You are here: Home >Archive for February, 2011

Introduction to Dietary Supplements

There are significant differences between dietary supplements, and sports supplements. Sports supplements are designed to enhance physical performance in one way or another, either through superior recuperation and rebuilding of damaged muscles, or by promoting better energy delivery to muscle cells during effort or training.

Dietary supplements, on the other hands, are designed to supplement a regular normal diet, with the goal of bringing to the body acceptable levels of all essential nutrients. They will not enhance sports performance, for example, but may allow the body to maintain itself at a normal level, depending on age, fitness and level of activity.

Depending in which category they are, dietary supplements can contain vitamins, minerals, botanicals or other substances. In terms of marketing, supplements are not allowed to make specific claims as to how they may cure or prevent a disease, but are rather allowed to make general statements as to their benefits – for example, “Calcium is essential to bone and dental health”, or “Glucosamine may help maintain healthy joints”.

Use of Dietary Supplements – They are used to ensure that the body gets all the essential nutrients it needs and that it may not be getting in its normal diet. For example, people need more calcium as they grow older, as calcium is essential to maintaining good bone health. Calcium supplements are often prescribed to older people to delay the onset or mitigate the progression of osteoporosis. Many professionals and supplement manufacturers also claim that Vitamin C is helpful in boosting the immune system, as well as being a powerful antioxidant.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

How to Monitor Oxygen Saturation

An oxygen saturation monitor, also known as a pulse oximeter, is a non invasive medical apparatus which is used to monitor the saturation of oxygen in the blood, rather than having to use blood samples. The total percentage of oxygen saturation is given as a digital reading along with a signal which varies in pitch depending on the amount of oxygen saturation. The oxygen saturation monitor is connected to a hospital monitor to allow staff to quickly view the oxygenation of a patient.

Typically the oxygen monitor features diodes that emit light, these diodes are located opposite a photodiode which is able to be seen through a thin part of the body; common places include the earlobe or fingertip. Because the arterial blood vessels contract and expand in time with each heart beat, the signal being monitored bounces at the same time. Only the parts of varying absorption are examined therefore the monitor is able to pay attention only to arterial blood related absorption.

Because of the speed and simplicity of the oxygen monitor is highly important and can be used in any situation a patient presents with unstable oxygen levels. The pulse oximeter is commonly used throughout hospital intensive care wards and operating theatres in order to determine whether supplemental oxygen is required and whether it is proving effective. Portable pulse oximeters are also available and are extremely useful in non-pressurized cockpits in which pilots require supplemental oxygen. They also come in handy for athletes and mountain climbers because at high altitudes oxygen levels are likely to decrease. Portable pulse oximeters may also contain software that produces a report acting as a reminder to check bloody oxygen levels.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

The Healing Balm of Gilead

Without using any drugs, healing and soothing were done in the land of Gilead in the Old Testament days of the Bible. Gilead and its ancient Palestine environs were rich in spices and aromatic gums which provided the balm for local use and export. “Special Oil” is the modern equivalent of the word balm. The tree, which in modern times is native to Canary Islands is now largely cultivated in Europe and north America. The tree is not easily grown, however more countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, have succeeded in the cultivation. Its tree is normally very large and thrives best along the river banks, it produces flowers perennially, the flowers produce lovely aroma similar to that of eucalyptus. Use of the balm started with treatment of skin diseases and eczema from where it expanded to many other treatments. Under favorable conditions, the tree may grow up to 100 feet in height.

The greatest identifier of the land of Gilead is this Balm that had all along demonstrated numerous curative properties, and till today, many Christians still believe in its potency. It is a very good remedy for sore throats, coughs, laryngitis and loss of voice, it disinfects and soothes the body. It is a sure cure for chronic bronchitis. Externally it cures inflammations resulting from rheumatism and arthritis. To treat wrinkles, mix barley water, strain and some drops of the oil of the balm, enclose the mixture in a bottle for up to 12 hours, shake the bottle and you now have liquid that can recondition and restore beautiful complexion. Its herb serves as a stimulant. The balm of Gilead has been used for the treatment of diseases such as upper respiratory tract, cuts, snakebites, pimples minor aches and pains.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Four Bad Dieting Habits Lead to Premature Senility

Because of the busy work and high pace of life, modern people pay less and less attention to their daily diet. Over time, they will easily form some bad habits in dieting. These bad habits are not only very harmful to their body, but may also cause premature senility.

The first bad habit: eating instant noodles for breakfast.
Often eating instant noodles for breakfast is very harmful to the health and development of human body. Because the human body needs six categories of nutrients to maintain its normal physiological metabolism, but the main component of instant noodles is carbohydrate. It lacks of other essential nutrients. As a result, if you eat instant noodles as breakfast for a long time, it will cause dizziness, lack of energy, palpitation, and so on. If it is severe, it can even cause weight loss, muscle atrophy and other symptoms of malnutrition.

The second bad habit: drinking mineral water instead of plain boiled water.
Many people think that mineral water contains a large number of minerals, so they can replace plain boiled water by mineral water. However, they rarely know that mineral water may also be contaminated by the harmful substances in the land. Recently, the Dutch scientists find out that mineral water is more vulnerable to the contamination of harmful microbes and bacteria. Although these bacteria may not cause great threat on human body, but for those whose immunity is relatively weak, the bacteria contained in bottled mineral water may cause serious danger on their body.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Tips For How to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a rapidly growing problem of the modern countries especially USA is severely facing childhood obesity due to many factors. One of the factors is irregular eating habits that play a very important role in childhood obesity. Obesity is simply the imbalance in the energy intake by the body. In simple terms if we take more calories and spend less these extra calories will be turned into fat and deposited on different areas of body. Eating high calorie diet and sedentary lifestyle is the root cause of childhood obesity. To avoid childhood obesity we should follow the following guidelines. These are simply but effective things to follow.

1. Provide children with high fiber diet like whole grains and beans. Fiber modulate the intake of calories and regulate the absorption of fatty acids so high fiber diet is very important to avoid childhood obesity.Fried stuff should be strictly prohibited as it not only produce energy imbalance in body but also provide our body with harmful fatty acids that may cause other serious medical conditions like Atherosclerosis. Hypertension and narrowing of blood vessels.

2. Try to use low fat milk and milk products. Milk and milk products are very important for the normal growth of children so always try to include them in the diet of children.

3. Avoid frozen and packaged food as it is very difficult to avoid such product especially in urban settings. So try to balance it with fresh products as much as possible.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS