Archive for May, 2009

Diabetes

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

Diabetes is a condition or disease where body is not able to process or use insulin. Insulin is a human hormone produced by pancreas required to process glucose (sugar) in the blood properly. Diabetes can be categorized as a life-long disease in which blood sugar reaches to higher level above normal due to too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or both.

Types of Diabetes

What is Type 1 diabetes?
Also known insulin dependent diabetes, it often occurs below the age of 40 years. In this type of condition, body is unable to produce any insulin. Type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin injections and diet.

What is Type 2 diabetes?
Also known as Non Insulin dependent diabetes, Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body is able to produce some insulin, but

  1. Not enough for it to function properly.
  2. Body cells become insulin resistance, that is, do not use insulin properly.

It is more common than type 1 diabetes, especially over the age of 40. It is often associated with obese and overweight people.

Let’s discuss most common male health problems

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

Some of the most commonly occurring male health problems are impotence and male pattern baldness. While impotence usually strikes elderly men, mostly in their 50s and 60s, male pattern baldness may occur earlier and can be noticed in men who are still in their 30s. Both impotence and male pattern baldness can reduce a man’s self-esteem and may affect his social and personal life.

Male pattern baldness and its treatment
Male pattern baldness also called androgenetic alopecia is the most common cause of baldness in men. In this condition, hair is lost in a well-defined pattern beginning above both temples. Hair may also thin at the crown or the head. If not treated, male pattern baldness could lead to partial or complete baldness. Male pattern baldness is caused due to elevated levels of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) in some men. DHT is the active form of male sex hormone testosterone. Most effective and popular treatment for male pattern baldness is the use of oral medication Propecia (Finasteride). Regular use of Propecia checks the production of DHT and helps in stopping further hair loss and also assists in new hair growth.

Other methods of male pattern baldness include use of topical treatments like shampoos and oils and hair transplants.

Impotence and its treatment
Impotence or erectile dysfunction in men is defined as the consistent inability to achieve or maintain erections for satisfactory sexual activity. Impotence is a commonly occurring condition that affects most men at some point in their life. Men in theirs 60s are more likely to suffer from impotence than men in their 40s. Causes of impotence could be physiological such as high blood pressure, hear ailment, diabetes etc or psychological like performance anxiety, depression etc.

One of the most effective and popular treatment for impotence is the use of oral erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. One needs to take these medicines as needed unto an hour before sexual activity. These medicines facilitate firm and prolonged erections in response to sexual stimulation and help men with ED to enjoy successful sexual intercourse.

Other methods of impotence treatment include use of vacuum pumps, injections and penile implants. These methods are understandably inconvenient and therefore not as popular as oral medications like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.

Too much of anything is bad! The very same adage stands true for Cholesterol

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

Cholesterol, an integral part of each cell in the body, is a waxy, fat-like substance that is made in the body by the liver. The body can make all the cholesterol it needs from the fats in the diet. Cholesterol serves many vital functions in the human body. Our bodies need cholesterol to:

  • Maintain healthy cell walls
  • Make hormones (the body’s chemical messengers)
  • Make vitamin D
  • Make bile acids, which aid in fat digestion

However, the body sometimes makes more cholesterol than is really needed. As a result the excess cholesterol circulates in the bloodstream. High levels of cholesterol in the blood can cause the blood vessels to clog as well as increase the risk for heart disease and stroke.

Types of Cholesterol

In order to reach the cells, cholesterol travels through the bloodstream. But because cholesterol is a fat, it separates from the blood just as oil separates from water. To keep this from happening, proteins form a shell around the cholesterol, making a ‘cholesterol complex.’ This cholesterol complex can then travel in the bloodstream. Although there is only one type of cholesterol, there are several types of cholesterol complexes and not all are harmful.

There is a ‘bad’ kind and there is a ‘good’ kind. The ‘bad’ cholesterol is called LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) and the ‘good’ cholesterol is called HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein). The bad cholesterol tends to block the arteries, increasing the risk for heart disease and stroke; but the good cholesterol helps clean up the bad cholesterol inside the arteries. The third is the VLDL (Very Low-Density Lipoprotein)

LDL is almost all cholesterol and helps transport cholesterol to the tissues that need it. VLDL, on the other hand, has a lot of triglycerides along with cholesterol, and this helps transport triglycerides to the cells that need it. HDL, which is also mostly cholesterol, helps picks up the extra cholesterol and brings it to the liver, where it is either stored for future use or discarded. That is why it is considered to be good cholesterol.

Risks of having High Cholesterol

The liver makes most of the cholesterol in the body – only a small percentage comes from food. But the more saturated fat we eat, the more cholesterol our bodies make. Blood cholesterol levels in most people can be controlled without medication – simply change to a healthy diet and become more active. Eat only plant foods as they do not contain cholesterol; animal foods must be eaten in moderation.

High Cholesterol levels may cause problems. The extra cholesterol can deposit in the arteries and lead to blocked arteries. If this happens to the artery that supplies blood to the heart, a heart attack can occur. Similarly, if the artery supplying blood to the brain gets blocked, a paralytic stroke can occur. Therefore, the higher the cholesterol, the greater is the risk of heart disease and stroke.

These cholesterol-rich deposits become coated with scar tissue, forming a bump in the blood vessel known as plaque. Plaque buildup can narrow and harden the blood vessels - a process that is called atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

Smoking and Its Disadvantages

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Smoking is one of the most harmful activities a person can adopt. It affects all aspects of a person’s life such as health, fitness, social status and even family relations. Excessive smoking over long period of time can even kill you due to a smoking related disease.

There are more than 4,000 chemicals in the human body including tobacco, tar, carbon monoxide, metals, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide and radioactive compounds. Smoking may cause you life threatening diseases such as various types of cancers, lung diseases and heart ailment. Pregnant women who smoke are likely to deliver low birth weight or even still born babies.

Further, smoking affects your kids and other family members as second hand smoking is considered equally bad. For this reason your friends and family members may also avoid you. Smoking makes you get tired easily and may also cause erectile dysfunction. Besides smoking affects your taste buds and makes your breath and clothes smell bad.

Smoking Cessation Treatment
Smoking is easier to start but very hard to quit as it is an addictive habit. Nicotine starts controlling your brain, so that if you do not get the used to dose of nicotine your brain starts giving you painful nicotine withdrawal symptoms. For this reason many smokers are scared to even make an attempt to quit and many who do dare to quit cold turkey often fail in their smoking cessation attempt.

To help people get rid of their smoking habit successfully, a number of smoking cessation treatment methods are available. Some popular smoking cessation treatment methods include –

  • Use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) – These attempt to provide the body with nicotine minus other harmful products in the cigarette through nicotine patches, nicotine gums etc. Since NRT contains nicotine a certain risk of re-addiction is involved.
  • Use of nicotine–free Quit Smoking Medication – These are the novel and most effective smoking cessation treatment method. These do not contain nicotine and hence are not addictive. Popular quit smoking medications include Champix (Varenicline) and Zyban (Buproprion).

Champix to quit smoking
Developed by Pfizer, Champix is the newest and most successful smoking cessation treatment medication. The reason why Champix is rated better than other smoking cessation treatment medication is that it offers two-way actions to help smokers quit smoking. Its active ingredient Varenicline provides relief from nicotine withdrawal symptoms and also makes smoking less pleasurable. Research has shown that Champix quadruples your odds of quitting as compared to a placebo.

Viagra – The Pill of Century for Male Impotence Treatment

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Since the introduction and launch of Viagra blue pills, it has become the top-selling medication worldwide for the treatment of impotence in men. The only male impotence medication for three years, Viagra pills are still the most popular and have helped millions of couples to overcome sexual problems in relationship with success ratio of approximately 75%.

Viagra, the diamond shaped blue pill, makes the person more confident which further helps in the treatment process. Viagra is suitable for both types of erection problems, either in achieving an erection or keeping erections. Moreover, Viagra helps men in attaining harder erections which provides sexually satisfying experience to partners. Viagra can be taken by men with health issues like heart diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Proven record of Viagra makes it the most successful impotence treatment till date. Few important things for the usage of Viagra include:

  1. Should be taken 1 hour prior to sexual activity.
  2. Comes in dosage of 25mg, 50mg and 100mg.
  3. Effects of Viagra last for up to 4 hours which provides flexibility to plan sexual activity.
  4. The blue pill may cause occasional side effects such as headache, flushing, fainting, vision changes or priapism, among others.

Apart from erectile dysfunction, Viagra has been found useful for other purposes as well like:

  • Pulmonary hypertension
  • Altitude sickness
  • Use in sports
  • Prevention of plants wilting
  • Jet lag

Swine Flu

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Swine flu is basically a highly contagious respiratory disease which creates influenza in pigs. Swine flu is an influenza A H1N1 virus. Currently only two anti-viral drugs are recognized as being effective Swine Flu drugs - Tamiflu and Relenza. With sudden out break and high level of infection, FDA authorizes emergency use of Tamiflu and Relenza to Treat Swine Flu. Both of Tamiflu and Relenza have been prescribed for swine flu. Although quite effective in preventing the flu, both of them can not be used as substitute to vaccine. Symptoms of swine flu infection include:

  • High Fever
  • Body Ache
  • Sore throat and cough
  • Diarrhea and Vomiting
  • Headache
  • Cough

Some serious and extreme cases of swine flu infections can include respiratory failure too. If you find any of the swine flu symptoms affecting you, you should immediately see a doctor who can carry out further testing to verify if it is actually a swine flu infection. Accordingly, doctor will prescribe you Tamiflu or Relenza for swine flu prevention depending on your age and how will you prefer to take it.

Weight Loss

Friday, May 8th, 2009

There are a number of myths surrounding weight loss.

Cutting down on portion size is the best way to lose weight- Although is true to a small extent, this alone will not allow you to lose weight. Any substantial weight loss will result from changing your diet, so perhaps make small changes at first, and try to identify which foods you like, and perhaps make a note of your typical daily intake. As well as this, perhaps refer to the internet or any reliable resource, in order to establish which foods are best for you. This will in turn allow you to make some gradual changes at your own pace.

The key Facts about weight loss

Ok, it is true that in the US alone, almost 60% of the population is obese, and sure, these are scary statistics, but it’s not all doom and gloom. Weight loss can be achieved through exercise as previously mentioned, however if exercise will not suffice, and the condition is perhaps more complex that sedentary lifestyle, there are a number of effective and established treatments to date. For example, Xenical and Reductil are two- well established slimming pills with the former, serving to suppress the appetite allowing you to feel as if you have had more to eat, essentially reducing your calorie intake.

In relation, Xenical works to reduce the fat ingested into the body thus getting rid of that excess weight. Treatments are obviously not for every-body, so it is a good idea to see your doctor, but rest assured you are not alone, and you can live that weight free dream