Heart disease and Diabetes in India

Caring New Born - An Overwhelming And Life's Biggest Challenge

Having a new baby is a wonderful experience and at the same time caring new born is overwhelming. There are many comfortable and safe ways to carry a baby. Always support your baby's head and neck under forearms as they cannot lift their head.

 

Caring new born involves the cleaning of umbilical cord stump with alcohol after every diaper change. Parents wonder when this will fall off. Umbilical cord is connected to the placenta and your baby at the belly button area (navel). After the birth the cord is cut and covered with clamps.

 

Care of umbilical has to be taken to prevent the infection until it falls off by itself. Dip a cotton swab or cotton ball in alcohol and move it around the bottom of the cord where it is attached to the navel. It has to fall off within 1 to 3 weeks after the birth.

 

New born usually eat for every three to four hours, some even feed for every two hours. As breast-fed babies can digest fast they need to be fed more frequently than the bottle-fed young ones.

 

Baby crying is a sort of communication between the mother and the baby. They usually cry when they are hungry, wet, tired, and lonely, bored and have to burp.

 

A mother quickly understands what the baby needs. Responding to a baby will simply build the relationship between the child and mother instead of spoiling the child.

 

Many things can be done to make a crying baby calm. By holding a baby over ones shoulders will make him calm down. Also by placing stomach of the baby across the knees or by wrapping the baby in blankets will do the trick.

 

Sleep is an essential thing to the new born. Normally a baby can sleep for 16 to 20 hours a day. The American Academy Pediatrics suggested that the healthy full-term babies sleep on their backs in order to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

 

Trim the nails of the infants during their first days of life with blunt edge scissors or file with an emery board to prevent scratching. The nails should be cut slightly across.

 

Bathing your baby will be a fun and you can enjoy doing it. Until the cord is fallen off give the sponge bath. After that, the tub baths can be given. While bathing, the water should be little warm.

 

Support the head and neck of the baby while bathing. Don't use the soap on the face. Bathing should be done before feeding or after one hour after feeding the baby.

 

Diapers have to be changed when the baby is wet or soiled. Wash and pat dry after each bowel movement and wetting. For girls, gently wash from front to back by separating the folds with a clean wash cloth.

 

Wash the penis, folds near the scrotum and creases in boys. The foreskin of the uncircumcised baby should not be pushed back.

 

Hence, Caring newborn is life's biggest challenge but soon you will be able to know their needs and how to soothe them. Visit New Born Baby Zone
 
Author Resource:- Neelima Reddy, author of this article writes for NewBornBabyZone.com. The New Born Baby blog published information on various aspects required for taking care of new born like newborn health and disorders, Baby sleep aspects, Toddler care, Baby gifts, Baby toys, Baby furniture, Baby care center, etc. Visit: http://www.newbornbabyzone.com/

Guide To Eye Supplements

The eyes are something that many people take for granted, until disease or injury start to affect them, at which point your whole life can be seriously affected. Of course, there are some things, such as accidents and injuries, that can impact your eyes and will require specialist treatment. And in some cases there is nothing that can be done about problems that affect the eyes, such as genetic problems. However, we can look after our optical health in a number of other ways, and one important factor that can help to maintain them is nutrition.

 

There are a number of things that can affect the health of our eyes, some of which are out of our control and others that we can try and avoid. Some things that potentially increase the risk of eye problems include age, obesity, smoking, excessive exposure to sunlight, and even gender.

 

Whilst some people will be more at risk than others when it comes to poor eye health, it has been proven that nutrition does play an important role in the health of our vision, and this is therefore something that should be taken into account if you're interested in preventing age related deterioration.

 

Studies have shown that certain foods contain antioxidants that can are particularly beneficial for our eyes. However, not everyone manages to eat as much fresh produce as they should to get these benefits. Often a busy lifestyle or other factors can affect the ability to eat a balanced diet. However, the wide range of vitamin supplements that are on the market today have made it easier for consumers to get their recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals, although those taking supplements should still try and eat as well as they can in order to maximize the benefits.

 

Some important supplements that have been identified in relation to eye health are vitamins A, C, and E. These are the antioxidant vitamins. Vitamin A is well known for its' role in night vision, but it is also important for preventing night blindness is pregnant women, and the health of our skin, hair and mucous membranes. It is found in animal products like liver, whole eggs, and milk.

 

Vitamin C helps reduce the risk of developing glaucoma, macular degeneration or cataracts. Bioflavanoids are available in combination with vitamin C in some supplements, and this is because they help the body absorb it. Vitamin E also helps reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

 

Other supplements that contribute to eye health include beta carotene, lutein, zinc oxide, selenium, and cupric oxide. Lutein is not as well known as some other supplements, but it is central to eye health. It is found in the retina, eye lens, and macula. People who smoke should be careful they get enough lutein, as smoking can affect its' levels. Smokers should also be aware that some studies have found that some of those participating who took beta carotene supplements and smoked were at risk of several diseases. These were only small studies however, but care should still be taken.

 

Eye supplements are a convenient way to get these nutrients, and often contain herbal preparations like bilberry. However, you should remember that exceeding the recommended doses can lead to side effects, so be aware of the total amount of each nutrient you are taking from multivitamins and any other supplements. This is of particular importance with fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, though if you are not taking high doses of any vitamins you should be alright. 

Author Resource:- More information on eye supplements and macular degeneration can be found here - www.vitaminstohealth.com.

What Causes Hypertension?

By: Doug Bremner

 

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is often described as a silent killer, and affects 50 million Americans. Hypertension usually occurs without symptoms, but if your blood pressure gets really high you could develop headache, dizziness, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, or nose bleeds. Most people find out that they have high blood pressure by getting a routine blood pressure check, which can be done in any doctor's office, or which you can do more easily and cheaply by yourself at most pharmacies. If untreated (about 30% of people with high blood pressure don't know they have it) it can quietly damage your organs and set the course for other life-threatening diseases to develop, including stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure.

 

Hypertension happens when the body holds on to too much water, which increases the volume of blood in our heart, arteries and veins, and therefore increases the pressure against the walls of the heart and blood vessels. Sometimes the heart beats too hard and that too can increase the pressure. Either situation leads to high blood pressure, which over time causes damage to the blood vessels.

 

Blood pressure is measured in units of millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), which is the amount of atmospheric pressure required to support a column of mercury 1 millimeter high. Blood pressure has a number for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Your systolic pressure, the pressure in the vessels when the heart beats, should be less than 140 mm Hg. Your diastolic pressure, the pressure in between heart beats, should be less than 90 mm Hg.

 

Like heart disease, hypertension is a disease of modern civilization. Hypertension is a product of the way our bodies have evolved over the centuries to be able to retain water and avoid dehydration. We tend to retain salt (sodium chloride, or NaCl), because, prior to modern times, salt was relatively rare. When salt is retained in our blood vessels, it holds on to water by something called the osmotic effect, and therefore water is not excreted as much as it would be otherwise through the kidneys and into the urine.

 

Granted, not everyone is sensitive to salt to the same degree. However, there is no doubt that the population as a whole eats much more salt than in the past, probably at least two or three times as much, and these habits are having an adverse effect on our health, including raising blood pressure.

 

Since early man did not have easy access to salt, he didn't have to worry about eating too many salted potato chips and having his blood pressure go through the roof. In fact, salt retention served an important purpose to early man - it was a good thing if you were living on the savannah and wouldn't be eating or drinking for several hours. It's bad if you live in America in the 21st Century and eat fast food three times a day.

 

Ancient man also got more exercise, ate less food in general (not by choice), and didn't smoke, take drugs or drink alcohol. However, those tough conditions did lead to more infection; and being eaten by tigers and falling off cliffs were occupational hazards of primitive man. Luckily, these folks didn't have to also worry about their blood pressure zooming up after eating a burger and fries.

 

Cheeseburgers notwithstanding, our earliest need for salt developed in us a taste for salty foods, which we have never lost. In cooking, salt enhances the flavor of other foods and many cooks feel it is an essential ingredient in the kitchen. Salting your pasta water with a handful of sea salt is not going to cause high blood pressure. Most of the over salting in our system comes from pre-prepared, packaged, and many frozen foods (with the exception of flash frozen fruits and vegetables) we eat, as well as the salt found in restaurant and fast foods. Food makers put huge amounts of salt in their food for flavor enhancement, to hide the lack of other natural flavorings, and to act as a preservative. Look at any food label and you will see astronomical percentages of salt in food - often more than 25% of a serving. The best way to avoid excess sodium in food is to buy fresh, unprocessed whole foods and prepare your own meals. If you buy canned beans and vegetables, low sodium or not, you should rinse them well as this removes about 40% of the sodium.

The Dangers of Excess Body Fat

By: Chad Tackett

 

Most people's primary motivation for weight management is to improve their appearance. Equally important, however, are the many other benefits of proper nutrition and regular exercise.

 

Weight management through reduction of excess body fat plays a vital role in maintaining good health and fighting disease. In fact, medical evidence shows that obesity poses a major threat to health and longevity. (The most common definition of obesity is more than 25 percent body fat for men and more than 32 percent for women.) An estimated one in three Americans has some excess body fat; an estimated 20 percent are obese.

 

Excess body fat is linked to major physical threats like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. (Three out of four Americans die of either heart disease or cancer each year; according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey, approximately 80 percent of those deaths are associated with life-style factors, including inactivity.)

 

For example, if you're obese, it takes more energy for you to breathe because your heart has to work harder to pump blood to the lungs and to the excess fat throughout the body. This increased work load can cause your heart to become enlarged and can result in high blood pressure and life-threatening erratic heartbeats.

 

Obese people also tend to have high cholesterol levels, making them more prone to arteriosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries by deposits of plaque. This becomes life-threatening when blood vessels become so narrow or blocked that vital organs like the brain, heart or kidneys are deprived of blood. Additionally, the narrowing of the blood vessels forces the heart to pump harder, and blood pressure rises. High blood pressure itself poses several health risks, including heart attack, kidney failure, and stroke. About 25 percent of all heart and blood vessel problems are associated with obesity.

 

Clinical studies have found a relationship between excess body fat and the incidence of cancer. By itself, body fat is thought to be a storage place for carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) in both men and women. In women, excess body fat has been linked to a higher rate of breast and uterine cancer; in men, the threat comes from colon and prostate cancer.

 

There is also a delicate balance between blood sugar, body fat, and the hormone insulin. Excess blood sugar is stored in the liver and other vital organs; when the organs are "full," the excess blood sugar is converted to fat. As fat cells themselves become full, they tend to take in less blood sugar. In some obese people, the pancreas produces more and more insulin, which the body can't use, to regulate blood sugar levels, and the whole system becomes overwhelmed. This poor regulation of blood sugar and insulin results in diabetes, a disease with long-term consequences, including heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, amputation, and death. Excess body fat is also linked to gall bladder disease, gastro-intestinal disease, sexual dysfunction, osteoarthritiis, and stroke.

 

Reducing Body Fat Reduces Disease Risk

 

The good news is that reducing body fat reduces the risk of disease. At the University of Pittsburgh, researchers studied 159 people as they followed a weight management program. The subjects were under age 45 and 30-70 pounds overweight. Those subjects who were able to shed just 10-15 percent of their weight and keep it off during the 18-month study showed significant improvement in HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, waist-to-hip ratio, and blood pressure. In fact, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, body fat reduction is a more powerful modulator of cardiac structure than drug therapy.

 

For people with a family history of heart disease, an active lifestyle can slow or stop the process for all but those with serious genetic disorders. Studies by Dean Ornish, MD, have shown that a comprehensive intervention program that includes regular physical activity, a low-fat diet and a stress reduction program can even reverse the heart disease process.

 

Evidence also shows that an active lifestyle and its help in reducing body fat is associated with a reduced risk for some types of cancers: prostate for men, breast and uterine cancers for women. (Frisch, et al 1985)

 

In addition, regular physical activity and a low-fat diet are successful in treating non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM); for some patients, it has reduced or eliminated the need for insulin substitutes. In general, regularly active adults have 42 percent lower risk of developing NIDDM.

 

Gaining Weight Happens to Most of Us

 

The average American gains at least one pound a year after age 25. Think about it. If you're like most Americans, by the time you're 50, you're likely to gain 25 pounds of fat, or more. In addition, your metabolism is also slowing down, causing your body to work less efficiently at burning the fat it has. At the same time, if you don't exercise regularly, you lose a pound of muscle each year. Consequently, people are not only increasing their body fat stores, increasing their risk of disease, but they're also losing muscle, increasing the risk of injury, decreasing activity performance, and further slowing down metabolism.

 

Very few Americans exercise in any significant way. The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports estimates that only one in five Americans exercises for the healthy minimum of 20 minutes, three or more days a week. In fact, the average American gets less than 50 minutes of exercise per week. Even worse, two out of five Americans are completely sedentary.

 

The Answer: Healthy Eating and Physical Fitness

 

But there is hope. Moderate weight loss--of fat, not muscle--and a healthy and active lifestyle--not dieting--have been found to lower health risks and medical problems in 90 percent of overweight patients, improving their heart function, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, sleep disorders, and cholesterol levels, as well as lowering their requirements for medication, lowering the incidence and duration of hospitalization, and reducing post-operative complications eight times less likely to die from cancer than the unfit, and 53 percent less likely to die from other diseases. Fit people are also eight times less likely to die from heart disease.

 

So, are you willing to be patient and make gradual changes in your life that will lead to a healthier, happier you? Once you have made the decision to go forward and accept change, the hard part is over. Sure, there is plenty of work to be done, but it really doesn't matter how long this new process takes. If you allow changes to take place over several years, your body will adjust comfortably, and you will be more likely to maintain the healthy lifestyle permanently.

 

When you begin achieving improvements in energy and physical and psychological performance, the fun and excitement you experience will make the change well worth the effort. Action creates motivation! Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a safe and effective weight management program.

 

* Be sure to check with your health care professional before making any changes in your activity or eating habits.

 

Chad Tackett, the President of Global Health and Fitness (GHF), has degrees in Exercise and Heath Science and Nutrition, is a Certified Personal Trainer, and is a regular guest lecturer to both professional and lay audiences on the principles of effective exercise and good nutrition. Visit GHF (http://www.global-fitness.com) and you'll find easy to follow fitness recommendations, hundreds of exercise instructions and video demonstrations, customized programs, healthy recipes and meal plans, a free nutrition analysis, health club and personal trainer directories, and much more!

Sun Allergy | Your Symptoms And Possible Treatment

A sun allergy, like other allergies, is an immune system reaction but in this case it is a reaction to the sun. The most typical symptom is a red, itchy rash that can develop after only a couple minutes of exposure. What happens is a change occurs in the sun affected skin which causes the immune system to think that the affected skin is a foreign component. Then the body reacts by fighting it like it would any other foreign matter. Currently scientists are not sure why some people have sun allergies and others do not, but some evidence states that they may be inherited.

 

The most common type of sun allergies is Polymorphous Light Eruption (PMLE) which occurs in approximately ten to fifteen percent of people in the United States alone. It is so common that after a sunburn, it is the most typical of all skin problems. PMLE is characterized by a red rash on the skin that has been exposed to the sun, but the reaction may vary slightly from person to person. The symptoms rarely show up during the cold winter months, but usually start to peak in the springtime when sun exposure starts. As the warmer summer months progress the allergic reaction will become less frequent, mainly as the person goes through a desensitization process where their skin becomes more used to the sun. This process will last through the rest of the calendar year, with this mild sun allergy showing up again the following spring. Using sun protection like sun block, hats, and clothing is an important step in limiting one's allergic reaction if they have PMLE. Should you develop a mild reaction you can try applying a cold compress on the affected area, or misting your skin with cool water from a spray bottle. If your symptoms are more severe your doctor may prescribe an oral antihistamine or an anti-itch skin cream containing cortisone. Should this treatment not work your physician may also have you try phototherapy, where your skin is repeatedly exposed to UV in small doses to build up your tolerance to the sun.

 

Photoallergic Eruption is an allergy that is caused by a certain chemical that has been applied to the skin, and that chemical's reaction to sunlight. The chemical could be part of sunscreen, perfume, or other cosmetics that have been applied to an area that received sun exposure. Sometimes prescription medications like antibiotics or phenothiazines can cause a photoallergic eruption, or perhaps even an oral contraceptive. Scientists are learning more and more about these types of allergies each year and the many things that can cause them. The most common treatment of it is to simply stop using the offending product but this may take a little work by you and your doctor, as it is not always apparent what is causing the reaction. Most of the time when you cease using the product your symptoms will go away, but the symptoms can also be treated with a corticosteroid cream.

 

Solar Urticaria is a more rare sun allergy described as chronic hives brought on by exposure to sunlight. It typically affects younger women and is the most likely allergic condition to become a long-term problem. Like other sun allergies people with solar urticaria experience redness, itching, and hives on the area of the skin that received exposure. It sometimes can be confused with a sunburn but the difference is with solar urticaria the reaction will be very quick, usually within minutes of being in the sun and the symptoms subside much quicker as well. Treatment includes antihistamines or the application of steroid creams like hydrocortisone, but can also include oral steroids like prednisone if the symptoms are severe. An allergist can also perform a certain therapy to desensitize the skin with multiple exposures to sunlight, but this remedy will be at the discretion of your doctor or allergist.

 

Sun allergies are your body's reaction to exposure to sunlight. While they are not as serious as skin cancer disease they still can cause problems if the symptoms are serious enough. Depending on which allergy you have there are many different remedies for you to try to help minimize the effect of the reaction. Limiting your exposure to the sun, especially right after the winter months when you have had little exposure is essential to avoiding an allergic reaction. You should always discuss your condition with your doctor or allergist. Following a few steps each year can go a long way in easing your intolerance to the sun's rays.

Weight Loss Motivation

If you want to lose weight, you must find enough motivation to help you stay focused on your goal. Your motivation might be where you do not want to descend to in your life or where you want to take your life to. You might discover that the thought of your weight problems getting worse prompts you to take action to change it. At other times, the desire to look and actually be slim, sexy and self-confident can propel you to want to lose excess fat and feel healthy. In some cases, it might be what happened to another person that will force you on the path to weight loss.

 

Whatever be the case, you must find enough reasons for yourself to want to lose weight and banish excess fat forever. In the first instance, you know well enough that you are not very healthy on account of the unwanted fat that is gradually choking you to stroke and untimely death. Diabetes, high cholesterol levels, stroke, high blood pressure and lack of energy and zest are some of the effects of overweight. You know that this is the truth and that you are leading a sedentary life which makes the matter worse.

 

You must decide to lose weight starting today whatever it may cost you. When you consider the effects of not losing weight and the benefits of fat loss, you ought to do something about your overweight situation immediately. You must start with binge eating. Stop compulsive eating so you can last longer. If you resort to eating to cure anger, annoyance, depression or any other situation, decide today to stop it. Keep away from pies and cookies. Avoid chocolates and ice creams. Learn to eat salad without the toppings. Do away with mayo and such toppings.

 

You must begin to exercise at this moment for your desire to be trim to materialize. Start small but be consistent with your exercise routines. You will help yourself better if you avoid alcohol and cigarettes. They shorten your life span and add no benefits to your life.

 

There is one important thing you have to do to motivate you further. Get a picture of anybody who has a body you look forward to having. Paste the picture wherever you will see it all the time and start working towards getting there.

 

In order to overcome obesity and to look trim and slim, you need a weight loss diet you can always eat without compulsion. You should not be forced to eat your weight loss diet. Embrace weightloss. Choose weight loss diet but choose wisely to avoid complicating your health with unwholesome foods.

 

Join support groups if your weight loss diet is becoming difficult for you to adhere to. You can meet people who can make your weight loss routine successful at these support groups. Clinically proven weight loss supplements are also available to help you in your weight loss pursuit. Products such as Proactol™, a new clinically proven fat binder that also acts as appetite suppressant can help you lose weight.

 

You will speed up this process by looking for an organic weight loss supplement that contains hoodia gordonii appetite suppressant to assist you. Such supplement will help you overcome hunger pangs and bind up to 28% of dietary fat intake in your diet. This assertion has been clinically proven. This weight loss supplement is Proactol weight loss device. Take control of your weight now and avoid untimely death.

 

 
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