the most toxic and abundant. Here is a graph of the combined concentration of these two glycoalkaloids in common potato varieties (1):

We can immediately determine three things from this graph:

• Different varieties contain different amounts of glycoalkaloids.
• Common commercial varieties such as russet and white potatoes are low in glycoalkaloids. This is no accident. The glycoalkaloid content of potatoes is monitored in the US.
  
• Most of the glycoalkaloid content is in the skin (within 1 mm of the surface). That way, predators have to eat through poison to get to the flesh. Fortunately, humans have peelers.

I'll jump the gun and tell you that the generally accepted safe level of potato glycoalkaloids is 200 mcg/g fresh weight (1). You can see that all but one variety are well below this level when peeled. Personally, I've never seen the Snowden variety in the store or at the farmer's market. It appears to be used mostly for potato chips.

Glycoalkaloid Toxicity in Animals

Potato glycoalkaloids are undoubtedly toxic at high doses. They have caused many harmful effects in animals and humans, including (1, 2):

• Death (humans and animals)
  
• Weight loss, diarrhea (humans and animals)
  
• Anemia (rabbits)
• Liver damage (rats)
  
• Lower birth weight (mice)
  
• Birth defects (in animals injected with glycoalkaloids)
  
• Increased intestinal permeability (mice)

However, it's important to remember the old saying "the dose makes the poison". The human body is designed to handle a certain amount of plant toxins with no ill effects. Virtually every plant food, and a few animal foods, contains some kind of toxic substance. We're constantly bombarded by gamma rays, ultra violet rays, bacterial toxins, free radicals, and many other potentially harmful substances. In excess, they can be deadly, but we are adapted to dealing with small amounts of them, and the right dose can even be beneficial in some cases.

All of the studies I mentioned above, except one, involved doses of glycoalkaloids that exceed what one could get from eating typical potatoes. They used green or blemished potatoes, isolated potato skins, potato sprouts or isolated glycoalkaloids (more on this later). The single exception is the last study, showing that normal doses of glycoalkaloids can aggravate inflammatory bowel disease in transgenic mice that are genetically predisposed to it (3)*.

What happens when you feed normal animals normal potatoes? Not much. Many studies have shown that they suffer no ill effects whatsoever, even at high intakes (1, 2). This has been shown in primates as well (4, 5, 6). In fact, potato-based diets appear to be generally superior to grain-based diets in animal feed. As early as 1938, Dr. Edward Mellanby showed that grains, but not potatoes, aggravate vitamin A deficiency in rats and dogs (7). This followed his research showing that whole grains, but not potatoes, aggravate vitamin D deficiency due to their high phytic acid content (Mellanby. Nutrition and Disease. 1934). Potatoes were also a prominent part of Mellanby's highly effective tooth decay reversal studies in humans, published in the British Medical Journal in 1932 (8, 9).

Potatoes partially protect rats against the harmful effects of excessive cholesterol feeding, when compared to wheat starch-based feed (10). Potato feeding leads to a better lipid profile and intestinal short-chain fatty acid production than wheat starch or sugar in rats (11). I wasn't able to find a single study showing any adverse effect of normal potato feeding in any normal animal. That's despite reading two long review articles on potato glycoalkaloids and specifically searching PubMed for studies showing a harmful effect. If you know of one, please post it in the comments section.

In the next post, I'll write about the effects of potatoes in the human diet, including data on the health of traditional potato-eating cultures... and a curious experiment by the Washington State Potato Commission that will begin on October 1.


*Interleukin-10 knockout mice. IL-10 is a cytokine involved in the resolution of inflammation and these mice develop inflammatory bowel disease (regardless of diet) due to a reduced capacity to resolve inflammation.

Read More

ECZEMA - Itch

Eczema is a collective term for inflammatory lesions. This could result in an acute state of swelling, redness, blisters or nodules, flakes and oozing. May occur later deposits. Often, the dermatitis associated with severe itching. If a chronic eczema, thickens the cornea and the skin becomes dry and cracked. We distinguish between external (exogenous) eczema, which is caused by external influences, and inward (endogenous) eczema is organic. The cause of the endogenous eczema, atopic dermatitis, is often hard to find out.

Eczema usually occurs at the point where the contact took place with the causing substance. You can be an immunological (skin allergy) or directly caused by a skin-irritating substance. Allergic reactions can only occur after years of constant contact with the substance, but then connect with each other to immediately contact again. Non-allergic eczema by weak irritants often occur only after prolonged exposure to the harmful substance (such as water, cleaning agents) on. If the substance is severely irritating (eg acids or alkalis), connect the complaints immediately. Both allergic and non allergic eczema may be aggravated in part by solar radiation (eg cosmetics allergy is worse in the sun).

Common causes

Eczema-causing substances:
* Drugs.
* Cosmetics.
* Chemicals (for example, cleaning agents).
* Textiles.
* Metals (eg nickel in costume jewelry or belt buckles).
* Food (for example, cow's milk in infancy).
* Plants.

What can you do

* Initiating find substance as possible to avoid or at least prevent direct skin contact.

* Do not use ordinary soap, as it attacks the protective layer of the skin, thus drying out the skin. Instead of using soap rather wash creams, washing gels or washing pieces (Syndet).

* Instead of bubble baths or high-foaming shower gels use lotion or oil baths. These dry out the skin does not, but fat and maintain it during the cleaning process.

* After washing the skin with a moisturizing lotion cream.

* Use of allergy-tested skin care products that are suitable for dry, sensitive skin (even the sun).

* Patients with sonnenempfindlichem eczema should avoid the sun.

* Excessive sweating of the sites prevent eczema. The salty sweat irritates the skin.

* Applying a salve for eczema (eg bufexamac or hydrocortisone).

* Against strong itching with antihistamine tablets to help active ingredient (= pruritic, anti-allergic). This drug is also available as ointments, creams or gels for external use for weaker itching.

When you need a doctor

* For severe symptoms or if the discomfort continues.

What your doctor can do

* Finding out the cause of eczema (eg, allergy test).

* Treatment of eczema symptoms with more effective treatments for itching or inflammation.

Prevention

* When working with skin irritants gloves (preferably made of PVC, including cotton gloves).

* New clothes before you wear wash.

* The sun no perfumes and cosmetics (except sunscreen) apply.

Read More

FOOD ALLERGY

Approximately 1-2 percent of the population suffers from a true food allergy, that is, their immune system is allergic to certain foods. An allergy is a faulty immune system response to normally harmless, foreign substances. A response is seen earlier than the second contact with the triggering substance (allergen). The first edition, the so-called sensitization, i.e., the immune system forms antibodies against the seemingly anti-matter, to defend them. If the body in contact with the allergen again, large quantities of these antibodies can be replicated. They fight the fabric and it comes to the allergic reaction. Here are several highly effective defense cells of biochemical substances such as Histamine release, which are then responsible for the classic symptoms.

Common triggers of food allergy

* Nuts
* Fish
* Wheat
* Shellfish
* Various fruit and vegetables
* Eggs

For most adults, it is, however, pollen-associated food allergies hay fever (allergy cross). The structure of allergenic molecules in pollen are similar to some structures in some foods. The immune system is confused, so to speak, the molecule and reacts well with various dishes with an allergy. The symptoms of allergic skin rashes ranging from proposals with itching and hives on stomach and intestinal disorders to respiratory distress, or at worst, a circuit failure.

The most common cross allergies:

Birch, alder, hazel - nuts, apples and other stone and pome fruit, potato

Grasses - tomato, peanut, legumes,

Mugwort - celery, spices, carrots

The food allergy is to be distinguished from food intolerance. Here is no immune reaction. It is triggered by strong histamine-containing foods. In other forms there is a defect in enzymes that will degrade in the body certain substances (eg lactose intolerance). In addition, some dyes or preservatives in the body directly cause histamine release. The symptoms often resemble those of true food allergy.

How your doctor makes the diagnosis.

to identify the triggering allergen, can be very difficult, especially by today's variety of processed foods. The simplest test is the so-called skin prick test. Various test solutions are inserted into the skin. Is there an allergy, is at this point after about 20 minutes, a wheal. For food, it may be necessary to use not only the test solution, but the food itself be placed on the skin or a little of him herauszuritzen and then prick the skin to obtain a reliable result. Although so the allergen can not be found, there is the possibility of a provocation test. This means that is eaten the suspect food under medical supervision in low doses in order to provoke an allergic reaction. Can also be a useful blood test in which the antibodies can be detected against a suspected allergen.

What your doctor can do:

If the allergic reaction is not too strong, rich usually drugs that block the histamine in the body (antihistamines) for therapy. In severe cases, cortisone is used to suppress the immune response. For patients who have already shown a massive allergic reaction, it is recommended that such an emergency kit to have around, consisting of an antihistamine, cortisone and adrenaline preparation, if there is a reaction cycle.

What can you do:

The best treatment is of course to avoid the trigger foods. However, some allergens change depending on the preparation, so for example, many patients can not tolerate an apple allergy to raw apple, but have with the apple in the form of boiled or baked no problems. Difficulties can also make finished products, on which the ingredients are not declared sufficient. It is advisable to do so.

Read More

PAIN

Pain is the body's warning signals that indicate that something is wrong. They are the result of stimulation of certain pain-sensitive nerve endings. These are located in large numbers in the skin, but also in all other parts of the body. These pain receptors are sensitive and react differently to different stimuli (e.g. heat, strain, pressure). For example, react certain skin sensitive to heat than other places. Even among humans the sensation of pain varies greatly and can be influenced by the psyche. Pain can be used as stabbing, throbbing, dull, burning, etc. are perceived. The nature of the pain and the place where it occurs to give, and often information about the cause of pain. Sometimes the pain is deceptive, however, also another cause. Thus, for example pain in the left arm or heart problems caused by toothache feeling of head or ear pain. Often in severe pain complaints are still added such as restlessness or anxiety.

If you look at the pain, it must clearly distinguish different types of pain:

* Acute pain

* Chronic pain

Acute pain has not lost its original warning. This item can also be found pain, occur as symptoms of a disease, such as abdominal pain in the right abdomen, suggestive of appendicitis. This is possible by eliminating the pain polluter - in this example by surgical removal of the cecum - eliminate the pain.

It is more difficult if it is the pain of so-called chronic pain. Chronic pain is no more than pure warning function of the body in action but to become an independent disease. For those concerned and for the attending physician as to affect the choice of treatment. The treatment of chronic pain requires a lot of patience.

It is to assess whether, for example, whether the cause is due to recurring headaches that the person required due to fading eyesight and eyestrain, a (new) glasses or whether this is already chronic headaches, the cause is not alone with drugs and a new pair of glasses should help. Your doctor will ask for the successful treatment of pain and need your active participation. You yourself must help in the treatment of chronic pain! Keep a pain diary in which you insert your own perception of pain every day. Based on the listed types of pain we have tried to present different types of pain clear and informative.

We also have a database provided with certified grief therapist, where you can find by location and zip codes a pain therapist in your area. If it is the therapist to specialists, this is always apparent. All listed physicians are registered with the state medical boards as doctors with specialist training in pain management. The list of rehabilitation and pension plans will lead to selected clinics that specialize in the treatment of pain patients.

Read More

Potatoes and Human Health, Part I

Potatoes: an Introduction

Over 10,000 years ago, on the shores of lake Titicaca in what is now Peru, a culture began to cultivate a species of wild potato, Solanum tuberosum. They gradually transformed it into a plant that efficiently produces roundish starchy tubers, in a variety of strains that suited the climactic and gastronomic needs of various populations. These early farmers could not have understood at the time that the plant they were selecting would become the most productive crop in the world*, and eventually feed billions of people around the globe.

Wild potatoes, which were likely consumed by hunter-gatherers before domestication, are higher in toxic glycoalkaloids. These are defensive compounds that protect against insects, infections and... hungry animals. Early farmers selected varieties that are low in bitter glycoalkaloids, which are the ancestors of most modern potatoes, however they didn't abandon the high-glycoalkaloid varieties. These were hardier and more tolerant of high altitudes, cold temperatures and pests. Cultures living high in the Andes developed a method to take advantage of these hardy but toxic potatoes, as well as their own harsh climate: they invented chuños. These are made by leaving potatoes out in the open, where they are frozen at night, stomped underfoot and dried in the sun for many days**. What results is a dried potato with a low glycoalkaloid content that can be stored for a year or more.

Nutritional Qualities

From a nutritional standpoint, potatoes are a mixed bag. On one hand, if I had to pick a single food to eat exclusively for a while, potatoes would be high on the list. One reason is that they contain an adequate amount of complete protein, meaning they don't have to be mixed with another protein source as with grains and legumes. Another reason is that a number of cultures throughout history have successfully relied on the potato as their principal source of calories, and several continue to do so. A third reason is that they're eaten in an unrefined, fresh state.

Potatoes contain an adequate amount of many essential minerals, and due to their low phytic acid content (1), the minerals they contain are well absorbed. They're rich in magnesium and copper, two minerals that are important for insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular health (2, 3). They're also high in potassium and vitamin C. Overall, they have a micronutrient content that compares favorably with other starchy root vegetables such as taro and cassava (4, 5, 6). Due to their very low fat content, potatoes contain virtually no omega-6, and thus do not contribute to an excess of these essential fatty acids.

On the other hand, I don't have to eat potatoes exclusively, so what do they have to offer a mixed diet? They have a high glycemic index, which means they raise blood sugar more than an equivalent serving of most carbohydrate foods, although I'm not convinced that's a problem in people with good blood sugar control (7, 8). They're low-ish in fiber, which could hypothetically lead to a reduction in the number and diversity of gut bacteria in the absence of other fiber sources. Sweet potatoes, an unrelated species, contain more micronutrients and fiber, and have been a central food source for healthy cultures (9). However, the main reasons temperate-climate cultures throughout the world eat potatoes is they yield well, they're easily digested, they fill you up and they taste good.

In the next post, I'll delve into the biology and toxicology of potato glycoalkaloids, and review some animal data. In further posts, I'll address the most important question of all: what happens when a person eats mostly potatoes... for months, years, and generations?


* In terms of calories produced per acre.

** A simplified description. The process can actually be rather involved, with several different drying, stomping and leaching steps.

Read More

TRAVEL TIPS

* Travel Pharmacy
* Vaccination schedule

Important when traveling in tropical areas

* After a long flight schedule with the time difference as a rest day.
It makes sense to the daily rhythm of the local population to adapt or leave the country, eg keep in warm countries, a long lunch and rest before the evening again become active.

* Eat only peeled or cooked or fried or grilled foods (no fruits or vegetables that are not peeled, can any salad - Cook it, peel it or forget it!).

* Drink only bottled drinks ready (not tap water, not even to brush your teeth, no ice, no ice cream).

* Regularly and drink plenty of fluids is especially important in the tropics. Quiet on the normal thirst also drink (bottled water is best, because of the salts). The bright yellow urine should not be dark. Ice cold drinks do not drink too fast (risk of diarrhea)

* Wear light and airy clothing from sweat-absorbent cotton again.

* Do not walk barefoot (insect stings, the risk of hookworm infection or bites by poisonous animals).

* Evening, long-sleeved clothes and long trousers (risk of insect bites, for example by the malaria mosquito).

* Avoid swimming and bathing in rivers or lakes (freshwater) in Africa and South America. Here is threatening infection by flukes (schistosomiasis).

* Mosquito nets should be well fixed under the mattress. sleep so that the body does not affect the network.

* After a tropical stay of more than three months after the return you should necessarily a medical examination of blood, urine and stool can perform, even if there are no complaints.

Important:

Who suffers after returning from inexplicable complaints such as fever, nausea, diarrhea, nausea, rash, cough, should definitely consult a doctor and inform him about the trip (risk of malaria and other infectious diseases).

Read More

NATURAL HEALING.

The term "medicine" diagnostic and treatment methods are described based on knowledge that is studied and taught at universities. The basis of traditional medicine is scientific findings. Traditional medicines are compared with healing methods that are called "empirical medicine", "alternative medicine" or "complementary medicine". These therapies are based on very different ideas.

A large number of alternative medical systems can in principle be applied to many diseases, for example, homeopathy, anthroposophic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine or Ayurveda.

The application of remedies using natural ingredients is often the treatment of many diseases, for example, the herbal medicine and spagyrische or "biochemical" drugs. Other methods of Komlementärmedizin are only suitable for treating certain ailments.

Before you decide to use an alternative medical treatment, you should firstly obtain information from a doctor if the symptoms of any serious underlying disease. On the other hand, the practitioner of complementary medicine will tell if his method is suitable for the treatment of the present complaints.

Read More

Is There A Need For Hydrochloric Acid In The Stomach?

Last week Dr. Joseph Mercola made several statements concerning the negative affects of drinking alkaline water.

According to Dr. Mercola drinking alkaline water is of no value because it will be minimized by the hydrochloric acid of the stomach.

That's exactly the point Mercola! You want to minimize the hydrochloric acid residues in the stomach!!!!

Of course what Mercola does not explain is the biochemistry of the digestive system and especially the stomach. The facts are that for every molecule of hydrochloric acid produced in the stomach an equal amount of sodium bicarbonate is produced by the cover cells. The equation is as follows: NaCl + H20 + CO2 = NaHCO3 + HCL.

The stomach pulls sodium, chloride, water and carbon dioxide to make sodium bicarbonate, an alkalizing compound with the waste product of hydrochloric acid.

The stomach will always produce sodium bicarbonate to alkalize the food we eat or the liquids we drink to prepare the food and drink for biological transformation into stem cells in the crypts of the small intestine. The more acidic the food or drink the more sodium bicarbonate will be produced to buffer the acids of the food or drink. This of course leaves you with a belly full of acid which leads to all sorts of stomach disorders including the acidifying of the blood and then tissues.

The stomach does not need to produce any sodium bicarbonate when we are eating or drinking alkalizing foods or alkaline drinks, including electron rich alkaline water.

The key here to remember is this: the stomach is NOT an organ of digestion but an organ of contribution and its main contribution is to alkalize the food and drink we ingest.

You want to drink electron rich alkaline water to neutralize or buffer the hydrochloric acid in the stomach.

The stomach is NOT an organ of digestion but an organ designed to alkalize the acids from food and metabolism.

Bottom-line the best thing you can do to support the stomach is to drink electron rich alkaline water with a pH of at least 9.5 or better. You will be preventing serious stomach disorders and preparing the food and drink for its ideal pH in the small intestine at 8.4 for biological transformation into stems cells in the crypts of the small intestine.

My best advise is to drink at least 1 liter of 9.5 pH alkaline electron rich water for every 50 pounds of weight. You will be hydrating, alkalizing and energizing your body. There is nothing more important than drinking alkaline electron rich water other than the oxygen you breath.

Read More

Speaking at Wise Traditions 2010

I'm happy to announce that I'll be presenting at the Weston A. Price foundation's 2010 Wise Traditions conference. The conference will be held in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Nov 12-14. The theme is the politics of food.

Sally Fallon Morell has invited me to give a talk on the diet and health of Pacific islanders. The talk will be titled "Kakana Dina: Diet and Health in the Pacific Islands", and it will take place on Sunday, November 14th from 4:00 to 5:20 pm. In preparation for the talk, I've read eight books and countless journal articles. Although some of the material will be familiar to people who follow the blog, I will not be rehashing what I've already published. I have nearly an hour and a half to talk, so I'll be going into some depth on the natural history and traditional food habits of Pacific island populations. Not just macronutrient breakdowns... specific foods and traditional preparation methods.

Learn about the health of traditional Pacific island populations, and what has changed since Western contact. Learn about traditional cooking and fermentation techniques. See unpublished photos from the Kitava study, courtesy of Dr. Staffan Lindeberg. Learn about the nutritional and ceremonial role of mammals including pork... and the most gruesome food of all.

I hope to see you there!


Kitava photo courtesy of Dr. Staffan Lindeberg

Read More

VACCINATION

What is a vaccine?

In a vaccine attenuated pathogens or their toxins (called toxins) to be injected or swallowed. These are so far weakened that they no longer cause disease, but stimulate the body to form antibodies. As with a natural disease is the organism, the so-called antibodies that can protect him even at a later infection by the pathogen. This is called active immunization, because the body itself must be active, ie its own defense system is in force. Unfortunately, this protection usually lasts only a few years and the vaccine has therefore to be refreshed regularly. Lifetime coverage is usually only when the disease has been through it.

When a vaccine is useful?

Generally, there is no compulsory vaccination in Many countries Everyone can decide for yourself whether he or his child can be vaccinated. However, it is advised all parents to vaccinate their children. Only through a complete vaccination before children are least affected diseases properly protected. Indeed, even seemingly harmless childhood diseases can cause serious complications, for example, the heart or brain attack. Only through a broad vaccination program was dangerous diseases such as diphtheria and tuberculosis in Western Europe almost the smallpox disease eradicated worldwide throughout. However, if vaccine fatigue in the population, such diseases can spread quickly again. The goal of the World Health Organization is in the next few years, polio, which mainly exists in countries of the third world often appears to exterminate.

Vaccination is useful when:

* The disease occurs in Europe or travel, or a longer stay is planned in countries where the

* Particular disease still occurs.

* The disease is dangerous itself (eg tetanus).

* drag the disease dangerous damage to you (eg polio, measles, etc.) can.

* There is no effective medication for the disease exist (eg, diphtheria).

* An increased disease risk (indication vaccination).

Rationale for vaccination

* The main argument for vaccination is protection against the risk of diseases such as Diphtheria or polio which carry long-term health damage or even death.

* A good vaccination of the population can be disease is greatly reduced or even stopped.

* Vaccinations done on healthy volunteers. The body is strong enough to make adequate protective substances, while the disease often occurs in already reduced immune response and thus taxed twice.

* In today's modern vaccines are very rare serious complications.

* The risk of allergic reactions is low in modern vaccines.

* Vaccinations are cheaper for the state as the result of damage (eg, treatment and care of a disabled child) that would cause the diseases.

Arguments against vaccination

* A well-made children's disease, in contrast to vaccination offers a lifetime of protection.

* Vaccination means to the infant a strain.

* The vaccine may be mild vaccine reactions (redness and swelling at the injection site, fever,

* Fatigue, diarrhea, restlessness) may occur.

Vaccine damage:

Vaccine damage is damage that are caused by vaccination and beyond the usual exceeds the level of vaccination. Are especially feared brain damage that can lead to a permanent mental or physical disability. The problem is to determine whether a disease is caused by the vaccine or only at the same time as the vaccination occurred, and it would have happened even without vaccination for this disease. In rare cases it can cause a severe vaccine damage. However, none of the approved vaccines calls forth more and more serious complications than the disease itself, which is thereby prevented. That vaccine damage be evaluated at the present time in part, is because of the good immunization coverage of infants hardly occur or the actual disease, and one example the clinical picture of poliomyelitis in Germany barely knows. In all suspected vaccine damage immediately, a doctor should be consulted.

Read More

Reversing High Blood Pressue, High Cholesterol, Obesity and Type 1 Diabetes

Subject: Re: The pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet

Dear Dr. Young,

I started the pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet on the evening of July 25, 2010.
Roma, my former wife & I met in St.Louis on the 16-19 of July.
It was the first time we had seen each other in 11 years.
On the 20th I was back in Nashville.
Roma ask me to comeback the 23-26 of July.
While I was in St.Louis, Anne Marie & her husband,Jonathan called to ask Roma to come up to their home in Iowa, since she was so close by in St.Louis.
Roma lives in Maui, Hawaii, they had met & became friends when Anne Marie & Jonathan were visiting the island.

She said she would come up if Anne Marie would see me professionally.
We arrived on the afternoon of July 25th, 2010,we met them at the Guru Purnama Celebration on campus at M.U.M.(Maharishi University of Management).

I was happy to be at M.U.M. because I have been doing T.M.(Transcendental Meditation) for 36 years.

We stayed with them & they fixed dinner for us that night.
The next day we ate with them before my appointment.
I enjoy the pH Miracle Diet food they prepared.

I had my microscopy live blood cell & MOST analysis done at 3:00 P.M. on July 26, 2010 with Anne Marie.

Anne Marie advised me that since I was taking such large amounts of insulin that it might take some time before getting any positive results.

I was taking a shot of 56 units of Insulin NPH 100 Unit / ML Novolin N, twice daily, every 12 hours.
Also, I was taking a shot of 10 to 20 units of Insulin,Aspart 100/ML Novo, 6 times a day, with 3 meals,2 snacks & bedtime.
In addition, I was taking Metformin HCL 1000 mg. Tab, 2 times a day. This the maxmium dosage allowed.

Plus, I was taking : for high blood pressure,10 mg, half a tablet of Lisinopril 20 Mg Tab 1 a day.
for high cholesterol,40 mg., half a tablet of Simvastatin 80 Mg Tab 1 a day.
for frequent urination,4 mg of Tolterodine Tartrate 4 Mg SA Cap / Detrol LA, 2 times a day & 5 mg, half a tablet of Zolpidem Tartrate 10 Mg Tab, 1 a day.

My type 1 diabetes was so bad that in the spring of 2005, I was rushed to the E.R. with a blood sugar over 600.
The next 3 years it was in the high 200s & 300s.
In the last 2 years with the help of 8 shots a day, my blood sugar has been in the high 100s & 200s.

My doctors told me as a result of years of high blood sugar, I developed neuropathy (nerve damage) in my toes/feet, & once the nerve is dead it will never regenerate.

Finally, I was scheduled for botox injuctions in my bladder to end the nightmare of having to get up every hour to urinate every night for the last 2 years.

I had not had any rem sleep in over 2 years, I was constantly exausted & none of the medications worked.

Anne Marie advised me to stay on my medications, but to be sure to check my blood sugar more often because I might need less insulin.

Being an ordained minister I have always trusted my intuition.
The morning of the 27th of July I stopped taking all insulin & I stopped taking Metformin.
The morning of the 29th of July I stopped taking the Lisinopril.
The morning of the 30th of July I noticed that I felt the pads of my toes for the 1st time since 2001.
The evening of the 31th of July I stopped taking the Simvastatin, Detrol LA, & Tolterodine Tartrate.

I am cancelling the botox injections because I am now sleeping through the night !

I have been drug free since the 31st of July.

I am a veteran, I get my medical care at the Veterans Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
My 1st appointment since becoming drug free was with Donna, my dermatologist at 1:20 P.M. on August 3, 2010.

She said that I looked great, better than she had ever seen me before.
She said that it looked like my skin was glowing
.
My 2nd appointment was with my endocrinologist, Dr. Niswender at 10:30 A.M. on August 12, 2010.

He said that my blood sugar looked wonderful & that my blood pressure was normal, 124/70.

He said that the last time I saw him I weighed 258 lbs. & on that day I weigh 237 lbs.,a loss of 21 lbs.

He ask me how much insulin was I taking ?
I told him none.

He couldn't believe it.

He ordered a complete blood work.
After seeing the results he was stunned.

He said that my blood sugar should be between 80 -120 & that for the first time I was averaging that.

He said that I didn't need to ever come back to see him, but he ask me to come back in 4 months to make sure the results are permanent.

My blood sugar :

7/25/2010 137
7/26/2010 156
7/27/2010 68
7/28/2010 87
7/29/2010 126
7/30/2010 129
7/31/2010 114
8/01/2010 119
8/02/2010 126
8/03/2010 122
8/04/2010 109
8/05/2010 110
8/07/2010 82
8/08/2010 113
8/09/2010 131
8/10/2010 142
8/11/2010 125

Now, my average blood sugar is around 100.

My 3rd appointment was with my internal medicine specialist, Dr. Sastre at 11:30 A.M. on August 17, 2010.

She said all my vitals looked great & not to come back for 8 months.

She said that my cholesterol level is now completely in normal range.

I am drug free & feeling great !

I am grateful to Roma for getting me there.

I am very grateful to Anne Marie, Dr. Patrick Sobota & Dr. Robert Young & Shelley.
You help save my life !

I continue to lose weight. I now weight 230 lbs, a 28 lbs loss.
I have the energy of a teenager !

I have started jogging for the 1st time in 3 decades.

My life is wave after wave after wave of bliss !

It was the perfect synergy of events : reconnecting with my former wife,Roma, reconnecting with M.U.M. for Guru Purnama, reconnecting with my spiritual mentor,Jerry Jarvis, 36 years of meditation, having Anne Marie do the consultation,learning the diet and doing the diet, & follow up with Anne Marie & Dr. Patrick Sobota.

Thank you all !!!

I believe that my healing is the result of many years of prayer & yes my prayers were answered when God lead me to Dr. Robert Young & his team !!!

Gratefully Yours,,
Rev. John Copeland

P.S. my website is www.christchurch.webs.com ; .

Read More

What can I do about flu

The flu season is almost here, so what natural ways can we protect ourself. Firstly always seek advice from your GP before considering natural medicine. Complimentary therapy can be useful in helping to protect yourself from the flu, or quickening the recovery.

At the first signs of flu take 20-30 drops of elderberry tincture three to four times a day for three days. Elderberry has been used for centuries to fight viruses, and one research study found that people who took it recovered from flu significantly faster than those who did not.

Naturpaths recommend Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic remedy for reducing the severity of flu symptoms. It is available online and in some health food shops. Be sure to use it within 12-48 hours of the first appearance of your symptoms.

You could also try N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a form of the amino acid cysteine. It helps to thin and loosen mucus and reduce flu symptoms. Take one 600mg dose three times a day, and of course my own favorite vitamin c in higher doses.

Add Link - Suggest Link - Submit URL Directory

Read More

NUTRITION RULES

Ten major food rules

• Versatile eat

• Plenty of cereal products - and potatoes.

• Vegetables and fruits (5 per day)

• Milk and milk products daily.

• Low fat and fat-rich foods.

• Sugar and salt in moderation.

• Plenty of liquid.

• Tasty and carefully prepared.

• Take time to enjoy your meal.

• Watch your weight. Keep moving.

To eat a healthy diet, sufficient to observe these ten rules. There are no strict requirements or prohibitions (except prescription diets). It is not necessary that you buy food in the only health food store or health food stores. Even if you eat a ready meal now and again, that not your health. Eat, drink and you still everything that is fun and tastes good. And do not worry: A healthy meal does not have to be expensive, and you are in the preparation of not longer than usual in the kitchen.

With ten simple dietary rules offer the best conditions your body for physical well-being. Avoid obesity and subsequent diseases such as atherosclerosis, or gout.

So it is very important to develop an awareness of eating, shopping and cooking. Conscious food choices is a good basis for a healthy diet!

Read More

Dogen Zenji on Nutritionism

Dogen Zenji was the man who brought the Soto lineage of Zen Buddhism to Japan. He was a prolific writer, and many of his texts are respected both inside and outside the Soto Zen community. Last week, my Zen group was discussing the Genjo Koan, one of his works that is frequently used as a chant. Here's an excerpt. It may seem cryptic but bear with me:

...when you sail out in a boat to the middle of an ocean where no land is in sight, and view the four directions, the ocean looks circular, and does not look any other way. But the ocean is neither round or square; its features are infinite in variety... It only look circular as far as you can see at that time. All things are like this.

Though there are many features in the dusty world and the world beyond conditions, you see and understand only what your eye of practice can reach. In order to learn the nature of the myriad things, you must know that although they may look round or square, the other features of oceans and mountains are infinite in variety; whole worlds are there. It is so not only around you, but also directly beneath your feet, or in a drop of water.

What Dogen meant, among other things, is that the world is much more complex than what our conscious minds can perceive or understand. It was true in the 13th century, and it's still true today, despite our greatly expanded understanding of the natural world.

We can apply this principle to nutrition. For example, what is red palm oil? Two hundred years ago, perhaps we only knew a few basic facts about it. It's a fat, it's red, it comes from an African palm fruit and it has a particular melting point and flavor. Then we learned about vitamins, so we knew it contained vitamin E, carotenes (provitamin A), and vitamin K. Then fatty acid composition, so we found out it's mostly palmitic and oleic acids. Now we know red palm oil contains an array of polyphenols, sterols, coenzyme Q10 and many other non-essential constituents. We don't know much about the biological effects of most of these substances, particularly in combination with one another.

Add to that the fact that every batch of red palm oil is different, due to strain, terroir, processing, storage, et cetera. We know what the concept "red palm oil" means, roughly, but the details are infinitely complex. Now feed it to a human, who is not only incredibly complex himself, but genetically and epigenetically unique. How can we possibly guess the outcome of this encounter based on the chemical composition of red palm oil? That's essentially what nutritionism attempts to do.

To be fair, nutritionism does work sometimes. For example, we can pretty well guess that a handful of wild almonds containing a lot of cyanide won't be healthy to eat, due at least in part to the cyanide. But outside extreme examples like this, we're in a gray zone that needs to be informed by empirical observation. In other words, what happens when the person in question actually eats the red palm oil? What happened when a large group of people in West Africa ate red palm oil for thousands of years? Those questions are the reason why I'm so interested in understanding the lives of healthy non-industrial cultures.

I'm not criticizing reductionist science or controlled experiments (which I perform myself); I just think they need to be kept in context. I believe they should be interpreted within the framework of more basic empirical observations*.

One of the most important aspects of scientific maturity is learning to accept and manage uncertainty and your own ignorance. Some things are more certain than others, but most aren't set in stone. I think Dogen would tell us to be wary of nutritionism, and other forms of overconfidence.

* Wikipedia's definition of empirical: "information gained by means of observation, experience, or experiment." As opposed to inferences made from experiments not directly related to the question at hand.

Read More

IN THE SAUNA TO GO TRAVEL FRAGRANCE

The smell of specific scents can be a wonderful journey into the realm of the senses and emotions: it can start in the blue-purple flowering lavender fields of Provence, are continued in Spanish eucalyptus forests and Moroccan spice bazaars, and then ending up under palm trees of a Tunisian oasis. The unmistakable scent of these places inspire our imagination to call forth memories of carefree holidays.

Such fragrance travel is the trend - especially among women. More and more public sauna baths offer guests this staged olfactory experiences as a true "great moments". The fragrances are employed in very small dosage. This explains the pharmacist and fragrance expert, "The smell was in such a framework, but clearly perceptible, but not intrusive. He must also be adapted to the overall concept. "

Fact is: smells emotions get awake. The smell of a fragrance is the assessment (e.g., pleasant or unpleasant) instinctively and immediately. In addition, immediately evoked memories of situations in which the same odor has been noticed before, the interaction of smell and feeling. The reason for this lies in the oldest part of the brain, the limbic system. It controls not only the human emotions, but is also the location of the scent memory. In this context, with jasmine rice and celebrated Aromaaufgüssen set. On the good quality of the fragrances therefore, special emphasis should be laid. "Even if it's the sauna infusion rather an interaction of smell and touch, we should look at the ingredients for purity".

The quality mark "tested for quality sauna infusion concentrates and fragrances" of the German Federal sauna offer consumers for safe orientation. Products bearing the "Blue drops" on the packaging are independently tested and meet specific requirements for the ingredients. So exclusively natural or nature-identical fragrances are accepted, but must be processed under specified standards of hygiene. Suitable containers, information on product durability and clear that help users in the safe use of the infusion agent for a beneficial, health-promoting sauna experience.

Read More

EAR PLUGS may addictive.

In many tourists take their luggage next to the bathing suit and ear plugs. In unfamiliar surroundings, perhaps even disturbed by some nightclub, many cannot sleep as good as at home in bed. Earplugs should put things right.

Mostly it works well, but the thing has a catch: those who too often fall asleep in such a claim, which may have problems falling asleep without it. Was on holiday when it is not so important to get up at a certain time, you should really use it so only when necessary, recommend ENT doctors.

Read More

FOOD AND DRINK IN GOUT

No other disease is closely linked to the prosperity as gout. Already in ancient times, the disease occurred after copious consumption of alcohol and lots of meat and fish on. Today, gout is one of the most common food-related diseases in adults, with dietary and lifestyle habits influence the development and progress. In most cases the cause is due to a hereditary predisposition. The disease is observed more frequently so in families.

The newly launched DGE-Data Library "Eating and Drinking in gout" shows stakeholders what measures an increased concentration of uric acid in the blood and thus reduce disease can be prevented. To minimize the damage caused by painful inflammation of gout, the brochure number of practical advice for implementing a low purine diet food tables to provide assistance with the selection of appropriate foods. In addition, the guide contains addresses for a qualified nutritional counseling and organizations that offer more information on gout.

Eating and Drinking in gout is the first DGE-information center, which features a completely revised layout. Counters can be edited by the DGE at different dietary issues and are aimed directly at consumers. Diseases and dietary measures are described in a concise and comprehensible way. Nutrition experts are information counters an ideal medium for distribution to those affected.

Read More

CAFFEINE: FRIEND AND FOE OF MAN

In coffee beans, tea and mate leaves, but also in guarana and kola nuts contain caffeine, a bitter-tasting substance with a stimulating effect. So for us coffee drinkers of the day begin with the highest pleasure and the most joyful encouragement, whether we have brought the coffee by the bed partner or our colleagues in the office with the smell of coffee welcome. We have the feeling now to be fit for the day. At least for some hours, for a meeting, seminar or a longer phone call could abfordern us the next dose.

We are dependent on the caffeine?

A dependence on coffee is developing at high doses within 6 to 15 days. Withdrawal symptoms such as headache, lethargy, anxiety, nausea and vomiting occur every 12 to 24 hours without caffeine. After about a week weaning away the withdrawal feelings.

What happens when the coffee was drunk?

By the incomparable fragrance and taste of the drink is first triggered the well-being. This enters the stimulant effect of caffeine must pass via the blood to its site of action in the brain. This takes about 30 to 60 minutes. In the liver, the caffeine is eventually degraded. About 0.5 to 1.5 percent of caffeine is excreted unchanged in the urine.

The effects of caffeine last for about 4 hours and personal with big fluctuations. Smoking stimulates the degradation, liver damage; extend, for example, by alcohol abuse, the effect. In pregnant women, the effect extended for several hours, but falls within one month after giving birth again to the standard value. The fetus and newborn is much more caffeine and more sustainable than in adults. Oral contraceptives ("the pill") reduce the degradation of caffeine, barbiturates (now rarely used sleeping pills) speed it up.

General effect.

The often feared increase in blood pressure occurs only in people who rarely drink coffee.

* Caffeine has a diuretic effect.
* Caffeine relaxes the smooth muscles in addition to the vessels in particular also the muscles of the bronchi.
* Caffeine affects the cardiovascular system, such as increasing the heart muscle power.


Effect in drugs.

The brain-stimulating effect of caffeine is used in various combination products:

* Painkillers: Pain breaks down, animated caffeine.
* Vitamin supplements to promote healing after surgery and childbirth: the general depression to be repealed by the caffeine.
* In migraine drugs are used, the vasodilator effect of caffeine.
* For travel sickness: The real drug while fighting the nausea, but it makes tired, so caffeine is added.
* Adrenaline-like substances and thyroid hormones are increased in their heart-accelerating effect.


Caffeine abuse

Considering with caffeinated stimulants not follow the instructions on the package can at higher doses than 15 mg / kg occur body weight, nausea, vomiting, restlessness, tremors, insomnia, headaches, rapid breathing, and anxiety and panic attacks, in extreme cases, even heart-rhythm disorders to seizures and coma. In certain diseases such as heart or thyroid function should be avoided caffeine.


In normal two to three cups of coffee a day (pharmaceutical dose 3 to 4 mg / kg body weight) caffeine is generally well tolerated. The caffeine in black tea is similar in its wake-causing effects, but in contrast to the coffee not exciting. The effect starts later, but keeps longer. Cola drinks contain much less caffeine than coffee. The guarana nut contains three times as much caffeine as coffee, and the South American maté drink is because of his exciting but also relaxing and, above all, appetite suppressing effect even in our popular.

Read More

DAWN - DRIVERS UNDER ESTIMATE THE RISK

By the clocks to winter time starts one hour earlier a common problem: bad vision at twilight. At least one in five drivers has difficulty with the view when the light disappears.

Even a healthy eye looks slightly blurred in the twilight, the visual acuity decreases compared to normal day vision decreased by 90 percent. Guilt is the division of the visual cells in the retina. There are brightness at the cone cells actively produce and sharp, colorful images. little light is present, start the rod cells to work and care for black and white, less sharp images. This change will take time - until the rods have their maximum capacity, can take 45 to 60 minutes. Can accelerate the adaptation process of the eye cannot. The expert therefore recommends that all drivers take extra care on the road when it gets dark, especially for regular eye "TÜV".

Maximum power for the eye.

As the eye works in low light conditions at the limit of its capacity, any additional stress leads to difficulty in night vision. Such stress factors may be: Vitamin A deficiency, the working screen for too long, lack of sleep, nicotine and alcohol use, dry eyes, headache. A good vision during the day is still no guarantee of a normal vision at night. Because quite often it happens that even healthy eyes have difficulty adjusting to the existing lighting conditions. "However, anyone who feels dazzled by headlights from other cars or road signs cannot read can control his eyes”. Because they may have defective vision or eye problems like cataracts. Likewise, even diabetes or retinal degeneration lead to impaired vision.

Confusion with night blindness.

Vision problems in the twilight are often colloquially referred to as night blindness. A true night blindness (nyctalopia) is rare and is present only when the eye cannot adapt to dark lighting conditions in which a healthy eye still sees. Concerned actually see at night extremely difficult or even nothing. For the vast majority of these diseases but also the day vision is significantly impaired.

Read More

The China Study on Wheat

Denise Minger has just put up another great China Study post that's worth reading if you haven't already. Denise has been busy applying her statistics skills to the mountain of data the study collected. She noted in a previous post that wheat intake was strongly associated with coronary heart disease (CHD), the quintessential modern cardiovascular disease. I, and several other people, requested that she work her mathmagic to see if the association could be due to some other factor. For example, wheat is eaten mostly in the Northern regions of China, and CHD rates are generally higher at higher latitudes (vitamin D insufficiency?). This is true in Europe as well, and may be partly responsible for the purported benefits of the Mediterranean diet. You can mathematically determine if the association between wheat and CHD is simply due to the fact that wheat eaters live further North.

To make a long story short, nothing could explain the association except wheat itself, even latitude. Furthermore, she found a strong association between wheat intake and body mass index, typically a predictor of fat mass although we can't say that for sure. That finding echos a previous study in China where wheat eaters were more likely to be overweight than rice eaters (1, 2). Head over to Denise's post for the full story.

The China Study has major limitations built into its basic design, due to the fact that it was observational and pooled the blood samples of many individuals. Therefore, its findings can never prove anything, they can only suggest or be consistent with hypotheses. However, the study also has some unique advantages, such as a diversity of diets and regions, and the fact that people had presumably been eating a similar diet for a long time. I feel that Denise's efforts are really teasing out some useful information from the study that have been de-emphasized by other investigators.

There has been so little serious investigation into the health effects of wheat in the general population that I have to rely mostly on indirect evidence, such as the observation that the diseases of civilization tend to closely follow the introduction of white flour around the globe. Researchers studying celiac disease and other forms of gluten allergy, and the efforts of the paleolithic diet community in spreading that information (for example, Loren Cordain and Pedro Bastos), have been major contributors to understanding the health effects of wheat. Denise's analysis is one of the strongest pieces of evidence I've come by so far. One of these days, I'll post all of my references incriminating wheat. There are quite a few, although none of them is the smoking gun. I think there's enough indirect evidence that investigators should begin taking the idea seriously that wheat, particularly in the form of industrial flour products, may contribute to chronic disease in more than just a small subset of the population.

Read More