Healthy Tips For Better Live

Archive for October, 2009

As anyone knows who has ever had sciatic nerve pain, it is extremely painful. Move in the wrong way and you will experience intense pain. Numbness and tingling may occur at any time. This makes it extremely hard to go about your daily activities or do productive work to support yourself and your family.

As soon as possible, you need to begin stretching and strengthening your muscles for sciatic pain relief and help prevent further problems.

Before beginning any exercises for sciatic nerve pain, get a diagnosis from a physician such as a chiropractor. You need to be sure you do not have a condition of injury that will be made worse by exercising.

Exercise your stomach muscles, but that doesn’t mean start doing crunches and sit ups, these will make it worse and in fact may help cause sciatica. The hip flexor, piriformis, and stomach muscles are the most important ones to strengthen if you have sciatica.

There are 3 simple exercises for sciatica. They are

Lay on the floor, one leg bent and foot flat on the floor, the other leg straight. Hold your lower back flat against the floor. Raise your straight leg 8 to 10 inches off the floor keeping you lower stomach muscles tight. Hold this for about 10 seconds then lower your leg. Repeat with other leg. Remember to raise and lower you leg slowly. Try to work your way up to ten lifts a day with each leg. This will help strengthen you lower abdomen. The piriformis muscles are the ones in your buttocks. These need to be strengthened to take the pressure off your sacro-Iliac joints, the ones that connect the base of you spine to your pelvic bone. One way to do this is place a rolled up towel at the base of your spine where the triangle shaped bone, (the sacrum), is. One end should be at about where your waist is and the other at or slightly beyond your sacrum. Make two fists and put them behind your head on the rounded area of your skull, (the occiput). Do this for about five minutes and then go for a short walk. This exercise will help take the pressure of your joints and spine. Stretching your hamstring muscles will help loosen them and prevent stress on the sciatic nerve which causes pain. Lie on you back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Put your hands behind your knee and pull up your leg until it points upward, then straighten your leg until you begin to feel it stretch. Stop there and hold for around 30 seconds. Repeat 2 or 3 times. Do the same with the other leg. Repeat this 2 or 3 times a day. Don’t overdo this exercise or it could make your pain worse.

The more you can keep active and exercise the better off you will be. Inactivity causes your muscles to get weak and therefor cause your back to get worse. Get on your feet and move around as soon as you can. If you feel pain while doing any of these exercises, stop doing them and consult a chiropractic or spine specialist.

Prevention is better than cure, of course, but if it has to be cured, it is always much better to find it sooner than later. This is especially true for asthma. If you can learn to recognize asthma signs and symptoms, you can spot it early enough to prevent severe asthma attacks.

There are a lot of asthma signs and symptoms that people show in early stages, but they can be wide and varied. There will be some kind of breathing trouble and shortness of breath – something anybody would tend to brush off as being a bit out of shape, or too tired. They key is that breathing rate changes for asthma, at different times.

A runny nose and headache can be just plain old common cold, but it can also be a part of asthma signs and symptoms. If they are accompanied by shortness of breath, it is always better to make an appointment with your doctor, just in case.

If along with those symptoms, you are feeling generally lethargic and tired, and have a cough, there is a chance that what you might ignore as a flu might be asthma signs and symptoms. Of course, it could be just a flu, but always better safe than sorry.

Insomnia and exhaustion, and, by extension, dark circles under the eyes, are also part of early signs of asthma.

If you miss the early symptoms, you might find yourself having an asthma attack. However, even these attacks can be misinterpreted, when they are not very severe. An asthma attack will be accompanied by a severe tightness, and, on occasion, pain, in the chest. There will be severe breathing trouble. Wheezing is also a prominent symptom. This can be misinterpreted as a panic attack, and is, in many cases. If it is, the next time, you might have to deal with a severe asthma attack.

During a severe asthma attack, you will experience severe pain in the chest, and will have extreme shortness of breath. If your asthma is at such an advanced stage, you will have trouble ven talking, your skin will go beyond pale and start looking grey or blue, and your whole chest will move prominently as you try to breathe. A severe asthma attack can be fatal without proper medical attention.

Asthma signs and symptoms can be seen at an early stages, and they can be controlled. If they are misread, a severe asthma attack can leave your health seriously at risk, if not worse.

Patients are paying more for dental treatment than ever before and this has turned the patient from a passive receiver of dentistry to an active buyer. Contrary to popular belief, patients may not be particularly loyal to their dentist and will, in many cases, choose a new dentist/dental practice if the new practice is able to offer a perceived improvement in care and service.

By following the guidelines in the manual and those given at in-house training, the dental practice will be utilising the latest techniques of customer care and patient management. It may seem that the rigidity of dress codes, conduct codes and systems are unnecessary. However it is the attention to detail that creates a quality service. We have researched the information contained in this manual, and on this basis our successful formulas have been developed.

1.2.2 Evolution

“If we stand still we will be going backwards” is a commonly used expression in business and we take it very much to heart, hence the word “advance” in our company name. New techniques in dentistry, customer care, information technology and management will be adopted as our concept and branding evolves.

1.2.3 Brand Values

To the average person dental techniques are a mystery, and the difference between poor and high quality dentistry is not apparent. At our centre we are aiming to offer a high standard of dentistry. But this is not enough. We must communicate our standard to the patient by a variety of means, and these we call our brand values. The most important of these are listed below.

1.2.4 The Treatment Quotation

Due to the widely varying cost of dental treatment, patients can have no idea of the likely cost of treatment. For this reason, and because the General Dental Council now requires it, we must provide the patient with an estimate of the cost of treatment prior to any work being carried out. The benefit of this commitment to our patients is that we can plan treatment and price it as we see fit.

Consequently less emphasis need be placed on an exhaustive fee per item of treatment schedule.

1.2.5 Uniforms

Staff need to wear smart clothes when travelling to and from work. At work the standard uniform must be worn, including name badge. This standardised approach to appearance creates a powerful impression. Each staff member has a uniform code described in the relevant AMS section.

1.2.6 Tidiness

Surgeries, common areas and waiting rooms must always be completely clean and tidy. Everybody is responsible for this including dentists and staff. Never leave clothes, boxes, rubbish or even papers lying around. Keep an eye on the patient toilet, the light bulbs and the outside of the practice.

1.2.7 Aftercare

All of our dental work is guaranteed. In principle, if dental treatment fails we must be prepared to replace it. Even if an item is out of guarantee (say if the crown is four years old and the porcelain has fractured) we should still replace it at a reduced cost. These replacements may seem to cost us money in the short-term, but in the long-term they create tremendous goodwill.

1.2.8 Complaints

Complaints handling must be superb. Every complaining patient can be a source of damaging information about the practice, but conversely, they can also be converted into a source of new patients. Complaints are on the increase, and we should see them as a positive challenge and a means to improving our service. Follow the guidelines in this manual and benefit from your complaints.

1.2.9 The Look and Feel of a Dental Practice

Do not change any aspect of your practices design without first consulting management. Paint colours, window panels, furniture, equipment, pictures, layout, stationary and all advertising materials must be in line with the current brand concept.

Generally speaking, a great deal has already been discussed on the issue of hormone replacement therapy. However, less is known specifically about this form of therapy for breast cancer survivors. One reason for this is that physicians are concerned about prescribing any of these drugs to their patients for fear that it might increase the risk of cancer recurrence. But along with this, blanket statements regarding hormone replacement therapy are quite inappropriate. Each individual woman should be given the chance to consider the risks and benefits of hormone replacement based on their personal situation. Every woman experiences menopause differently, with varying degrees of symptoms. Some women go through menopause with little difficulty and without increased risk of osteoporosis or heart disease. For others, menopause is traumatic and can introduce increased chances of illness into their lives.

Professional practice in medicine has endorsed allowing women to replace ovarian hormones with hormone replacement therapy once the ovaries begin to fail. Evidence and clinical experiences indicate that the benefits clearly outweigh the risk and expense of such therapy. However, evidence has yet to be found with regards to the risks to women surviving beast cancer. Most concerns are based on speculation and anecdotal experience alone.

For most women, the question lies in the correlation between hormone replacement therapy and an increased risk of breast cancer. Does hormone therapy contribute to breast cancer? Before starting such treatment, physicians often require their patients to get a baseline screening mammogram and because women receiving treatment are under a physician’s surveillance, they are more likely to get annual screenings. Although there is no difference between women who are not on hormone replacement and those who are on it for less than ten years, once the duration exceeds the ten-year benchmark, there is a slight increase in breast cancer incidence, but the numbers are insignificant. There also appears to be anecdotal data that women with breast lobular neoplasm may have an increased risk for recurrence with hormone replacement therapy. However, with or without this form of therapy, these women are still at an increased risk of recurrence.

On the other end of the spectrum, how does one know that one is cured of breast cancer? Unfortunately, there is no absolute way to know. Statistical probabilities can be given based on the cancer’s characteristics. If one is destined to relapse, it will usually happen in the first five years after the diagnosis. Regrettably, late recurrences do rarely occur. Breast cancer patients are advised that once treatment is complete, they should consider themselves cured, move on.

Medical research shows that low dose hormone replacement therapy for less than 10 years does not significantly contribute to the development of breast cancer in the general population, but the question is, does this apply to the population of women cured of breast cancer? Sadly, there are no studies to confirm this and no evidence has yet surfaced from past studies to answer this. The safest way to think about it though, is that for women with a high probability of cure, the benefits of this treatment far outweigh the risks.

Ovarian cancer most often presents in stage III, comprising more than 50% of all cases. Briefly, a stage 3 diagnosis means that cancer is found in one or both ovaries and has spread to other parts of the abdomen. This is a serious challenge for anyone to endure, but although it may seem initially overwhelming, I am writing this article as a measure of hope for those who are going through this right now.

Ten years ago a woman I knew, let’s call her “Lisa,” was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. She had no risk factors of the disease, was diligent about going for her annual gynecological exams and checkups, and she never missed her yearly mammogram. Unfortunately, she was not aware of the early warning signs she was experiencing including indigestion, bloating, pelvic discomfort and pain, and a change in her menstrual periods. Had she realized these were signs and symptoms she should be on the lookout for, she would have seen a doctor earlier and it might have been the difference in stage 1 and stage 3. But she didn’t know the symptoms to look for.

Once finally diagnosed, she underwent surgery with removal of a large tumor, and then 6 sessions of chemotherapy over a period of 15 weeks. During this time she listened to her doctor’s prognosis (not great) and researched the disease, discovering the 5-year survival rate was somewhere around 20%. But she was a strong woman and she was determined to watch her 3 children grow up, finish college, have careers, and raise a family themselves. She was determined to beat this disease. She changed a few things in her life, exercising at least once a day, drinking more water, and eating healthier. Of course she had to go for checkups every few months for the first couple of years, and then every 6 months thereafter.

Just a few months ago, Lisa had the most amazing news. She went for her regular checkup at her oncologist’s office and she was told that since she has been with no evidence of disease (known as NED) for 10 years she is now considered cured and she was discharged from the oncologist’s care.

If you have been diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer, don’t even read the statistics because you are not a number. Especially in this day and time, it is so easy to find negative information on the Internet. I will tell you that I believe the reason for this is people go on the ‘net with their problems and rarely go to talk about things that are going great in their life. This is why I wanted to share this with everyone. Take heart from Lisa’s story and know that a cure is possible for anyone, regardless of what the numbers say.

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Iron and clinical depression

It is an established fact that iron is very essential for neurological functions and development. Iron deficiency is very prevalent all over the world. This deficiency can lead to depressed neurotransmitter response, leading to clinical depression. When iron is not transported from the blood plasma pool to the cerebrospinal fluid, depression can set in.

The Importance Iron Balance

The importance of iron for sustaining good health cannot be underestimated. Lack of iron can lead to exhaustion, clinical depression, vulnerability to viruses, cancer, and various degenerative conditions.

On the other end of the spectrum, excess iron or change in the iron-binding capability leads to a situation where the free unbound iron causes or aggravates all diseases, infections, cancers and toxicities.

Therefore, in our efforts to acquire the right proportion of iron or lose excess iron, we must not overlook the fact that iron must be bound and properly guided through the body from the time of ingestion to excretion.

If we do not pay attention to bind and properly guide iron during the detoxification process, the toxic effects of iron may nullify its various benefits.

It is very difficult to determine the exact iron content in the body, since no test or combination of tests, under any clinical condition, can give us the accurate estimate.

Before laboratory investigations lead us to any conclusion, it must be understood that the results of each laboratory test may be influenced by factors such as infection, inflammation, liver disease and malignancy. Sometimes laboratory tests are inadequate.

Most elements can either donate or accept electrons in order to attain a stable electronic configuration; but iron can both, donate as well as accept electrons.

Due to this ability of iron, it is highly reactive and can be highly toxic. Hydrogen Peroxide in our body readily dismutates in the presence of iron, giving rise to free radicals. Unbound iron speeds up this process of producing free radicals. Free radicals play havoc by damaging cell structures and ultimately killing the cell, resulting in various diseases.

The role of Proteins

Most living organisms bind iron atoms to protein molecules in order to prevent this damage done by unbound iron. This enables them to restrict the damaging action and take advantage of the various benefits offered by iron.

Proteins play an important role in metabolism by speeding up biochemical reactions by their enzymatic action. Enzymes produced due to chronic inflammation, action of free radicals and change in the related subclinical markers cause a breakdown of connective tissue, which holds the body together.

The words protein, peptide and polypeptide tend to be a little confusing. Although they have common characteristics, they are distinct.

Protein is a complete biological molecule with a three dimensional structure, whereas peptide is a finite chain of amino acids which lacks proper structural arrangement. A polypeptide is an infinite chain of amino acids which also lacks a proper structure.

Biochemical screening is a test done to detect the presence of any disease. Such tests have revealed that every degenerative disease results from six subclinical defects, namely, pH imbalance, anaerobic metabolism, free calcium excess, chronic inflammation, connective tissue breakdown and oxidative stress.

Our body metabolism and exposure to pollution gives rise to extremely reactive ions called free radicals. Free radicals are produced due to iron imbalance which indicates that iron is not bound to protein and therefore, is free to cause damage to cells.

Iron deficiency or Copper deficiency?

Acute inflammation is actually a positive sign since it triggers the immune system to fight diseases and withhold iron. This is kept in mind by health professionals while formulating medications for treating cancer, iron deficiency, excessive tiredness, memory loss and depression.

Sometimes tests show that a person has low iron content in blood serum. Prescribing iron supplements may pose a risk because low iron may actually indicate low copper content.

When clinical tests show low serum iron, elevated Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) and low Transferrin Saturation, it could not only mean that there is free iron but also a copper deficiency.

How do we know? Let’s get a little technical. Ceruloplasmin is a copper protein complex found in blood plasma. Ferritin is a protein complex that is found in cells, and it stores iron in soluble and non-toxic form. Transferrin is a blood plasma protein that binds iron tightly and therefore, reduces free iron. Now, Ceruloplasmin takes iron from Ferritin and attaches it to Transferrin. Two molecules of iron can be attached to a single molecule of Transferrin. Therefore, there is a vacancy for two iron molecules on every Transferrin molecule. In a normal person, only 30% of these vacancies get filled. When fewer iron molecules are attached to Transferrin, the TIBC rises. This is an indication of low copper. Since copper is low, it cannot produce Ceruloplasmin and the above-mentioned process of attaching iron to Transferrin cannot take place.

In short, clinical tests that show low iron content in blood serum may actually indicate low copper content. Therefore, prescribing iron supplements may aggravate the condition.

What else does free iron indicate?

Also, when there is free iron, it can mean that there are not enough amino acids. Amino acids are the most abundant neurotransmitters available in the brain. Research has shown that a lack of specific neurotransmitters may induce clinical depression. Antidepressants regulate the action of these neurotransmitters thereby providing relief to the person.

Moving towards the Right Solution

If the above-mentioned factors are studied well, a proper diagnosis and treatment for clinical depression can be arrived at.

The risk of infection, disease and high toxic levels can be reduced once we identify iron imbalance. Thereafter appropriate measures must be taken to restore the iron balance. Therefore we must consider a few factors:

1. Since intestinal mucosa contains Transferrin, it must be well maintained.

2. Protein levels should be optimally maintained.

3. The right balance of aerobic-anaerobic metabolism must be attained. Too much of anaerobic metabolism results of production of toxins and resulting in fatigue, which is a symptom of clinical depression.

4. Overpowering acid stress by maintaining alkalinity

5. Getting rid of toxins and organic solvents that may hinder the iron binding action done by proteins.

6. Individuals who are diagnosed to have free iron should take to a diet rich in whole eggs and cultured dairy products.

7. A proper phlebotomy and testing program must be conducted to monitor iron overload.

Since iron deficiency or excess plays a key role at every step in the diagnosis and treatment of clinical depression, we should be careful to monitor its status in order to avoid the chain of events that are triggered by its imbalance.

Last but not least, a clinical depressed person who snores, needs to address to apply snoring remedies in order to stop the snoring and support their biochemistry.